Mali: Paris "regrets" the ban on NGOs funded by France
View of Bamako, the capital of Mali, on August 9, 2018. (Illustrative image) REUTERS / Luc Gnago
Text by: David Baché
2 mins
Two days after the immediate ban on NGOs operating in Mali with funding or with the material or technical support of France, including in the humanitarian field, France deplores this Wednesday, November 23 "
a decision which comes to the detriment of the population Malian
”.
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Since 2013, official development assistance from France to Mali has represented more than 100 million euros per year.
Last February, most of this aid had already been cut by France, which had put an end to the funding sent directly to the Malian state.
A French diplomatic source explains that this decision was taken "
to prevent this money from being used to pay the Russian group Wagner, but also to prevent the Malian government from taking advantage of certain achievements in the eyes of the people
" when it is France, which had become the pet peeve of the transitional authorities, which would have financed them.
It is precisely for this reason that, in its press release published Monday evening, the Malian government describes the suspension of French development aid as a “
non-event
”.
Last month,
Paris decided to cut another part of its aid
: funds devoted to development and feeding not the Malian budget, but NGOs working in Mali, whether French - there are about forty of them -, Malian or other nationalities.
Some of these organizations are funded through embassy projects, others through the French Development Agency (AFD), and still others through other NGOs with whom they work in partnership or as subcontractors. .
Still from a diplomatic source, this share of French aid to Mali represents around twenty million euros each year.
Emergency humanitarian aid, around 10 million euros, had to be maintained.
Bamako decided otherwise, in the name of national sovereignty and the defense of the vital interests of the populations.
The French authorities indicate that they are in contact with the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to better understand the terms of application of this decision.
In the meantime, Paris recommends that French NGOs present in Mali respect Bamako's decision and suspend their activities.
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To read also: Mali: the junta prohibits the activities of NGOs funded by France
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