In Mali, the transitional government is accusing economic operators. In early September, the jihadists of JNIM declared an embargo on fuel imports. Their near-daily attacks are preventing the country’s normal supply. On October 13, companies in the hydrocarbon sector were severely reprimanded by the Malian Minister of Industry and Commerce.
That very morning, JNIM jihadists set fire to tanker trucks under military escort between Kolondieba and Kadiana, on the Ivorian border.
Meanwhile, in Bamako and across the country, the luckiest Malians form endless queues in front of the gas stations that are still open.
But on the state television ORTM, what the Malian Minister of Industry and Commerce is keen to denounce is the speculation by economic operators.
“Total and entire responsibility“
“This speculation takes three forms,” the minister detailed. “The first is all issues related to stockpiling. This is a violation of trade rules. There are also unjustified price increases. (…) And the third thing we see from economic operators is all matters related to disinformation about the country’s supply, to create panic, so that everyone rushes to the gas stations.”
The minister further stated that companies in the hydrocarbon sector “bear the total and entire responsibility” for the current crisis and demanded they “provide answers,” reminding that “the oil sector is a completely liberalized sector.”
“Where is the private sector? Where is it? It’s not responding, it’s on voicemail,” the Minister of Industry finally lamented.
Testimonies confirm that the gasoline shortage has caused a price explosion on the black market, with the liter reaching 2,500 to 5,000 CFA francs, while the legal price capped by the state is 775 CFA francs.
But according to these same testimonies, regulated prices are generally respected at stations—authorities have even established police checks to ensure this—and the “profiteers” are mainly at work in areas where Malians no longer have an alternative to find gasoline: outlying neighborhoods of Bamako, isolated localities in the regions.
In short, these behaviors are a marginal consequence and not the cause of the gasoline shortage.
“We can do nothing without energy“
A major Malian economic operator stated: “The private sector cannot be solely responsible for the misfortune of the Malian people. We don’t make decisions, it’s the public sphere that makes decisions. We are the first to suffer from this shortage,” this business leader reminded, “it’s our tool for work. We can do nothing without energy.”
For the past month and a half, many drivers and apprentices, who are employees of private economic operators, defying the JNIM embargo on fuel, have been killed by the jihadists.