Activists in civil society, including international lobbying group Avaaz -started campaigning in order to push the Malian government taking sanctions against high official figures reportedly involved in bribery and dubious transactions. The suspected personalities, who were not mentioned in two audit reports, are supposed to have taken illegal interests in public expenditures.
According to Mohammed Bathily, a civil society activist, several ministers related to the Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita must step down as they are involved in alleged over-invoicing.
“The president must dismiss all the ministers and high political figures involved in the bribery,” Bathily told AFKInsider.
In the final version of his report released in early November, Mali general auditor Amadou Toure said illegal procedure surrounded the purchase of a new presidential aircraft, as well as a contract of military equipment for the Malian army. Bathily said more than $30 million is missing because of operations linked to those transactions, which had motivated the suspension of budgetary aid by international donors including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank group and the European Union.
Meanwhile, the World Bank announced on November 19 the approval of budgetary aid to the Malian government, ending a long period of suspension since last June. Yet, the Malian authorities must take legal actions against official figures involved in the bribery before next December, according to the IMF.
The monetary institution’s decision to end budgetary support to Mali is due in the same month of a meeting to take place in Washington D.C. The audit report on the purchase of a second Malian presidential aircraft contains concerning information that are shocking Malian citizens.
According to auditors at the general auditor’s office, the Malian government launched a research mandate on December 22, 2013 to recruit an advisor who would be in charge of purchasing the aircraft.
The first shocking fact comes from how the advisor has been recruited and the possible connections with the mafia (of Europe). The private company Sky Color, which has been selected is registered in Hong Kong with a mobile phone number of Gabon, said the opposition party Parena in a communiqué released on November 4.
Linking bribery to mafia
Sky Color ‘s representative, Marc Gaffajoli, is the manager of Afrijet, a private aircraft company owned by Michel Tomi who is a French national investigated for money laundering and other economic crimes.
“Michel Tomi is nicknamed Le parrain (which means the Godfather) by French journalists because of his links with illegal activities and the mafia”, Checkna Sylla, a Malian journalist, told AFKInsider.
According to Sylla, Tomi’s now being investigated in France for attempting to corrupt a foreign public agent who is the Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita; and the case is linked to the bribery revealed by the Malian audit report.
“The Malian government signed a contract to by a Boeing 737 with a company (Akira Investment Limited)registered in the West Indies, but that company was represented by Marc Kaffajoly of Sky Color”, Sylla said.
The audit report reveals that Akira Investment is a fake company created in order to benefit Malian public money through the purchase of the new presidential aircraft. But many citizens wonder how the Malian president will cope with this scandal, as it involves ministers and many other personalities close to the president’s family.
The former minister of defense Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said, in a testimony documented in the general auditor’s report, that all the dubious transactions have been monitored by a young minister who is also a nephew of the president. At least two ministers who are related to president Keita are suspected to have received money from the transactions, according to local media.
Towards an international court
The popular campaign denouncing corruption is mobilizing individuals who would like the IMF to continue putting pressure on the Malian authorities. The Initiative for Change in Mali and Africa, which is a civil society observatory, is inviting organizations including the unions to join the drive against bribery.
On November 8, in a conference on the issue, the observatory called on to the Malian president to make anti-bribery a priority. They made a declaration inviting the government to take urgent measures for a judiciary procedure, hoping to sanction all individuals involved in the alleged tune, even those living abroad.
“The observatory also wants an international court to take actions against those involved in the bribery. I agree with that because this kind of economic crime endangers development in Africa”, Ousmane Barry, an activist told AFKInsider.
The campaign against corruption is reaching international audiences, as Avaaz, one of the largest civil society groups launched recently a worldwide campaign to pressure the Malian government for action. According to Sylla, Avaaz aims to back the petition of a Malian national living in Canada in his decision to sue those who are involved in the bribery. It also aims to put pressure on the Malian authorities who didn’t yet decide to sanction the suspected officials, in accordance with the national legislation.
Civil society activists fear that those who are involved in the bribery escape judiciary actions, as they may be protected by authorities. According to Barry, only an international pressure can push the Malian president who seems to be unable to take sanctions against some of his most important allies and relatives.
