Mali urged to settle ‘massive’ debt for regional dam, document reveals

Mali has a debt exceeding $94 million to the organization overseeing a dam that supplies electricity to both Senegal and Mauritania. This financial obligation has become “a question of life and death” for its operational viability, as stated in a letter reviewed by Reuters.

The funding gap highlights the potential for increased electricity supply issues in Mali, where recent outages have undermined public support for the military government that assumed power after the coups in 2020 and 2021.

The Manantali dam and power plant was commissioned in 2002, boasting an installed capacity of 200 megawatts. Over fifty percent of its production is allocated to Mali, with Senegal receiving thirty-three percent and Mauritania obtaining fifteen percent.

Mali currently has a significant debt exceeding 54 billion CFA francs ($94.12 million) to SOGEM, the organization responsible for managing Manantali and various other projects, as stated in a letter dated April 25 from SOGEM to the director-general of Energie du Mali, the country’s electric utility.

“The situation has reached a critical point for our installations and for SOGEM,” states the letter, signed by SOGEM’s director-general, Mohamed Mahmoud Sid’Elemine.

Energie du Mali confirmed in a statement to Reuters on Thursday that it has a debt of 43.8 billion CFA francs to SOGEM, along with an extra 11.9 billion CFA francs owed to another entity responsible for the operation and maintenance of the dam.

When inquired about the unpaid sums, it was stated that SOGEM’s projects, including various dams, had “experienced significant delays” that impacted Mali’s energy sector.

The utility stated that it “had to compensate for the expected lack of production by resorting to costly solutions, including leasing generators from private operators.”

The letter from SOGEM highlights the Manantali project as a successful example of regional cooperation, which required an investment of hundreds of billions of CFA francs for its implementation.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are part of the Alliance of Sahel States and declared last year their decision to exit the West African economic and political organization known as ECOWAS.