Strengthening regions and municipalities in Mali

Project description

Title: Supporting decentralisation and good governance
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)​​​​​​​
Country: Mali
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation
Overall term: 2022 to 2024

Context

For more than two decades, regions, districts and municipalities in Mali have been administering themselves. This has given them greater social acceptance as service providers and business locations, and they play a greater role in reconciliation and reconstruction processes as a result. However, efficient good governance in the regions, districts and municipalities is hampered by institutional and professional deficits among the stakeholders involved.

Obejctive

The role of Malian local authorities (municipalities and regions) in socio-economic development has improved.

Approach

The project advises the Malian Ministry of Decentralisation as well as the regions, districts and municipalities. This also involves integrating the business community and civil society. The project supports regional and local governments in developing competencies and skills so that they can act in future as hubs for economic and social development in the country.

Measures are focused on four areas:

• Transparent and rule-compliant budget management: The project is providing municipalities with technical and organisational advice on new instruments and procedures for public accounting, accountability and budget spending.
• Improving the dialogue on socio-economic resilience: The project is supporting an inclusive post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery phase. This involves developing the skills of members in women’s and young peoples’ organisations and making the dialogue between local people and community representatives conflict-sensitive.
• Supporting the economy and employment: Improved dialogue between administrative areas, the private sector and private-public partnerships (PPPs) strengthens private investment and employment.
• Networked learning: The project promotes the sharing of experiences between partner regions and with national policy-makers in order to generate expertise on implementing the national decentralisation policy.

Last Update: February 2022