VZCZCXRO3809
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0697/01 3021700
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291700Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0839
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0691
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK//DOAM//

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. 
 
 
BAMAKO 00000697  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶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