Film Library
The Mayor
Tuesday, June 11, 2013(This film is part of the Trouble in Timbuktu series produced by IRIN Films.) Several months after French troops put an end to the occupation of Timbuktu, little is working as normal in the ancient desert city. Banks lie empty, looted and ransacked, stifling commerce and preventing payment of salaries and pensions. Electricity is supplied for just a few hours after dark.State institutions - whose weaknesses and corruption have long driven instability in the north -- have yet to resume operations. While foreign assistance has allowed schools to reopen and the main hospital to function, most of the civil servants who fled have yet to return. As a result, the judiciary and government offices dealing with key sectors such as agriculture, livestock, customs and city administration are at a stand-still. Most rooms in the town hall are littered with broken furniture and scorched documents. Local officials hold their meetings in the lobby and issue official documents - birth certificates and the like - from their homes. Their official vehicles are damaged beyond repair.Several months after French troops put an end to the occupation of Timbuktu, little is working as normal in the ancient desert city. Banks lie empty, looted and ransacked, stifling commerce. It also means no salaries or pensions can be paid locally.State institutions - whose weaknesses and alleged corruption have long driven instability in the north - are mostly absent. While foreign assistance has allowed schools to reopen and the main hospital to function, most of the civil servants who fled have yet to return.As a result, the judiciary and government offices dealing with key sectors such as agriculture, livestock, customs and city administration are at a stand-still. Most rooms in the town hall are littered with broken furniture and scorched documents. Local officials hold their meetings in the lobby and issue official documents - birth certificates and the like - from their homes. Their official vehicles are damaged beyond repair.Watch the whole Trouble in Timbuktu multimedia special: http://www.irinnews.org/webspecial/mali/index.html#