Cocidirail (‘The Citizens' Collective for Restitution and Development of the Railways of Mali’) commemorates its 5th anniversary on August 31, 2003. Alas, the anniversary takes place as the crisis of the franchised railway concession reaches alarming proportions.

The poster reads: With COCIDIRAIL - the Citizens' Collective for Restitution and Development of the Railways of Mali - and its President, Dr Tiécoura Traoré arbitrarily sacked by the colonialists of Transrail. Return the railways to the people of Mali!

The Senegalese trade unions, alerted by rumours of the bankruptcy of Transrail, last July triggered a strike just to find out what is going on at the company!

Already this year on June 27, 2008, the states of Mali and Senegal have explicitly noted: "the failure of the concession", the "death of the railway business" (sic!) and delivered their verdict without appeal that: "The concession performed no better than the National Railways of Mali"!

Accordingly the two states have advocated the following measures:

"- Undertaking a study by December 31, 2008 to examine the institutional nature of public-private partnership;
-- Strengthening the powers of the rail regulator;
-- The adoption of a three month investment plan;
-- The creation of an audit committee within the Board of Transrail Plc;
-- The payment of all arrears and signing of all documents relating to rolling stock and the property portfolio signed over to them;
- information for investors on the current situation binding Mali and Senegal to Transrail PLC."

Clearly this means that for the almost 5 years that railway concession has been franchised, Transrail has never achieved its planned investment programme and it does not even exist. Yet the concession agreement was conditional on implementation and the existence of an investment plan within 180 days. This means that this concession has been lapsed since March 31, 2004.

Map of sites along the "Railroad Corridor" in Mali and Senegal

In addition Transrail has cut passenger traffic so far that it is contractually imposing "financial compensation" on Mali and Senegal to pay for traffic management. This ferocious contract says that: "the concessionaire operates as a service provider whose remuneration is fixed irrespective of the level of traffic actually delivered"! So, Mali and Senegal, by acting to satisfy the demands of the World Bank and against the interests of their own populations, have sold off our railways under the worst possible conditions. The Wade and ATT Governments also agreed contractually that Transrail should only be required to transport currently profitable freight. As for passenger transport, it has been operating a convention, which binds the two states (through their companies) to Transrail. Therefore Senegal and Mali went into debt to the tune of 14 billion CFA francs to enable Transrail to acquire and operate 4 locomotives and 60 carriages. And on top of the 14 billion, Mali has guaranteed another 13 billion!

Can you imagine such a national surrender in the entire annals of privatisation?

The franchised rail concession has led us into bankruptcy

But that's not all. It needs to be understood that, to restore the network (which means achieving substantial investment to renew track and improve capacity and performance of rolling stock) State loans made through IDA credits, AFD, CIDA and BOAD to Mali and Senegal have been surrendered to the contractor responsible for carrying out the work, notwithstanding that the borrowing was only able to be undertaken with state guarantees.

Cocidirail has recorded at least 30 billion plus handed over to Transrail since October 2003. This money was squandered by the notorious opportunist, the former CEO of Transrail, Francois Lemieux who was let go without being held to account.

Before his departure, the company audit in December 2007 under the auspices of the World Bank estimated the management deficit 2003-2006 at 8 billion CFA francs. Francois Lemieux, was suspended on April 24, 2007 and dismissed on April 27 by Transrail’s American majority shareholder, SAVAGE INDUSTRIES, which in turn sold its shares to VECTURIS run by Eric PEIFFER, current CEO of Transrail. Since then, in the year 2007 alone the deficit has grown by 2.5 billion.

The hidden truth is that the concession has led the railway straight to bankruptcy. We are at the point where the Paris Auditors have deemed it imperative that the only way of avoiding liquidation is to recapitalize the company to the tune of 12 billion. The audit has instructed Mali and Senegal to borrow yet again 8 billion for that purpose! But Mali and Senegal, now faced with an obvious bottomless abyss are dragging their feet over signing and endorsing the conclusions of the Paris audit.

However, rather than putting an end to this bottomless pit and simply cancelling the concession, our two governments are opening new negotiations without any principles.

They plan to create a new company on the same railway line, in which to entrust the management of passenger traffic and to provide technical management to Transrail. That is the purpose of their famous “study by December 31, 2008 to examine the institutional nature of public-private partnership" !

Transrail, for its part rejects the analysis of its bankrupt concession to: "manage the new passenger trains." Transrail is in fact assimilating commercial passenger traffic in violation of the concession and trying to get support for the idea that it should be compensated if Senegal and Mali decide to go ahead! This is unacceptable blackmail intended to counter the June 27 dismissal and would mean the abject surrender of the Senegalese and Malian governments.

Transrail must be expropriated without compensation and renationalised

Cocidirail is of the opinion that the peoples of Mali and Senegal are not indifferent to this arm-twisting. They must put all their weight into the battle and have the last word, not only against Transrail and the World Bank, but also against our own governments who have proven they are not trustworthy.

Cocidirail, while recognizing the absolute and inalienable right of peoples to self-determination against the dictates of multinationals and the World Bank, says it is not viable to have two operating companies on the same railway line. Ordinarily, as we know, regulated rail freight traffic is highly profitable, offset by a system of cross-subsidy of generally loss-making passenger traffic to balance the company's accounts.

If the company takes over passenger traffic will that take place? It is clear that operating in two separate operating companies implies that there will never cross-subsidy, or compensation for Mali and Senegal. On the contrary, it is clear that the "bi-national" state company (devoid of freight traffic) will be required to pay "financial compensation" to VECTURIS for the technical service it supplies! The company not for that reason alone is condemned to chronic deficits not to mention the expected burden of corruption and mismanagement since it will not be placed under strict control?

What is the benefit for our countries of going into debt to acquire plant equipment and to limit our control only to a commercial company instead of taking the whole lot back? Will there be further debt and recapitalisation of Transrail so that these highwaymen can go straight into bankruptcy for the sole purpose of allowing them once again to begin looting us?

The small print of the franchise concession does not give us anything, the company wins hands down, always subordinating the needs of passenger and freight traffic?

Is this private company not objectively driving us to the wall, whatever the intentions of bringing them in may have been?

Would Mali and Senegal not be locked into a vicious circle of "public-private partnership" under this plan, which means continuously going into debt just to enable Transrail and its new shareholder to run down passenger traffic and win on all fronts?

This "vicious circle" has been known for a long time. It’s time to end the ruinous contract that we have been supporting for no reason for five years and "return the railway to the people of Mali", as Dr Tiécoura Traoré and Cocidirail have tirelessly explained since the beginning.

Mali needs to renounce its previous signature, purely and simply cancel the franchise concession and get rid of Transrail, which we do not need!

Cocidirail then proposes that we should reconstitute the National Railways of Mali (Régie de Chemin de Fer du Mali) and accompany the renationalisation of the railways under popular control, by not only ensuring reinstatement of all those dismissed including Dr. Tiécoura Traoré with full maintenance of workers’ rights, but also by systematically fighting the running down and mismanagement of the railways.

This is the one and only basis on which we can and must establish a union with Senegal, in accordance with mutual interests well understood by our two countries, their nationals and workers. Such a position can certainly be understood as a declaration of war by the World Bank and all globalisers. But it is merely an expression of our national, popular sovereignty that Cocidirail calls on all Malians and Mali to defend!

Demand the State of Mali takes its responsibilities and puts an end to the franchised railway concession.

Long Live Cocidrail for the rebirth and long life of the National Railways of Mali - Regie des Chemin de Fer du Mali!

Bamako, 1 September 2008
For the Executive Committee of Cocidirail, Secretary of Communication

Mohamed Cheick Tabouré

Collectif Citoyen pour la Restitution et le Développement Intégré du Rail Malien (COCIDIRAIL)
(‘Citizens' Collective for Restitution and Development of the Railways of Mali’)
Tel: +223 639 08 71, +223 559 81 74
E-mail: cocidirail@yahoo.fr Website: www.cocidirail.info