The regional bloc ECOWAS decision to suspend the sanctions imposed on Mali’s military government has inspired optimism and delight among the Malians.
On Sunday, the leaders of West Africa agreed to a plan by the military government to revert to civilian government in March 2024.
Mali saw coups between August 2020 and May 2021.
“It’s a great joy for all of us, for the society because our economy had gone down. I think that with the opening of the borders, there will be progress for everyone. For operators, for carriers, ” according to Africa Tours Trans’s corporate manager Abdoulaye Traoré.
The landlocked Sahel state has been severely harmed by the sanctions, and its economy is already suffering from a decade-long Jihadist insurgency.
“The more the transport increases in price, the more the products increase in price too. If the price of gasoline goes down it will also reduce our prices. Because they are all transported. And even today with this lifting, if the price of fuel does not drop, it will not affect the price of products,” Aly Ballo, a retail dealer, stated.
Mali last week accepted a proposal to hold presidential elections in February 2024 after months of negotiations.
Additionally, ECOWAS decided to give Burkina Faso two years to make the transition to democracy on Sunday.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
