Mali’s decentralisation plan risks deepening divisions

Subject

Mali's decentralisation proposal.

Significance

In October, Mali’s government reintroduced a controversial plan to reorganise the way the country is administered. The proposal is eliciting widespread criticism and controversy.

Impacts

• The decentralisation debate will highlight the deep lack of domestic consensus among Malians about how to solve the country’s problems.
• The plan may weaken the president, as southerners criticise it as a giveaway to northern interests while northerners remain dissatisfied.
• Decentralisation could reduce the territory controlled by Algiers Accord signatories and give territory to non-signatory northern actors.
• Decentralisation could empower narco-traffickers in the north, increasing their ability to capture or influence regional political offices.