Niger Cuts 2023 Budget by 40%

Niger cut its planned spending for 2023 by 40% due to international sanctions imposed after the army took power last July, further hampering the economy in one of the poorest countries in the world, the military junta said in a televised statement on Saturday.

This year's budget, initially expected at 3.29 trillion CFA francs ($5.3 billion), has been reduced to 1.98 trillion, the statement said, without explaining where the cuts would fall.

Soldiers from the presidential guard arrested President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and formed a transitional government, in one of a recent series of coups in the Sahel region of West Africa.

The seizure sparked condemnations from the regional bloc (ECOWAS), the European Union and the United States, which imposed sanctions, froze assets or halted aid.

The trade blockade has raised food prices and created shortages of vital goods including life-saving medicines. But this does not appear to have led to a decline in popular support for the military junta at home, as many were tired of the hardships and perceived corruption experienced by Bazoum’s regime.

Niger, an arid country located on the southern edge of the Sahara, is the world's seventh-largest producer of uranium, a radioactive metal widely used in nuclear energy and cancer treatment.

It also suffers from poverty and long-term insecurity caused by violent Islamist groups. It relies heavily on aid. 

According to its original projections, about 40% of this year's budget was expected to come from external partners.