Mali: EITI provides steady guide to policy amid political instability

Mali’s sixth report on the mining sector, covering 2012, is a piece of continuity amid the unrest of the past months. Increased armed violence marked 2014, while 2015 started with a power shakeup when the Prime Minister was replaced and the government resigned. Even the EITI itself has seen interruptions: 2014 saw both a new national coordinator and a new Mining Minister, the latter was a strong supporter of the EITI.

Despite these challenges, Mali’s EITI process continues in full force, providing a forum for debate and an instrument for increasing transparency and accountability in the key mining industry.

The 2012 report should provide the new government with a sound instrument for its policies, through which some key challenges need to be addressed, such as an economy heavily dependent on gold mining, limited visible benefits of mining, and a government facing institutional weaknesses.

The EITI report identifies and explains a number of additional challenges, such as those facing the artisanal mining sector. Furthermore, it highlights detailed information on payments received by the government in 2012, which totalled US $471 million (an increase of 10.8% compared to 2011 figures), but also provides the legal and fiscal context, indications of reserves, a list of all exploration and exploitation license holders, and provides access to mining contracts.

For more information about the EITI in Mali, see http://www.itie.mines.gouv.ml/ and visit their country page on our website.

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"Mali: EITI provides steady guide to policy amid political instability" was published by on eiti.org on 15 January 2015.