NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SLOWLY RAMPING UP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000697

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2019
TAGS: PGOV EAID PREL ML
SUBJECT: NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SLOWLY RAMPING UP
PROGRAMS

Classified By: PolCouns Peter Newman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) The Northern Mali Development Agency (ADN) announced
in July 2009 the start of its economic reinsertion program
for Northern Malian youth who were participants in the
2006 rebellion. The program is starting with CFA 1.1 billion
(USD 2.4 million) of a total CFA 22.6 billion (USD 50.2
million) projected to be spent over the next five years. The
current extensive grant review process, however, may make it
difficult for northerners to fully take advantage of the
funds. ADN Director Mohammed ag Mahmoud has called on donors
to increase development activities in the north in support of
this program as well as other ADN development activities,
such as microfinance and small dam projects.


2. (SBU) The ADN announced in July 2009 it would begin
disbursing funds for its economic reinsertion program for
youth in northern Mali. ADN Director Mohamed ag Mahmoud
recently told the Embassy he expects this and other programs
should start to have a concrete impact in northern Mali in
the near future. The reinsertion program will target
micro-enterprises and other small-scale social and economic
activities. The program currently has CFA 1.1 billion (USD
2.4 million) to be allocated as small grants selected through
competition. A total of CFA 22.6 billion (USD 50.2 million)
is slated to be disbursed through this program over the next
five years. Kidal will receive authorization for 4,000
projects, Gao will receive 3,000, and Timbuktu will receive
3,000. The program will be launched in Kidal first and then
expanded to Gao and Timbuktu. Projects have a ceiling of CFA
700,000 (USD 1,555) and require an association of at least
ten beneficiaries per grant.


3. (C) Ag Mahmoud explained that to submit an application for
a grant, each beneficiary must present his/her birth
certificate, certificate of residency, and official register
of their association. This could present problems, since
many people who live in the interior of Mali do not have
birth certificates. If a person is older than 18 , he/she
must go to court in the main town of the cercle (county) in
which he/she lives to process the paperwork through a judge.
Once the applicants complete their initial paperwork, the
dossier must pass through several layers, first going to the
mayor of the collectivity, then to the county prefect, then
to a commission that includes representatives from local
councils and civil society, then to the governor of the
region, and finally to the regional office of the ADN for
final approval. Ag Mahmoud estimates that the entire process
will take an average of two months, which seems optimistic.


4. (C) Members of the Alliance for Development and Change
(ADC) -- the rebel group that started the 2006 rebellion --
have argued for a streamlined process whereby local groups,
still subject to the documentary requirements outlined above,
would be able to apply for grants directly to the regional
office of the ADN. Ag Mahmoud explained the longer process
was necessary to weed out fraudulent and unfeasible projects.
Additionally, he mentioned that town councils insisted on
the longer process so as to have a greater role in selecting
the projects and had sought support from the European Union
(and Western European embassies) in this cause.


5. (SBU) Although the reinsertion payments are the most
visible, the microcredit and infrastructure development
projects could produce the greatest benefit for the northern
communities. The ADN currently has two microcredit bureaus
in Kidal and five in Timbuktu. It plans to open four in Gao
in the next year. Each bureau is supposed to have CFA 60
million (USD 133,333) start-up capital and will raise further
funds through interest charges and by accepting savings
deposits. To date, Ag Mahmoud claims the loan failure rate
has only been two percent, even at the current 12 percent
interest rate.


6. (SBU) The ADN also plans to build eight small dams in
Kidal to tame the seasonal rivers that provide most of the
water to the sparse pasturelands of the region. Five sites
have been designated. Because underground spring water is
scarce in Kidal, Ag Mahmoud believes that creating small
reservoirs behind these dams could significantly improve the
water supply. To augment these projects, the ADN plans to
provide CFA 7 billion (USD 15.6 million) to the Kidal
Regional Assembly for additional infrastructure development.


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7. (C) Ag Mahmoud said that the GOM and the northern regions
have a negative perception of what they see as Western
donors' excessive focus on security affairs. To achieve
long-term stability in Northern Mali, he asserted, the youth
needed to be given options beyond smuggling. Increased
investment in education and infrastructure is needed to give
youth some hope of a better life. He contended the northern
regions of Mali are safe for development work, as reflected
in the UNDP's upgrading of Kidal's security rating from Zone
3 to Zone 2, and called upon the United States and other
donors to reengage in development programs in the north.
MILOVANOVIC