"The embargo imposed on Mali after the coup d'état violates Article 45 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Good Governance that states are brandishing," said the Malian Association of Consumers of Mali, ASCOMA. In Bamako as in the regions of Mali, banks are "penalized" with the closure of the counters of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). The Consumers' Association of Mali is planning to challenge ECOWAS before international courts.

In addition to the closure of the borders, the ECOWAS Heads of State also instructed the suspension of banking transactions to Mali. Thus, the Central Bank of West African States has closed its counters in Mali and also suspended the bank clearing system. With this situation, some employees will find it difficult to receive their money at the end of the month, says the secretary general of the Syndicate of Banks and Financial Institutions.

"Employees who have their banks elsewhere, where the bank has to go elsewhere to pay people, that's where it's complicated. This is where we really need the BCEAO to open. There is also the supply so that the banks serve in liquidity," said Hamadoun Bah, secretary general of the National Union of Banks and Financial Institutions.

Concerned about the situation, the Association of Consumers of Mali (ASCOMA) intends to challenge the ECOWAS decision before international courts. The embargo violates Article 45 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Good Governance that states are brandishing to sanction Mali, said Abdoul Wahab Diakité, Vice-President of ASCOMA.

"Article 45 of this protocol specifies that sanctions are taken against the State and not against the populations. The people of Mali need access to essential services. We, as consumers, will build up. Of course, there are eminent jurists in Mali and internationally also to defend Malian communities. This cannot constitute," regrets Mr. Diakité, for whom: "He cannot have a protocol and that the heads of state do not respect this protocol".

Faced with this embargo, some economists fear a surge in the prices of basic necessities in the coming days. However, the competent authorities reassure that the current stock allows prices to stabilize for the coming days, without specifying the duration.

"Lift the embargo imposed by ECOWAS on Mali and see how to support Mali in emerging from the current crisis through the new transitional authorities that will be put in place." These, according to Dr. Bréma Ely Dicko, are the two main challenges of the next summit of ECOWAS Heads of State on Mali. According to the academic, the country is already weakened and there is no reason for the sanctions to be maintained.