Four mayors in Mali have come together to intensify efforts for the sustainable development of their cities

Common challenges have brought four municipalities in the Segou region together to join the CoM SSA initiative. The four mayors, the first in Mali to decide to meet the challenges of climate change and access to sustainable energy together, joined their voices to talk about their objectives and the reasons why they decided to join the initiative.

The intercommunal of Balanzan gathers four contiguous cities of the Ségou Region, in south-west Mali, around 200 km from Bamako. It covers an area of 729 km² and more than 300,000 inhabitants. An almost flat relief characterizes this area with a ridgeline parallel to the bank of the Niger River. It benefits from a dry Sudano-Sahelian tropical climate with a dry season and a rainy season.

Mr. Nouhoum DIARRA, President of the Intercommunality, Mayor of the urban municipality of Ségou:

 “The creation of the intercommunal was firstly motivated by sharing a common issue: sanitation, that is to say the  management of liquid and solid waste. The four municipalities are united by common issues and wish to strengthen and   pool their means, their technical and financial capacities to face the common supra-municipal development challenge   through the intercommunal.”

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) is a European Union action that supports cities in meeting the dual challenge of climate change and access to sustainable energy to achieve a low-emission, climate resilient and sustainable energy. Joining the initiative means making a political commitment. Each city adheres to building a long-term vision, detailed into ambitious, measurable, and planned action objectives. To support these four cities to take action and meet their challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation, they will jointly develop a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP).

As part of the launch of this partnership, in October 2020, the Covenant of Mayors implementing partner Expertise France met the four mayors of the intercommunal of Balanzan. They shared the climate issues they face and how they are preparing to address them through CoM SSA.

Besides the sanitation issue, what energy and climate challenges are the intercommunal facing?