Junta-led Mali pressured to settle massive debt for regional dam
Mali owes over $94 million to the agency managing a key hydroelectric dam that also supplies power to Senegal and Mauritania. The funding shortfall threatens the continued operation of the dam, raising fears of worsening power outages in Mali.
As of 2021, only 53% of Malians had access to electricity, according to the World Bank.
Over half of the dam's output is allocated to Mali, with Senegal receiving 33% and Mauritania 15%.
The funding shortfall threatens the continued operation of the dam, raising fears of worsening power outages in Mali.
Mali owes over $94 million to the agency managing a key hydroelectric dam that also supplies power to Senegal and Mauritania.
The debt, described as "a question of life and death" for the dam's continued operation, threatens to worsen Mali's ongoing electricity crisis, an issue that has already eroded public support for the country's military government following the 2020 and 2021 coups, according to Reuters.
As of 2021, only 53% of Malians had access to electricity, according to the World Bank. In rural areas, that figure drops to just 25%, according to Abdoulaye Makan Sissoko of Mali's rural electrification agency.
A shared lifeline
The Manantali Dam and power station, operational since 2002, has a capacity of 200 megawatts. Over half of its output is allocated to Mali, with Senegal receiving 33% and Mauritania 15%.
However, Mali now owes over 54 billion CFA francs ($94.12 million) to SOGEM, the regional body responsible for managing Manantali and other related infrastructure, according to an April 25 letter from SOGEM to the head of Mali's state utility, Energie du Mali.
The funding shortfall threatens the continued operation of the dam, raising fears of worsening power outages in Mali.
It remains unclear whether Mali's debt is solely tied to the Manantali Dam or includes other obligations. However, a source at the state utility told Reuters that most of the arrears were accumulated over the past year. The utility has not responded to requests for comment.
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