Malians suffer economic hardship after four years of military rule By Reuters

(Reuters) – Four years after the army ousted Mali’s then-president and came to power, many residents say economic problems are worsening and constant blackouts are hurting business.

The August 2020 coup in the troubled West African nation was sparked by public anger at corrupt rulers backed by former colonial power France, a spreading jihadist insurgency and economic hardship. Many are still waiting for life to improve.

“The way they handled the electricity situation is a problem. Many Malians are facing huge losses,” Oumar Diarra, a furniture maker, told Reuters. “The government must make an effort because we are suffering enormously.”

The 2020 coup in Mali helped trigger a wave of coups in the Sahel region, south of the Sahara desert, including in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, which are fighting the same jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Mali’s current military rulers, who seized power in a second coup in 2021, broke a promise to hold elections in February, postponing the vote indefinitely for technical reasons.

Allasana Ag Agaly, a silversmith, said the power outage affects all households in Mali. “If the head of the family goes out in the morning and comes back at night without being able to work to bring something to his family, it will affect children, women and daily life,” he said.

The World Bank says economic growth in Mali is expected to slow to 3.1 percent this year from 3.5 percent last year, with levels of extreme poverty rising. About 90% of Mali’s population lives in poverty.

Mali’s military leaders, along with those in Niger and Burkina Faso, also kicked out French and UN troops that had been involved in the fight against Islamist insurgents for a decade and instead turned to Russia for help.

Some residents say they remain hopeful and see the current difficulties as the price for greater independence from France.

“Political independence without economic independence is meaningless,” said Alkady Haidara, a resident of the capital Bamako. “I just want the Malians to be patient, because that’s part of life. You have to go through a difficult time to have a brighter moment.”