Things are changing rapidly in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which comprises the landlocked African countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in the arid Sahel zone south of the Sahara Desert. Last month, African Stream dispatched journalist Inemesit Richardson to all three countries to report on how the people view governments that came to power via military coups. First stop: Bamako, Mali. In this video, we interviewed people at the Grand Market of Bamako to get perspectives from vendors on Malian President Assimi Goïta and the AES. Malians told African Stream they supported the process because they seek to build African unity. They’ve also witnessed an increase in national security and gains against terrorist paramilitary forces—most notably the reclamation of the Kidal region—and they see their new government creating a new power supply. With external support Mali is building the largest solar panel field in West Africa. The construction will cover 314 hectares to produce
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