Mali is reinforcing its commitment to professionalize public procurement processes through a high-level seminar held from June 16 to 20, 2025.
Organized by the Malian Prime Minister’s Office in collaboration with the Regulatory Authority for Public Procurement and Public Service Delegations (ARMDS), the initiative aims to enhance skills and promote transparency in public procurement management.
The seminar targets key officials from the Prime Minister’s and Defense Ministers’ offices, the General Secretariat of the Government, and the Prime Minister’s Office’s Administrative and Financial Directorate. Its primary objective is to strengthen expertise across all phases of public procurement, including awarding, execution, monitoring, and dispute resolution.
ARMDS, established by law in 2008, plays a central role in regulating Mali’s public procurement system. Its mandate covers training, policy definition, ex ante and ex post control, management of non-judicial appeals, and regional cooperation within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). This seminar is part of a broader national plan by ARMDS to enhance the skills of both public and private stakeholders involved in public procurement. For instance, a 2021 program included eight sessions in the Kayes region, engaging 166 participants from the private sector and contracting authorities, underscoring the national scope of these efforts.
Official figures highlight the significant financial implications of public procurement in Mali: in 2020, 5,229 contracts totaling 501.7 billion CFA francs were recorded. This substantial volume necessitates rigorous management, adherence to procedures, and transparency. The ongoing seminar is exploring the evolution of national and EU legal frameworks, detailing tendering and evaluation stages, and promoting mastery of monitoring, control, and dispute resolution tools. Special attention is being given to the newly launched digital public procurement portal, designed to improve transparency and real-time tracking.
This initiative aligns with Mali’s broader modernization and digitalization strategy, aiming to replace outdated, opaque practices with traceable online procedures accessible to a wide range of stakeholders, including future bidders and contractors. ARMDS ensures compliance with UEMOA directives and community texts, contributing significantly to national economic governance, with a reform implementation rate estimated at 86% in 2021. Despite some internal challenges, including past concerns about the legality of interim decisions due to the absence of a duly appointed executive secretary in July 2024, the current momentum seeks to restore the institution’s legitimacy and effectiveness.
This seminar reflects Mali’s ambition for professionalization, transparency, and ethics in the management of public funds, fully justifying the investment in training and digital tools. Future challenges identified by ARMDS include the widespread adoption of the electronic portal, systematic publication of calls for tenders, evaluation of the national system using the MAPS tool, and strengthening regional regulation. This trajectory offers valuable lessons for other countries with similar ambitions.
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