Programme to Support Local Authorities in Mali (PACT IV and PACT V-I)
Context
The conflict in Mali from 2012 to 2013 has shaken the country’s reputation as a consolidated democracy. However, it also turned out that the municipalities, as democratically legitimized institutions at the local level, contributed to the country’s stability because they remained largely functional and continued to provide public services. The Malian government is therefore focusing on deepening decentralization and transferring more competencies to the regions. This should promote dialogue and reconciliation between the population groups and help overcome the crisis. Among the national mechanism set up to support Local Authorities in the exercise of their powers, ANICT (Agence Nationale d’Investissement des Collectivites Territoriales) is the financial instrument of this mechanism, with the main missions, among others, of receiving and allocating to the Territorial Communities the subsidies intended for the realization of their investments, under their project management; Help Local Authorities to develop local services provided to their residents through the construction of facilities; Guarantee the loans contracted by Territorial Communities to finance their investments with high potential for return on investment; Ensure the financial and accounting management of the National Fund for the Support of Territorial Communities (FNACT).
Project description
The aim of the nationwide project PACT is to improve the socio-economic conditions of the population of the beneficiary local authorities. The key activity of PACT IV lies in the financing of essential infrastructures in the Ségou and Mopti regions and socio-economic infrastructures in the Mopti and Timbuktu regions (DEBACOM). Those measures are accompanied by activities to assist the Contracting Authority of the territorial authorities. The objective of the PACT V programme is to support the decentralization process in Mali by preserving the financial leeway of territorial authorities to ensure their provision of basic social services to citizens as well as maintaining and strengthening the functioning of the national transfer FNACT. Apart from the co-management of funds, the key activity of the technical assistance is to implement accompanying measures for ANICT.
Services
AMBERO’s consulting services within the consortium with GOPA Infra aim to ensure that both programmes are managed according to the Separate Agreement to the Project Financing and Execution Contract while the focus of its intervention is the PACT V-I programme.
This comprises in particular the support to ANICT concerning the management of the project in accordance with the rules of the German financial cooperation taking into account the environmental and social standards, in particular through the support to the financial management of the project. Within this context, the consortium also supports ANICT in improving its system for the monitoring and evaluation of investments for the benefit of local authorities; in the actualization, consolidation and validation of the FNACT procedural manual together with assistance to ANICT in awarding contracts according to national rules and the rules of German financial cooperation; facilitation of communication between ANICT and KfW regarding requests for non-objection; assistance to ANICT regarding requests for information, preparation of missions, etc.
In addition, AMBERO is responsible for the implementation of the accompanying measures to ANICT included in PACT V-I:
- Support to the monitoring and evaluation division,
- Support to the IT and communication division,
- Support to the implementation of corrective actions following the recommendations of CICT-FNACT,
- Assistance to the project owner as well as conflict management around FNACT investments
- Collaboration and harmonization of interventions with the German technical cooperation and other PTFs co-financing FNACT.
Finally, AMBERO provides the main technical backstopping for both programmes.
