Mali's Dam Debt Crisis: Power and Politics in Peril

Mali finds itself in a critical financial quagmire, burdened with a debt surpassing $94 million to the agency overseeing a pivotal dam supplying power to Senegal and Mauritania. The situation is so severe that it has been labeled a 'question of life and death' for ongoing operations.

This financial predicament casts a shadow over Mali's energy sector, already beleaguered by frequent outages that have eroded public confidence in the military regime, which seized power through coups in 2020 and 2021. The Manantali dam, operational since 2002 with a capacity of 200 megawatts, distributes more than half of its output to Mali, while Senegal and Mauritania receive 33% and 15% respectively.

SOGEM, the managing entity, highlights the dam project as a regional cooperation triumph, lamenting the lack of payments due to delays impacting Mali's energy reliability. Compounded by additional arrears to another operator, Mali had to resort to costly generator rentals. The Alliance of Sahel States, including Mali, has distanced itself from ECOWAS, adding a complex political layer to the crisis.

(With inputs from agencies.)