WASHINGTON, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 20, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I congratulate the citizens of Namibia as you celebrate …
BERN, Switzerland, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Some 30 members of parliament from six countries in East Africa have been invited to Geneva by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) from 20 to 21 March. They are taking part in a seminar to discuss the federal systems of Switzerland, Ethiopia and other African countries. The project is in line with the Swiss strategy for the political stabilisation of the Horn of Africa.
The representatives have had the opportunity to discuss the themes of federalism and decentralised statebuilding with experts. The debate concentrated on the separation of powers, sharing resources and fiscal federalism. Most of the around 30 participants travelled to Geneva for an Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting, which took place prior to the seminar. They were from Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.
The seminar was of particular interest for the Somali, Sudanese and South Sudanese MPs. These countries’ reform projects seek to enshrine elements of federalism in their political systems. Participants from these countries will now be able to contribute comparisons of various federal models to the debate on the upcoming constitutional reform processes. Swiss federalism was not the only point of reference for the discussions in Geneva. Ethiopia and other African countries also have federal state systems.
Accountable governance is a priority for Switzerland
The Geneva seminar on federalism reflects the priorities of the Swiss Confederation’s 2013 – 2016 cooperation strategy for the Horn of Africa. The strategy sets out Switzerland’s engagement in the region, working with the countries and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for a culture of accountable governance and to strengthen peace dialogue. An agreement is in preparation to regulate cooperation with IGAD in various fields.
Stabilisation in the Horn of Africa is in Switzerland’s interest. It requires tensions and conflicts between states to be settled through dialogue and without the use of force. The governance of the individual states, the IGAD platform and the international community all have a major role to play in meeting these challenges. IGAD is comprised of the following member countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea (membership currently suspended), Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
TOKYO, Japan, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — 1. The Government of Japan recently decided to dispatch one member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces to the Ethiopian International Peace Keeping Training Centre (EIPKTC).
One JSDF member (Lieutenant Colonel Norihisa Urakami) will spend nine weeks from March 24 in the Programme to Establish the EIPKTC, which began in January 2013. He is scheduled to design and develop a curriculum for the “Conflict Prevention, Management and Post-Conflict Recovery Course” as an international consultant.
2. Based on the recognition that peace is a prerequisite for development, the Government of Japan has been providing assistance to African peacekeeping operations (PKO) training centers with the goals of enhancing the peacekeeping capabilities of African countries and of maintaining the stability of the region. The dispatch of this JSDF member is also being undertaken as part of Japan’s support for the EIPKTC. The Government of Japan continues to provide meaningful assistance towards peace and security in Africa not only on the financial front, but also by drawing upon Japan’s qualified human resources.
(Reference 1) The Government of Japan’s support for African PKO training centers
Since 2008 the Government of Japan has provided support worth approximately 36.1 million U.S. dollars to PKO training centers in 11 locations in Africa (Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Benin, Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon and Ethiopia (two locations)). The Government of Japan undertakes facilities reconstruction, the supply of equipment such as computers, training and other initiatives. Where the dispatch of personnel is concerned, it has previously dispatched a total of 30 Japanese personnel to centers in Kenya, Ghana, Mali, Cameroon, Egypt and South Africa.
(Reference 2) The Government of Japan’s support for the Ethiopian International Peace Keeping Training Centre (EIPKTC)
The EIPKTC was set up in 2013 with the goal of enhancing capacities for peacekeeping activities in the region, under the control of the Ministry of National Defense of Ethiopia. It is scheduled to carry out training in disarmament, security sector reform, small arms and election-monitoring for domestic and foreign personnel as well as personnel from the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) and the African Union (AU).
In fiscal 2012 the Government of Japan decided to provide 790,000 U.S. dollars in assistance via the Japan-UNDP Partnership Fund toward the construction of a lecture theatre and to develop the Conflict Prevention, Management and Post-Conflict Recovery Course.
BANJUL, Gambia, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Women Advancement Forum (WAF) (http://www.womenadvancementforum.com) is Africa’s most attended gender conference. WAF is a platform which recognizes the obvious fact that women advancement and empowerment is amongst the most outstanding agent to the actualization of millennium development goals (MDGS) and even beyond. Building on the success of the first and second conferences which took place in Berlin, Germany and Johannesburg, South Africa in 2010 and 2013 respectively has the simple goal to create an advanced platform for the formulation of strategic and realistic approach to women socio-economic and political advancement and emancipation.
Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/waf.png
Photo 1: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/dsc_0365.jpg (Her Excellency, Mrs Olufunso Amosun, First Lady, Ogun State, Nigeria, last year at the Women Advancement Forum 2013)
Photo 2: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/dsc_0448.jpg (Her Excellency, Mrs Olufunso Amosun, First Lady, Ogun State, Nigeria, with Hon. Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay, former speaker of The Gambia parliament, last year at the Women Advancement Forum 2013)
Photo 3: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/img_1815.jpg (The Women Advancement Forum 2013 was a great success)
Watch the video: http://youtu.be/zYUkaL5QCPs
The participants will be drawn from presidents, first ladies, ministers, business women and men, entrepreneurs, women in politics, wife of public and political office holders, women advocacy groups, professional/career women, African women in Diaspora amongst others.
WAF Conference Director, Mr. Charles Chikezie revealed at a press briefing and presentation of a formal invitation to the government and people of the host country, The Gambia through Rt. Hon. Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay, former speaker of The Gambia parliament in Banjul that notable women business chambers, civil society organisation, media and other organisation from Africa and around the world are in partnership with Women Advancement Forum for WAF 2014 & Awards. Amongst these the organisations are WomenPartner.org, Foundation for the Development of Africa (FDA), NewsAfrica.co.uk, ECOWAS-Federation of Business Women and Entrepreneurs (ECOWAS-FEBWE), BusinessWomen’s Association of South Africa, Africa Heritage Society, American Chamber of Commerce Gambia, South African Congress of Non-Profit Making Organisations, White Ribbon for Safe Motherhood Int’l, UPLIFT Development Foundation, The Rivers Foundation, Leading Women of Africa, BrandWorld TV, National Council for Women Societies, NACCIMA-Business Women Organisation of Nigeria, Women in Logistics & Transport, amongst others.
WAF-mdg AWARD:
On WAF-mdg Award, he also explained that the WAF-mdg Awards program recognizes, celebrates, and honors achievements in socio-economic and political empowerment, advancement of women, as well as inspiring and motivating young women/girl-child. This award has a unique value; therefore offers the opportunity to honor distinguished women from Africa and around the world. Among the women nominated for the award includes, Her Excellency Mrs. Zineb Yahya Jammeh, First Lady The Gambia, Madame Marieme Sall, First Lady, Senegal, Dr. Lebohang Pheko, President, Business Women Association of South Africa, Hajiya Sa’adiya Abdullahi Dikko, President of Customs Officers’ Wives Association (COWA) amongst others
EXPECTED PARTICIPANTS:
It is expected that WAF-2014 & Awards will host over 500 participants amongst whom will include:
•Female Presidents/Heads of State l Female Governors/Mayor/Premier/Municipal/Local Government Chairpersons l First Ladies (Wife of Presidents/Heads of Government/Vice President/Governors/Deputy Governors) l Wife of (Senate President/Deputy Senate President, Heads of Parliament/Speakers/Deputy Speaker of the parliament, Chief Justices, Secretary to the Federal Government l Female Speaker/Deputy Speaker of the parliament l Female Speaker/Deputy Speaker of State/Regional/Municipal/Local Government legislative l Minister/Commission for Gender (Women & Youth Affairs) l Female Minister/Commissioner/Councilor & Deputy Female Ministers/Permanent Secretaries l Wife of (Mayor/Premier/Secretary to the Federal/National Government/Secretary to the State Government (SSG)/Hon. Minister/Hon. Commissioners/Municipal/Local Government Chairman/Head of Service/ Special Adviser/Public office holders l Women/Gender Advocacy Groups l Wife of Political Party office holder/Executive member l Women in business, politics, banking, insurance, engineering, maritime & aviation, transport & logistics, law & judiciary, power & energy, oil & gas, manufacturing & commerce, public/civil service and professional/career women l Staff & board members of international agencies l Female Senators, Legislators, Directors in the public/private sector l Head of Service, SSG, Permanent Secretaries, Judges, Special Advisers, Legal Officers l Chairperson/Female board members of Ministries/Departments/Agencies (MDAs) l CEO/Managing Director/General Manager/Directors in the private sector l Female political party board of trustees members, national/state/local government women leader of political parties, Directors of Women Affairs of all political parties l NGOs/Every woman
2014 WAF presents special features:
a. African Women in Diaspora moment
b. Exhibition
c. Road-show/Solidarity match against “Violence Against Women”
Participation Fee: USD$1200/person (Economy Seat) l USD$1950/person (VIP Seat)
Women Advancement Forum (WAF) is unique and will remain a unique platform for deliberations and formulation of actions plans on MDGs. It will be moments of inspiration, motivation, empowerment, advancement, emancipation and fun.
Feel free to visit forum website: http://www.womenadvancementforum.com for more information.
CONTACT DETAILS:
For participation, sponsorship, exhibition and partnership feel free to contact Charles Chikezie at +27 11 0574977 +27 10 or +27 83 7850 397 or e-mail: info@womenadvancementforum.com
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We will be delighted to welcome you to our “Think Gender” forum; expect great things in the city of Banjul at WAF 2014! (http://www.womenadvancementforum.com)
BANGUI, Central African Republic, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Opening remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay at a press conference during her mission to the Central African Republic
Sadly, the situation in the Central African Republic is very different from when I last visited the country in February 2010. I will not attempt to run through all the very grave human rights problems facing CAR. Instead, I will focus on a few of the key issues that have emerged during my two days of discussions here in Bangui with, among others, the Head of State of the Transition, the Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, civil society organizations, and the humanitarian agencies who are here in force trying to deal with the complex emergency afflicting much of the country. I also met with a number of diplomats, and with the Head of the African Union peacekeeping force MISCA, as well as the force commanders of both MISCA and the French military force, known as Sangaris.
The situation in the Central African Republic is dire. Although large-scale killings of the type that took place in December and January appear to have halted for the time being, primarily because of the presence of the MISCA and Sangaris in known hot spots, people continue to be killed on a daily basis, especially by the anti-Balaka groups. Around 15,000 Muslims are reportedly trapped in Bangui and other areas in the North, North-West and South of the country, protected by international forces, but nevertheless in an extremely dangerous and untenable situation.
The inter-communal hatred remains at a terrifying level, as evidenced by the extraordinarily vicious nature of the killings. This has become a country where people are not just killed, they are tortured, mutilated, burned and dismembered – sometimes by spontaneous mobs as well as by organized groups of armed fighters. Children have been decapitated, and we know of at least four cases where the killers have eaten the flesh of their victims. I was shown gruesome photographs of one of those cases yesterday by one of the civil society organizations that have been courageously attempting to document violations.
According to both civil society organizations and UN agencies, rape and sexual violence is on the increase, especially in the camps for the internally displaced. Two districts of the capital – PK 5 and PK 12 – remain no-go zones, with trapped Muslim populations. The other Muslims who used to live in Bangui have virtually all fled, as have the inhabitants of many other towns and villages – many of them partially or totally destroyed – across the western half of the country. There remain many tens of thousands of non-Muslim internally displaced persons (IDPs) as well, mostly victims of the Seleka. The anti-Balaka, who originally came into existence as a reaction to the depredations of the Seleka, are now metamorphosing into criminal gangs who, in addition to continuing to hunt down Muslims, are also starting to prey on Christians and other non-Muslims.
MISCA, the Sangaris and the humanitarian agencies are grappling with enormous problems, as well as with terrible dilemmas such as choosing between unwillingly aiding the “cleansing” of trapped Muslim populations, or leaving them – against their will – in places where they are in real danger of being slaughtered en masse.
The economy has collapsed, health care is virtually non-existent in many areas, as is education. As the Executive Director of the World Food Programme Ertharin Cousin pointed out here just yesterday, there is also a food crisis, with food security threatened by lack of funding, difficulties of access and a long rainy season likely to start in just a few weeks time.
The senior members of the transitional Government were extremely frank and open about the gargantuan task they face. The State’s top leadership told me there is, in effect, no State: no coherent national army, no police, no justice system, hardly anywhere to detain criminals and no means of charging, prosecuting or convicting them. The so-called ‘penal chain’ is not only missing links, it is not functioning at all.
The country’s only major prison, re-opened recently here in Bangui, has already experienced two very serious incidents: on one occasion, a mob burst in and lynched four Muslim prisoners. Then, two weeks ago, nine prisoners escaped – allegedly with the collusion of some of those charged with guarding them. Elsewhere, people apprehended with blood on their machetes and severed body parts in their hands, have been allowed to go free, because there is nowhere to detain them, and no means to charge them with the crimes they have clearly committed.
It was highly symbolic that, during my meeting with the Minister of Justice yesterday, there was no power. Although the lights eventually came back on, she described how she doesn’t even have computers to record data concerning arrests, how prosecutors are threatened and at least one magistrate has been assassinated. There is, as a result, almost total impunity, no justice, no law and order apart from that provided by foreign troops. We discussed the possibility of bringing in some foreign judges and magistrates to help their local counterparts kick-start the justice system.
Everyone I have met has focused on the urgent need to restore law and order – particularly through deployment of trained police and gendarmes. However, with so few resources available even to pay their salaries, there seems to be little in the way of serious planning to ensure this not only happens, but happens quickly.
Over the past nine months, I have sent three different monitoring teams to CAR to document the human rights violations that have been taking place, and deficits that exist, and I am currently helping to reinforce the capacity of the human rights component in BINUCA, as well as providing support to the Commission of Inquiry on CAR which was set up by the Security Council in December and is now on the ground and operational. I have urged all my interlocutors to do their utmost to assist this very important body, which will play a key role in establishing accountability for the worst violations that have occurred since the beginning of the current crisis.
My monitoring team’s most recent report, filed yesterday after a visit to Bambari, 350 kilometres north-east of Bangui, highlights some rare good news: the so-called ‘Bambari exception.’ After the 5 December mass killings in Bangui, which then spread rapidly to other areas, Muslim and Christian religious leaders in Bambari made strenuous joint efforts to prevent divisions emerging among the town’s mixed population, including by broadcasting messages of tolerance on the local radio station. In addition the town’s current military leader has removed most weapons and taken a series of measures to reassure both communities, and has also repelled more radical ex-Seleka elements who tried to enter Bambari. Nevertheless the situation there remains very fragile and nearby towns and villages have fared less well.
More positive signs include yesterday afternoon’s discussions in the Transitional Parliament, during which some Members of Parliament (MPs), in their interaction with the Minister of Justice placed a strong focus on the need for human rights, and spelled out precisely what some of those key rights are, including everyone’s right to life. This important and lengthy debate was broadcast live on the country’s main radio station.
I believe there need to be many more such highly visible efforts by national and local politicians and officials to ram home the message that human rights violations and rampant crime will no longer be tolerated; that all sectors of society, including minorities, have equal rights; and that reconciliation is vital for everyone if the country is to recover. In that regard, I was glad to learn from the Prime Minister that the Transitional Government is setting up both a Reconciliation Commission and a Permanent Commission on Dialogue.
He also committed to expediting the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission. National Human Rights Commissions are important independent bodies with specific powers, governed by an international set of standards, known as the Paris Principles, and I offered the services of my Office to help the Government ensure it is of a high standard from the outset.
But specific institutions such as these will find it very difficult to operate unless law and order and the justice system are restored, and displaced populations are able to swiftly return and rebuild their houses and their lives in full confidence that they will be properly protected by the State. There will be no political solution until these conditions are fulfilled.
The Central African Republic is paying a very heavy price for 50 years of extraordinarily bad governance. With fertile soil and valuable mineral resources, it should be rich. Instead, even before the current disaster, it was one of the poorest countries in the world. A country that, despite many rivers, and a lengthy rainy season, is still having to buy drinking water from its neighbours.
Amid the current catastrophe, there is a golden opportunity that must not be squandered. The Transitional Government must not only act decisively to ensure that the foundations of a new and healthier State are put in place, it must also act to ensure that the old order of corrupt governance does not re-emerge. It should not depend entirely on the international community to fill all the vacuums because if it does, there will never be a full recovery.
That said, I am deeply concerned by the slow response of the international community. The vital humanitarian aid effort is deplorably under-funded, with only 20 percent of requirements met so far. Human rights NGOs do not even have means of transport to travel to the countryside to find out what is going on. I urge States to respond quickly to the Secretary-General’s appeal for a fully equipped force of 10,000 international peacekeepers and 2,000 police. In my meetings with MISCA and the Sangaris I have stressed the need for both current and future peacekeeping forces to abide by human rights, which will entail careful training and monitoring by commanders and contributing States.
In short, although CAR has received international attention, that attention is far from commensurate with the needs, and pales by comparison with other situations where international interventions have proved largely successful. Creating an effective justice system, prisons, police forces and other key State institutions, virtually from scratch, is a massive and complex enterprise that cannot be done on the cheap. The international community seems to have forgotten some of the lessons it learned in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Kosovo and East Timor – to mention just a few.
Civil society organizations told me they rang the alarm bells long before the crisis turned into a calamity, but nobody listened. Despite some improvements on the security front, the alarm bells are still ringing. If we get it wrong again, by failing to support this country wholeheartedly in its time of need, we risk decades of instability and the creation of a new and fertile breeding ground for religious extremism, not just in CAR but in the wider region.
I cannot help thinking that if the Central African Republic were not a poor country hidden away in the heart of Africa, the terrible events that have taken place – and continue to take place –would have stimulated a far stronger and more dynamic reaction by the outside world. How many more children have to be decapitated, how many more women and girls will be raped, how many more acts of cannibalism must there be, before we really sit up and pay attention?
Thank you.
GENEVA, Switzerland, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Cameroonian Martin Chungong has been elected as the new Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the first African to hold the post in its125-year history.
A record attendance of IPU Members made their choice on the closing day of the 130th IPU Assembly in Geneva.
Chungong, who is the current IPU Deputy Secretary General, will take over from Anders B. Johnsson who officially retires at the end of his fourth mandate on 30th June this year.
Chungong had worked in the Cameroonian parliament for14 years before joining IPU in 1993. His career at the Organization has focused on developing and leading programmes aimed at strengthening parliaments by being more modern, representative and effective institutions that are better able to fulfill their democratic mandate.
“This is a truly exciting time to take on this challenge. Issues relating to peace and democracy are at the heart of many of the major issues facing the world today,” says Chungong. “People everywhere are demanding more from their political representatives and from their parliaments in a rapidly evolving age. My commitment is to help parliaments meet this challenge head on.”
The Secretary General elect ran against two other candidates – Shazia Z. Rafi (Pakistan), former Secretary General of Parliamentarians for Global Action and Geert Versnick, former Belgian MP.
He speaks fluent English and French as well as Cameroonian dialects.
Chungong will be IPU’s eighth Secretary General since the Organization was created in 1889. All previous incumbents have been Europeans.
JUBA, South Sudan, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The first torrential rains of the season have left large parts of Tomping camp, Juba, under water, worsening the already unacceptable living conditions for more than 25,000 people packed into the camp. Last week, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was forced to temporarily suspend medical activities at its clinic in the camp due to the flooding.
Stagnant water, severe overcrowding, inadequate drainage and a dire shortage of functional latrines, all create ideal conditions for the spread of diarrhoeal diseases and skin infections. This is particularly worrying given the rainy season has not yet officially started. The MSF team was already treating large numbers of patients suffering from diarrhoea, malaria and respiratory infections, illnesses that will only surge with the coming rains.
“This downpour is just a preview of what is to come,” says Carolina Lopez, MSF emergency coordinator. “The full rainy season starts soon and is always accompanied by a huge spike in malaria cases. Add this to the already precarious living conditions in the camp and it is clear the risk for outbreaks is high. The sanitation conditions in the camp must urgently be improved to avoid a disastrous situation.”
More than 25,000 people sought refuge in the grounds of the UNMISS compound in Juba after intense fighting broke out between government and opposition forces throughout the country in December.
The rain has flooded nearly 20 percent of the area allocated for the displaced people, leaving their makeshift shelters under water and destroying their few belongings.
“I lived on the other side of the road, one of the areas completely under water today,” says a young displaced man. “I lost my shelter. The only things I managed to keep fit in my bag. I wonder where I can sleep at night.”
The deluge also destroyed approximately 150 latrines, a serious problem given that the number of latrines was already well below what is required in the camp. An area out aside for the construction of new sanitary facilities has now been occupied by people from the flooded areas of the camp who are seeking drier ground. People have also relocated onto the road, causing severe congestion and restricting the movement of vehicles.
“The major problem is the lack of space, now made worse by the flooding,” says Lopez. “People are forced to live on top of each other in extremely cramped and unsanitary conditions.”
The overcrowding and flooding also hinders organisations from providing much needed assistance. MSF’s clinic in Tomping camp was partly flooded last Thursday. “The team spent more than two hours cleaning up the clinic before starting to work,” continues Lopez. “But around noon, the incessant rain forced us to stop consultations for a number of hours, leaving hundreds of people without medical care that day. Since then we have adapted the configuration of the clinic and raised the sunken flooded area in order to deal with the next inevitable rains.”
GENEVA, Switzerland, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — More than two million head of livestock belonging to almost 140,000 families in the Agadez and Tillabéry areas of the north and west of Niger have been treated in a major vaccination and deworming campaign. The undertaking, begun in January by Niger’s veterinary authorities with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Red Cross Society of Niger, has just ended.
“By reducing the risk of an epidemic, we are helping to preserve the main source of income of communities that are primarily dependent on livestock farming,” said Jean-Nicolas Marti, head of the ICRC delegation in Niger.
In these arid zones, stricken by conflict in the past and still suffering a persistent lack of security and the effects of conflict situations in certain neighbouring countries, the economic balance remains fragile. Many herders and their livestock now in the Tillabéry area were pushed by the conflict and recent intercommunal tensions in Mali to cross the border into Niger, which has put further pressure on resources there.
“These areas are also subject to adverse weather conditions. This year, the rains have again been inadequate, which has increased the strain on grazing and water resources,” said Mathew Kenyanjui, head of the ICRC’s veterinary activities in Niger. “The vaccinations will protect the health, and therefore the market value, of the animals, which will give herders the option of bartering them for grain.”
This is the third consecutive year that such a campaign has been undertaken in Niger. The ICRC’s support consists in providing medicines, supplies, veterinary equipment and training, paying the allowances of 155 animal-health workers, and making available some 50 vehicles and fuel.
The operation extends into other nearby countries, such as Mali and Burkina Faso. In 2013, it reached more than four million animals in Niger, 3.5 million in northern Mali and nearly 200,000 in northern Burkina Faso.
CAPE-TOWN, South-Africa, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Authorities in Swaziland should immediately release Bheki Makhubu, editor of the independent newsmagazine The Nation, and Thulani Maseko, a human rights lawyer, who were impr…
BAMAKO, Mali, March 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Christian Josz, visited Bamako from March 6 to 19 for discussions in preparation of the first review of the government’s economic program supported under the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) approved in December 2013.
The mission met with Oumar Tatam Ly, Prime Minister; Ms. Bouaré Fily Sissoko, Minister of Economy and Finance; Frankaly Keita, Minister of Energy and Water; Madani Touré, Deputy Minister for Budget; Malick Alhousseini, Deputy Minister for Decentralization; Moustapha Ben Barka, Deputy Minister for Investment Promotion and Private Initiative; Konzo Traoré, National Director, Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO); and representatives from the National Assembly, civil society, unions, the private sector, and Mali’s development partners.
At the conclusion of the mission, Mr. Josz issued the following statement:
“During 2013, Mali emerged from the political and security crisis of 2012. The manufacturing and service sectors rebounded by 6 and 9 percent, respectively, owing to an improvement in the security situation, the success of the presidential and legislative elections, and the resumption of donor support. However, the agricultural sector contracted by 7 percent because of unfavorable rainfall and a weaker harvest after the bumper crop in 2012. As a result, the mission estimates that real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by only 1.7 percent compared to the 5.1 percent anticipated six months ago. In 2014, assuming the next harvest turns out average, real GDP should grow by 6.5 percent. Average inflation in 2013 was slightly negative (-0.6 percent), but in 2014 the poor harvest may push it above 3 percent.
“Mali’s performance under the economic program supported by the IMF’s ECF is on track, with the exception of tax revenue, which, in 2013, was 5 percent lower than programmed. The tax revenue underperformance is explained in part by lower gold prices and weaknesses in tax administration. The mission notes that the revenue shortfall in 2013 was compensated by an under-execution of the budget. Thanks to this prudent policy the fiscal balance targets for 2013 were met. Public financial management reforms are on track. The mission welcomes the steps that the government has already taken to strengthen management at the tax administration and limit tax exemptions, with the objective of safeguarding its objective of raising tax revenue by 0.5 percent of GDP in 2014.
“The mission welcomes the Government’s intention to present to the National Assembly a corrective budget for 2014. This will replace the 2014 budget as the basis for the ECF program. It integrates additional external aid as well as several new spending items. The mission supports this budget, which targets a global deficit of 5 percent of GDP, financed largely with donor support, and for the rest in the regional financial market. The mission also welcomes the strengthening of structural reforms, notably those aimed at improving revenue collection.
“Discussions are well advanced and will continue in two weeks in Washington during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings. The aim is for the IMF Executive Board to discuss the review in June 2014.
“The mission would like to thank the authorities for the excellent organization, the provision of ample information, and the frank and fruitful discussions.”
