THE North African state of Mali is to sell some of the government’s stake in the ailing state-owned telephone and electricity companies, Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse said on Sunday. He said the government’s stake in Energie du Mali, the local power company, will fall from 97,2% to 51%, he said. No figures were provided as to the percentage of Socit des Telecommunications du Mali (Sotelma) that will be put on sale, only that a large part will go to a “strategic partner”. EDM, has debts of 68-billion CFA francs (104-million euros, $120-million) compared with turnover of 27-billion CFA francs. Sotelma has a turnover of 14-billion CFA francs (21-million euros, $25million), surpassed by its debts of 14,5-billion CFA francs). Mali has only one telephone line per 400 inhabitants, one of the world’s lowest rates of coverage.