Land dispute in SAFO rural commune: residents call for transitional presidency

Residents of the Tasang Safo land have issued a heartfelt appeal to the chairman of the Transitional Organization, Colonel Assimi Gota, to participate in the 200 hectares of land awarded to the EDM for the construction of a 100 MW solar power plant. This was during a press conference held in the National Park of Bamako, Saturday, August 17, 2024.

At the Bureau meeting, we noted the presence of the Collective President, Ms. Sidib Aminata Traor, Spokesperson Youssouf Kouyat, and members of the platform, who responded overwhelmingly
The meeting. The banners hung in the courtyard of the national park read: Long live the transition to the Saffo solar power plant, but we are still waiting for export compensation.

All this is thanks to the construction of the Safo Solar Power Plant, which covers more than 200 hectares and, according to the collective president, has the power equivalent of more than 4,800 households. According to Mrs.
Aminata Traor Sidib, this space belongs to a member of the EDM collective that installed the aforementioned solar plant. One day, the owners saw beacons of Mali Energy around their plots, where the company’s name appeared.

We set up a platform to request the EDM in order to find out what exactly happened. The EDM, through company X, requested the identification of all the passengers and promised compensation to everyone. Since that day, we sent a letter to the EDM, but the EDM did not respond to us in due time. Subsequently, we invited the media to express our concerns. Then we sent another letter to the Minister. Unfortunately, we did not receive a response from the Ministry of Urban Planning. After the intervention of the media, the latter agreed to respond to us. During the meeting, the Minister led us to believe that he would compensate us. The Ministry of Urban Planning instructed us to collect all the necessary documents to restore our rights, but did not take any measures in our favor. Last Wednesday, during the meeting of ministers, the government adopted a draft decree supporting the declaration of public powers in the area.

As of Thursday morning, EDM started calling people through a company telling us the price per square meter was 4,600 francs.
The compensation he offered us did not reflect the true value of the land because some
Aboukrim Abdourhamane, a member of the collective, explained with regret that they had already invested in their plot.

In addition, the spokesman said that the occupants of 200 hectares of land in Safo and Tasan, victims of expropriation by EDM SA, asked to be relocated to common ground. We hope that the highest level, especially the transitional president Assimi Gota, will actively participate in this matter for the happiness of the occupants. Youssef Kouyate explained that we always believe in the need to make a peaceful voice and respect the transitional government, which decided to address the energy problems of our country head-on, and therefore concluded with a call for action by the state. .

M. Sanger