Political Risk:
Very High
Score:
32/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
42/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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According to the constitution, the parliament (National Assembly), determines the fundamental principles and general organisation of the defence and security sector². It also approves…
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In parliament, the military budget is first examined by the Defence and Security Committee. The CDSPC invites the directors of all the main divisions…
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There is no evidence that the military undermines parliamentary scrutiny of defence policy. However, the fact that the CDSPC is chaired by the president’s…
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Q2
46/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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Mali has a Defence and Security Committee (CDSPC) tasked with overseeing and scrutinising defence issues. The CDSPC examines the annual defence budget. The committee…
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The committee comprises 14 members. Six different political parties are represented on the commission: RPM, Adéma-PASJ, PARENA, ASMA, SADI and the UM-RDA.⁶ Of the…
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Mali has a Defence and Security Committee (CDSPC) tasked with overseeing and scrutinising defence issues. The CDSPC and the National Assembly debated and scrutinised…
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The committee occasionally issues amendments to budgets and recommendations, but not on a regular basis. The committee can propose amendments to defence legislation (including…
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There is no evidence that the committee conducts or commissions any long-term investigations into defence matters. This was confirmed by a member of the…
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Ministries sometimes incorporate recommendations into practice, but not regularly. The president’s son heads up the committee and thus there is limited scope for the…
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Q3
50/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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The government has adopted a formal defence and security policy. It began with the Supreme Defence Council adopting a draft National Defence and Security…
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The LOPM clearly outlines the problems facing the army and elucidates the five-year spending plan. The legislation stipulates that the equipment purchased and the…
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As part of the ‘Accord Pour la Paix et la Reconciliation au Mali’, the government has created local consultative security committees to discuss the…
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The majority of media coverage of the detailed plans within the LOPM came after the law was passed, indicating that public debate did not…
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Q4
42/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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There is no evidence of the existence of formal or informal policies that require state organisations to be open towards CSOs on matters of…
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The constitution provides for freedom of association (without detailed protection provisions), although the law prohibits associations deemed immoral. CSOs and media organisations are generally…
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Defence and security institutions are seeking (or are beginning to seek) CSO engagement from a range of CSOs, but not on corruption issues. At…
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Q5
63/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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The country has yet to industrialise and thus does not have any kind of domestic defence manufacturing industry to speak of. It does not…
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In 2014, the government enacted a law that requires all civil servants, including military personnel, to declare their assets.² ⁴ However, members of parliament…
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Q6
88/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Given the country’s long-running security crisis and the capitulation of the Malian armed forces in 2012, defence remains a hot topic in the media…
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As part of the ‘Accord Pour la Paix et la Reconciliation au Mali’, the government has created local consultative security committees to discuss the…
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Q7
0/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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The present government has taken measures to combat corruption, but has not formulated a dedicated plan as such. In 2014, the government enacted a…
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Mali does not have an anti-corruption policy that applies to the defence sector. Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable.
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Q8
25/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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A senior security governance professional told the assessor that the Inspector General of the armed forces has a constitutional mandate to conduct audits of…
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. The current Inspector General, Ibrahim Dahirou Dembélé, was appointed in…
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As highlighted in 8A, the Inspector General does not have an explicit mandate to tackle corruption, meaning that the position is largely ineffective in…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. There is no public trust. Here is one example of the public’s widespread view…
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Q10
0/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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In 2014, the Minister of Economy and Finance and the Minister of Justice and Human Rights requested that the IMF conduct an assessment of…
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There is no regular schedule for risk assessments. Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable.
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No risk assessments were conducted after 2014. Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable.
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Defence Budgets
Q11
33/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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The LOPM provides for USD2.3 billion of investment for the armed forces and is set to recruit an additional 10,000 personnel between 2015 and…
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The military in Mali holds a highly privileged position compared with other sectors when determining the allocation of resources. Arms acquisition requests are required…
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A member of the National Assembly’s Defence and Security Committee told the assessor that not only did the CDSPC scrutinise the LOPM, but that…
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Q12
75/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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The 2018 budget contains a superficial breakdown of defence spending into various categories: personnel, materials and functioning, travel and operations, communications and energy, other…
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The Malian fiscal year runs from January to December. The 2018 budget, which provides a basic breakdown of proposed annual defence spending, was published…
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Q13
63/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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In parliament, the military budget is first examined by the Defence and Security Committee. The CDSPC invites the directors of all the main divisions…
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SIPRI’s study in 2006 found that “there is little evidence that the process of budgeting is either transparent or consultative. State budgeting is still…
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Q14
42/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The two most recent finalised defence budgets have been made publically available and widely published by domestic media. Detailed figures are provided, but explanations…
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The 2018 budget contains a breakdown of defence spending into various categories: personnel, materials and functioning, travel and operations, communications and energy, other expenses,…
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The US Department of State determines that the Malian government generally affords citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media, access to government information.¹ It notes,…
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Q15
0/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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SIPRI’s report from 2006 notes that the use of off-budget income to supplement defence spending is routine.¹ The Malian armed and security forces have…
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There are several internal and external bodies tasked with auditing the finances of the Defence Ministry (see Q16). However, there is no evidence that…
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The failure of the government to publish accounts of the income derived by the Ministry of Defence from participating in projects such as peacekeeping…
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Q16
6/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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According to the World Bank’s 2013 report on financial management in Mali’s security forces, Mali’s expenditure chain is highly formalised, but provides little autonomy…
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Officially, the authorities should exercise control on aspects of public administration related to the management of public resources. There are three categories of control:…
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The World Bank stresses that the Bureau du Vérificateur Général (BVG), created in 2004, has never carried out a compliance verification with the Ministry…
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The absence of any meaningful or regular internal or external audits, as shown in 16A, 16B and 16C, indicates that the ministry is not…
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Q17
0/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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As noted in Q16, Mali’s military and internal security forces are in practice not subject to external oversight. All of the external monitoring bodies…
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Mali’s military and internal security forces are in practice not subject to external oversight. All of the external monitoring bodies avoid using their oversight…
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Mali’s military and internal security forces are in practice not subject to external oversight. All of the external monitoring bodies avoid using their oversight…
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Mali’s military and internal security forces are in practice not subject to external oversight. All of the external monitoring bodies avoid using their oversight…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
40/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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The assessor finds no legislation that explicitly outlaws military personnel from holding financial interests in natural resources exploitation. However, the 1961 Penal Code (amended…
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There is evidence that the armed forces generate revenues from commercial activities, but these do not include the exploitation of natural resources.¹ The armed…
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The assessor finds no legislation that explicitly outlaws military personnel from holding financial interests in natural resources exploitation. There is no mention of military…
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The absence of any legal framework relating to the potential financial involvement of defence institutions or security personnel in the extractives sector renders any…
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The absence of any legal framework relating to the potential financial involvement of defence institutions or security personnel in the extractives sector means that…
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Organised Crime
Q19
25/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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Q20
0/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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There is no unit within the national police force that deals with organised crime and corruption within defence services. The Ministry of Internal Security…
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As indicated in 20A, there is no evidence to indicate that there is a unit within the national police force to deal with corruption…
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As indicated in 20A, there is no evidence to indicate that there is a unit within the national police force to deal with corruption…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
0/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The budget of the armed and security forces does not include the DGSE, the country’s main intelligence service.¹ It is unclear whether the budget…
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There is no standing parliamentary committee vested with any responsibility or power for overseeing DGSE operations, organisation, budget or activities.⁵ A member of the…
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Q22
0/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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Mali’s intelligence service, the Direction Generale de la Sécurité d’Etat (DGSE), is primarily involved in counter-terrorism operations and works with French intelligence services.³ ⁴…
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In 2013, shortly after his election, President Keita appointed Colonel Moussa Diawara as the Director General of the DGSE. Diawara previously served as IBK’s…
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There is no information in the public domain relating to the nature of any vetting process in place for senior intelligence appointments. To appoint…
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Export Controls
Q23
100/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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Mali voted for the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), signed on 3 June 2013, and ratified it on 6 December 2013 (1).
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It has complied with each of the three ATT articles it is required to. Mali does not manufacture or officially export arms. It is…
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Mali does not manufacture arms for export, thus there is no precedent of parliament deliberating an upcoming sale of arms by the state. Therefore,…
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Lobbying in Defence
Mali has no framework for regulating lobbying activity of defence institutions.
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Mali has no framework for regulating lobbying activity of defence institutions. Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable.
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Mali has no framework for regulating lobbying activity of defence institutions. Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable.
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Mali has no framework for regulating lobbying activity of defence institutions. Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable.
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