Politics

Mali ‘not totally inflexible’ on ECOWAS bloc, says Senegalese president

Published

7 months ago

June 3, 2024

During his first official visit to Mali on Thursday, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal said he discussed the issue of remaining with regional bloc, ECOWAS, with his counterpart in Mali, who was “not inflexible” on the matter.

Reversing decades of regional integration, Mali and its neighbouring military-junta-run countries, Niger and Burkina Faso, declared in January that they would be leaving ECOWAS, the principal political and economic organization in West Africa.

The three countries have united to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a defence and cooperation pact, to form a confederation. After winning the election in March, Senegalese President Faye declared he would attempt to convince Colonel Assimi Goita-led Malian junta to stay in ECOWAS.

“I spent a lot of time discussing it with the colonel,” Faye said on Malian state radio on Thursday.

“I understand the Malian position, which, although rigid, is not inflexible.”
In addition to bilateral cooperation, he stated that all sides needed to collaborate to discover constructive ways to fortify integration “by trying to correct the blunders that we have noted in multilateral cooperation.”

“But we cannot resign ourselves to watching a tool for integration that was formidable in its conception, in the results it has brought us and which has been held up as an example, disintegrate without doing anything,” Faye said.

In written letters dated January 29, the three Sahel states formally informed the ECOWAS Commission of their decisions to exit the union. As per the terms of the treaty, this meant that they would remain bound by their membership for a year following that day. On Thursday, Faye paid a visit to Captain Ibrahim Traore, the head of Burkina Faso’s junta, in the country’s capital, Ouagadougou.

“We also discussed the subject of ECOWAS; I understand today that the positions are somewhat fixed, but I perceive in each of these positions a window of opening that allows us to establish a thread of dialogue,” Faye said, according to the Burkinabe presidency’s communications department.

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Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

2 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.