For the citizens of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, the lifting of coup sanctions against their home government by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is indeed a breather, if the harsh economic turmoil suffered by the large population of those countries is anything to go by.
It will be recalled that on July 26 last year, a group of military officers overthrew Niger’s government, sending shock waves through coup-plagued West Africa and within days, ECOWAS and other western allies announced a raft of sanctions on Niger; the strictest the bloc ever imposed on an errant member state.
Members of the fifteen-nation bloc (excluding the four members suspended since falling under military rule – Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger), along with the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union, agreed to close all borders with Niger, suspend financial transactions and freeze the country’s assets in external banks.
ECOWAS also issued an ultimatum to the junta to restore constitutional order and reinstate the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, within one week or face other measures, notably including military intervention.
Sanctions imposed on Niger, Burkina Faso, others since coup
Niger is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal widely used for nuclear energy and for treating cancer. It is also one of the world’s poorest countries, receiving close to $2 billion a year in development assistance.
According to 2023 budget projections, of Niger’s total budget of 3,245 billion CFA francs ($5.53 billion) for the fiscal year, around 342.44 billion francs was expected to come from external budget support and loans.
Another 978.47 billion francs was supposed to come from project grants and loans from external partners. In total, more than $2.2 billion, or around 40% of its budget, was expected to come from external partners.
ECOWAS and the West African Monetary and Economic Union imposed some of the most stringent sanctions on Niger so far since the coup.
With immediate effect, the bloc suspended all commercial transactions with Niger, froze its state assets in the regional central bank, assets of the state and state enterprises in commercial banks, and suspended all financial assistance with regional development banks.
The financial sanctions led to a default on Niger’s debt repayments agreement to its creditors.
A planned 30 billion CFA francs ($51 million) bond issuance by Niger in the West African regional debt market was cancelled by the regional
central bank following the imposition of sanctions. Niger had planned to raise 490 billion CFA francs ($834 million) from the regional debt market in 2023.
The ECOWAS sanctions also meant Nigeria cut power supply to the country on the 80 megawatt Birnin-Kebbi line, while Ivory Coast suspended imports and exports of Nigerien goods.
West Africa’s regional central bank, the BCEAO, shut down its branches in Niger, citing risks to operations.
Also the European Union, one of Niger’s biggest contributors, suspended its financial support and cooperation on security with Niger with immediate effect. The EU allocated 503 million euros ($554 million) from its budget to improve governance, education and sustainable growth in Niger over 2021-2024, according to its website.
France, another major partner of its former colony, suspended development aid and budget support with immediate effect, demanding a prompt return to constitutional order. French development aid for Niger was at around 120 million euros ($130 million) in 2022, and expected to be slightly higher this year.
