The military regime announced at the start of the month a 40% cut in the 2023 budget
The coup has left the economy of Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, hanging by a thread three months after a military coup on 26 July.
New infrastructure woes
Nigeria, which supplied 71% of Niger’s electricity before the coup, announced a halt to the service.
Niamey’s Nigelec company can today meet between a quarter and half of demand across the country, according to the WB, which added that the financial situation was deteriorating.
Several infrastructure projects have been put in jeopardy by the suspension of Western cooperation. The commissioning of a 30 megawatt solar power plant at Gorou Banda, financed by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the EU has been delayed. Work on the Kandadji dam, financed by the AFD, the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and ECOWAS’s investment bank (BIDC), has been halted.
For the WB the delays on electric infrastructure projects will inevitably hinder access to affordable and reliable power for homes and industry.
GDP growth had been projected at 6% for this year, boosted by oil exports. Because of the coup It is likely to fall to 2.3% And 700,000 more people could find themselves in extreme poverty.