Mali

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September 2021

In September, the TFWA Program provided computer equipment (PCAX8-2), software, and services to Malian Customs to support the operationalization of SIGMAT. A handover ceremony was held at the General Directorate of Customs in Bamako to mark the occasion. High-level stakeholders in attendance included representatives of Customs, the European Union, the World Bank Group, GIZ, and the Technical Unit for Business Climate Reforms.

Following speeches by representatives of GIZ and the Deputy Director General of Malian Customs, the equipment ownership documents were officially handed over to Customs. The equipment was appraised and accepted, starting an important new chapter for trade in and out of Mali.

SIGMAT is a Customs interconnection tool that uses information technology to facilitate trade, transport, and the free movement of goods across the region. The TFWA Program is supporting the SIGMAT rollout and will continue enhancing collaborations between stakeholders in the trade facilitation ecosystem. It also streamlines the movement of goods across various corridors in the region by providing digital, accurate information to Customs offices about cargo in transit from one state to another. The technology allows traders to exchange information with customs and other control agencies electronically. It uses risk-based assessments to limit physical inspections to only a small percentage of shipments, thus reducing customs clearance times.

August 2021

A tripartite meeting was held between freight forwarders, the World Bank, and GIZ on August 8, 2021 as part of the TFWA Program’s implementation of SIGMAT on Mali's service corridors. Under the chairmanship of Baba Traoré, the head of the Federation of Customs Agents, the agenda focused on two main points:

1. Identifying issues noticed by freight forwarders related to the operationalization of SIGMAT; and
2. Proposing support measures to reduce impacts on customs agent activities at the border.

To start the meeting, the president reiterated the benefits that will result from the implementation of SIGMAT. These include simplified procedures for Customs’ clearance of goods, improving costs and transit times. The SIGMAT system also creates more transparency and confidence between the public and private sectors while increasing gains on both sides.

Obvious challenges have been identified and relate to technical and practical issues in the transit of goods. Measures are underway at the Customs level to strengthen the capacity of freight forwarders by better equipping them to participate in the SIGMAT process. A communique is being drafted to Customs authorities to summarize the issues regarding the imminent operationalization of SIGMAT in Mali. The meeting also addressed the following topics:

• A FETRAM mission will visit Burkina-Faso to learn from the experiences gained during the operationalization of SIGMAT on the Abidjan-Ouagadougou corridor;
• The need to increase awareness and information on SIGMAT within the federation; and
• The need to propose a technical note that clearly outlines the requirements and accompanying measures requested.

July 2021

On July 15, 2021, the 44th report on the Observation of Abnormal Practices (OPA) was presented in the conference room of the Conseil National du Patronat du Mali (CNPM). The workshop was chaired by Mr. Mama Djenepo, Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. The workshop was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Commerce and Internal Security, as well as by:

• Customized departments and agencies of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure;
• Representatives of professional associations;
• A representative of the National Transition Council;
• Representatives of technical and financial partners (GIZ and World Bank), and local authorities; and
• Journalists and representatives of the Ministry of Security.

Following the discussion, some priorities were identified and key recommendations were made, namely:

• Introducing facilitation missions on service corridors;
• Creating large truck parking lots at the border crossings;
• Associating the National Road Administration with OPA's operations;
• Developing a national business case for decision making;
• Numbering the checkpoints and security posts;
• Raising drivers' awareness of community texts; and
• Addressing road safety issues.

April 2021

Training on the Interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) was held for 145 customs officers and about 50 freight forwarders in Mali. The training began on March 29 and ended on April 10, lasting two weeks and taking place on two TFWA Program corridors—Dakar-Bamako (Kati-Kayes-Diboli) and Abidjan-Bamako (Bamako/Faladié- Sikasso-Zégoua).

In line with theTFWA Program’s objective to improve the efficient flow of trade on these corridors, this training allowed customs agents and freight forwarders from the main offices to become skilled and informed on the application of SIGMAT. Following this training effort, SIGMAT’s operationalization on these two service corridors is imminent.

March 2021

From March 16 to March 18, GIZ hosted training sessions at the Regional Chamber of Commerce and in the multipurpose room of the Kayes City Hall in Mali. The objective of these trainings was to strengthen the managerial capacities of 100 women entrepreneurs (small traders) from the Dakar-Bamako corridor through the implementation of a training module in business management adapted to their needs and focused on accessing markets and financing.

Within the framework of the implementation of the ECOWAS Regional Program for Trade Facilitation, a partnership contract has been established between the Technical Unit for Business Climate Reforms (CTRCA), GIZ/TFWA Program, and APIX in Senegal to improve the business climate along the Dakar-Bamako corridor. A joint committee bringing together the Malian and Senegalese parties has been established to ensure the actions selected are properly implemented and to confirm that both parties’ commitments are fulfilled.

Among other things, the CTRCA is responsible for ensuring the effective and coherent implementation of the program’s action plan on the national level, and also for ensuring the support of all stakeholders from the government authorities, the private sector, and civil society. To this end, the CTRCA has agreed to carry out joint activities with the Project for the Formalization of Retail Trade Actors (PROFAC) to strengthen the managerial capacity of women entrepreneurs operating on the Dakar-Bamako corridor.

March 2021

In March, members of Malian Customs’ SIGMAT project team met with members of the Bureau of the National Federation of Freight Forwarders of Mali (FETRAM) to discuss the launch of a SIGMT Mali communications campaign. During the meeting, FETRAM offered to issue a manifest for SIGMAT operationalization to the Customs Directorate, confirming its commitment to trade facilitation and accompanying trade measures. For optimal cooperation, FETRAM also recommended that Customs further explain the SIGMAT mechanisms to forwarding agents in subsequent meetings.

The Regional Customs Network for Transit Trade—or SIGMAT, for short—is a Customs Interconnection Project that aims to use information technology to facilitate trade, transport, and the free movement of goods within the region.

It offers huge benefits to governments, financial institutions, and the private sector by paving the way for shared information, data in real time, reduced waiting times, and increased revenue thanks to reductions in transit and transportation costs.

The TFWA Program is exploring how to support communications efforts around SIGMAT and has agreed to help launch, promote, and publicize SIGMAT in Mali. The TFWA Program aims to build visibility and recognition of the SIGMAT project among decision-makers, economic operators, and the general public by supporting the implementation of a national communications plan. The program will also continue enhancing collaboration between stakeholders in the Malian trade facilitation ecosystem and looks forward to launching SIGMAT across additional markets in West Africa.

February 2021

As part of the implementation of its work plan, in particular the component relating to the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation, the TFWA Program has initiated discussions with the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) in Mali. These discussions led to the organization of five training sessions between December 11, 2020 and February 24, 2021. These sessions are the first since the establishment of the NTFC-Mali by Inter-ministerial Order N-0934/MCC/MEF/MT-SG of April 5, 2009.

All five sessions focused on presenting the TFWA Program’s Maturity Model and the self-evaluation of NTFC-Mali based on that Maturity Model. Three virtual sessions, facilitated remotely by the TFWA Program, focused on the presentation of the Maturity Model, its stages, and the technicalities of the self-assessment. The two face-to-face trainings were focused on the practical exercise of the NTFC self-assessment. These two sessions took place at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment Promotion on February 17 and 18, 2021.

The workshops aimed to support the NTFC-Mali by:

1. Identifying a benchmark of progress in relation to its level of maturity;
2. Supporting the operationalization of its mandate through the conception and development of an action plan; and
3. Regularly monitoring the progress of the maturity level.

The training was attended by all NTFC members, including a Ministry of Women representative.

It was highly appreciated by the audience and enabled participants to:

• Assess the founding text of the NTFC-Mali in relation to standard and good practices in this area;
• Propose corrective actions so that the NTFC-Mali can meet the standards, in particular: the clarification of the mandate of the Permanent Secretariat, the constitution of the NTFC’s working groups, the inclusion of gender CSOs, and the creation of an exchange link between the AfCFTA and Doing Business; and
• Assess the level of effort to be provided at each stage of the Maturity Model.

The next steps are:

• Consolidate the NTFC-Mali self-assessment report and transmit it to the TFWA Program;
• Develop and enact new text incorporating the proposed corrective actions for NTFC-Mali;
• Develop an action plan, which is validated and assessed; and
• Draft an annual activity program, including the provision of technical assistance needed to operationalize and strengthen the NTFC in Mali.

December 2020

From November 30 to December 4, 2020, the training of trainers on the Interconnected Management System of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) was held in the meeting room of the general directorate of customs of Mali. The training was attended by many directors including the customs deputy director, customs administration central directors and customs staff, presidents of the freight forwarders associations of Mali, and the president of the Mali customs union.

Hosted in Bamako, the main objective of the workshops was to provide adequate training to around twenty customs technicians that will then be responsible for building capacity of Malian customs staff throughout the country. The ultimate goal is to use these trained ambassadors to make SIGMAT operational in all goods transit and destination offices.

By the end of this first training session, attendees obtained extensive knowledge of SIGMAT and the application system for computer agents and system technicians.

This will allow the customs administrators to:

• Share information and data in real time;
• Improve waiting times;
• Increase revenue by reducing transit and transport costs;
• Increase customs revenues; and
• Facilitate and secure international trade.

The next step will be to extend the training to other customs officers throughout the country. This next stage will build capacity with customs agents and customs brokers at the main pilot sites prior to the launch of SIGMAT on the Bamako-Dakar and Bamako-Abidjan corridors. Looking forward, these sites include the towns of Diboly, Kayes, and Kati on the Dakar-Bamako corridor, and Zégoua, Sikasso, and Bamako/Faladié on the Abidjan-Bamako corridor.

November 2020

Following the inaugural meeting of the National Monitoring Committee (NAC) in February, The TFWA Program convened a workshop with Senegalese and Malian project partners to present the Dakar-Bamako Logistics Strategy. The strategy used a data-driven approach to reveal the underlying flow and pattern of goods along this important trade corridor. Additionally, the strategy outlined how infrastructure could be developed to support and improve trade flow. In fact, previous TFWA Program diagnostics, such as the Corridor Assessment Report and the Small-Scale Cross-Border Trader Survey, had highlighted how longer transit times along corridors greatly affect trade facilitation and economic opportunities.

Aware of the key regional and national issues at stake with improved infrastructure, both Mali and Senegal were receptive to the TFWA Program’s presentation and findings. As a result, these markets could explore reopening discussions on the location of the dry port. This strategy, if jointly applied, could enable more targeted and cohesive infrastructural planning and reforms—progress in line with the TFWA Program’s second component, which stives to promote the efficient and improved movement of goods along selected corridors.

February 2020

From February 17 to 20, the TFWA Program hosted a successful bilateral meeting between IT experts from Senegalese and Malian customs to advance activities required for the Interconnection of their IT systems (SIGMAT-GAINDE). Held in Dakar, representatives from the Senegal and Mali Management Committee of the Dakar-Bamako Corridor participated in the four-day session, as did Senegal’s Customs Director General. Representatives from the Chambers of Commerce from both Mali and Senegal were also invited to attend, though only one representative from Mali came to the meetings.

Both customs IT teams have been proactively supporting implementation, using a chronogram of activities to guide their work. During the meeting, attendees discussed these activities in an effort to advance the interconnection agenda. The meeting also provided an opportunity to show that GIZ and the World Bank are working jointly to implement this project.

Looking forward, GIZ and the World Bank will continue to work together to ensure proper support under the TFWA Program umbrella. As next steps, based on their chronograms, customs in both countries need to provide formation, communication, and sensitization efforts to field staff. Per the current situation, the customs agencies are trying to deliver these efforts virtually. Additionally, GIZ is responsible for delivering the equipment required in support of this effort.

February 2020

On February 7, the first meeting of the National Monitoring Committee for the ‘Improving the Competitiveness of the Dakar-Bamako Corridor Project’—a project that falls within the framework of the TFWA Program—took place. The meeting focused on reviewing and validating the joint committee's plan of action while also planning priority activities arising from the plan.

A number of influential stakeholders attended the meeting, including representatives from the Ministry of Investment Promotion Private, Small and Medium Enterprises, and National Entrepreneurship. The meeting provided an opportunity for attendees to outline deadlines for each activity to be implemented. As a result of this meeting, some of the activities listed in the work plan were reformulated, paving a clear path for implementation. Additionally, meeting participants agreed to insert a new activity—relating to the ECOWAS brown map—into the work plan. Meeting attendees agreed that the TFWA Program team would serve as the plan’s next reviewer, with a view to inserting activities from its Dakar-Bamako corridor action plan.