Reactions and concerns are growing in Mali over the delay in the release of funds from the World Bank.

Two months ago, the country reached an agreement with the financial institution for the disbursement of tens of millions of dollars to support several projects.

Bamako was first planned to receive 60 million dollars equivalent to 36 billion CFA francs from the World Bank. These funds should enable the national energy company, EDM, to purchase fuel, in order to deal with the energy crisis, marked by untimely power cuts.

Questioned by the transitional parliament about these funds, which are still not forthcoming, Alousseni Sanou, the Malian Minister of the Economy indicated that since the agreement with the World Bank, it has been difficult to mobilize these resources.

According to one source, Mali has still not received these funds, as it is still considering the two main conditions set by the financial institution. The first is to purchase fuel from member countries of the OMVS of which Niger is not a member.

The World Bank’s second condition: a reduction in the wage bill he said would entail massive layoffs within the public administration.