The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Sunday in Accra, Ghana, imposed heavy economic and financial sanctions against Mali.
Finally, the decision came as a bombshell. The West African Intergovernmental Organisation has confirmed the decisions taken by the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) early on Sunday.
At the end of the meeting of Heads of State on Sunday, January 9, 2022, the following sanctions were imposed on Mali: freezing of Malian assets at the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and suspension of financial aid, closure of borders between the country and member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), suspension of transactions with Bamako, with the exception of medical and essential products, and the withdrawal of all member countries’ ambassadors to Mali.
This heavy hand from ECOWAS is in response to the conclusions of Mali’s National Consultations on Reform. These popular consultations gave the Malian authorities carte blanche to extend the transition from six months to five years. A timetable deemed “totally unacceptable” by ECOWAS, which “noted with regret the failure of the transitional authorities in Mali to organise presidential elections by February 27, 2022, contrary to the agreement reached with the ECOWAS Authority on September 15, 2021, and the commitment of the Transition Charter,” in a statement.
The West African organization added that “the timetable submitted on December 31, 2021 by the transitional authorities to the Presidency of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, provides for the holding of presidential elections by the end of December 2026. This will involve a transitional period of six and a half (6.5) years.”
The Heads of State of the regional bloc also denounced the deployment of the Russian private military company Wagner in Mali. “Despite the Malian transitional government’s denial, the Authority remains deeply concerned about the consistent report of the deployment of private security agents in Mali with its potentially destabilising impact on the West African region. The regional Authority notes that this situation is closely linked to the stalled political transition in the country,” the statement said.
Based on this observation and given the potentially “destabilizing impact on Mali and the region, the Authority decides to immediately activate the ECOWAS Standby Force, which should be ready to guard against all eventualities,” the document went on.
According to the President of Burkina Faso, Rock Marc Christian Kabore, “the economic and social reforms aimed at rebuilding Mali could only be carried out by democratically elected authorities.”
CD/fss/abj/APA