A Mali ex-minister and several national energy company executives have been charged and detained in an embezzlement case, judicial sources told AFP on Tuesday, as the country faces a deterioration of its electricity supply.
Around 11 million people, or roughly half of the population, have access to a fragile electricity supply in the West African nation, which has been ruled by military leaders since a 2020 coup.
The national energy company, EDM-SA, is crumbling under the weight of a debt of more than 200 billion CFA francs ($330 million) and is no longer able to ensure continuo us electricity supply in the capital Bamako and other Malian towns.
Some districts of Bamako are faced with power outages for more than 12 hours a day.
Electricity supply
"Thirteen people were charged and remanded in custody on Monday night by the Supreme Court for forgery, use of forgeries, and damage to public property, particularly in a case involving the purchase of generators to supply electricity," a source at the court told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Mali's military ruler Colonel Assimi Goita has promised to improve the supply of electricity and said the problem is "the result of seve ral years of poor management and a lack of vision for the development of this strategic sector".
In January, at a traditional New Year's ceremony, he stated that he would remain "uncompromising" in the fight against corruption.
'False' contract
Among those charged on Monday are former minister of mines and energy, Lamine Seydou Traore, two former directors and several employees of EDM-SA.
A judicial source said that "the people charged contributed to the deterioration of society by executing false contracts, embezzlement, illicit enrichment and money laundering".
Traore's defence team rejected the allegations against him.
"Lamine Seydou Traore was not involved in EDM-SA's purchasing process," one of Traore's lawyers, Mamadou Keita, said.
"The contract described as false was paid for by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance and is still being implemented by the current Ministry of Energy and Water," Keita added.
"Justice must not be synonymous with settling scores... Scapegoats are being sought in this affair."
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