Niger has cut its planned spending for 2023 by 40% because of international sanctions imposed after the military took power in a July coup, the junta said in a televised statement.
“Niger is facing heavy sanctions imposed by international and regional organisations. They have resulted in significant revenue declines,” the military rulers said in a statement read on state television.
This year’s budget, initially forecast at 3.29 trillion CFA francs ($5.3 billion), was slashed to 1.98 trillion, the statement said, without detailing where the cuts would fall.
Soldiers from the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and have set up a transitional government, one of a series of recent coups in West Africa’s Sahel region.
The takeover prompted condemnation from the regional bloc ECOWAS, the European Union and the United States, who imposed sanctions, froze assets or halted aid.
A trade blockade has driven up the price of food and created a shortage of vital goods including life-saving medicines. But it does not appear to have dulled popular support for the junta at home, where many were fed up with the hardship and perceived corruption experienced under the Bazoum regime.
Peoplesmind