Mali derives 70 percent of its revenue from gold, reports said on Thursday.
However, gold does not shine brightly enough for many Malians who are waiting to feel the benefits of these resources in their daily lives.
According to the National Director of Geology and Mines, Cheick Fanta Mady Keita, who spoke to the general news daily ‘Le Republicain,’ announced that “gold represents 70 percent of Mali’s revenue at present.” Mali is the third largest gold producer in Africa with 71 tonnes produced behind Ghana and Burkina Faso. The gold sector is the leading source of government revenue, with 600 billion CFA francs, he said. According to the geological and mining engineer, this has enabled the government to build infrastructure in the areas of health, transport and the environment.
The sector is vital for the country’s economy, especially after the embargo by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). It represents more than one million jobs, 7 percent of GDP, a quarter of the state budget and three quarters of exports.
Aware of the stakes, the new transitional authorities want to get more out of this sector by pushing the operating companies to pay more to the Malian state. “We are all Malians, we are trying to do more to make this gold shine for us,” Cheick Fanta Mady Keita said.
The Malian state is pushing the mining companies to do even more by playing on the taxes. This is a way of restoring a little balance in the contracts signed, which often give the lion’s share to these foreign companies. The country has also become, with the crisis in the Sahel, a hub for gold trafficking to neighboring countries, such as Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.
The new mining code signed in 2019, tries to restore the balance by emphasizing local content. “We said with equal capacity, equal competence, when there is a market between a foreigner and a Malian, we must give the market to the Malian company and I tell you, we must check, in many mines currently. It is Malian subcontracting companies that are operating in these mines. And the money generated by this will stay in Mali,” Cheick Fanty Mady Keita added.
This local content, he said, “will allow us to make this gold shine more brightly for Mali. At this level, the new authorities are trying to explore other supply chains in the mining sector in order to insert Malian companies,” he concluded.
CD/fss/abj/APA