2022 Fiscal Transparency Report: Mali

Government-by-Government Assessments: Mali

During the review period, the transition government made its executive budget proposal, enacted budget, and end-of-year report available online within a reasonable period.  Information on debt obligations was publicly available, except state-owned enterprise debt.  Publicly available budget documents provided a substantially complete picture of the transition government’s planned expenditures and revenue streams, including natural resource revenues.  However, the transition government maintained off-budget accounts not subject to adequate audit or oversight.  Information regarding allocations to and earnings from state-owned enterprises was lacking.  The information in the budget was considered broadly reliable, and significant deviations from projections were described in publicly available revised estimates.  The transition government did not have a unified supreme audit institution that met international standards of independence.  Its audit institutions reviewed the transition government’s accounts, but audits did not cover the entire annual executed budget and were not published within a reasonable period.  The transition government specified in law and appeared to follow in practice the criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts and licenses.  Basic information on natural resource extraction awards was publicly available.

Mali’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:

• Subjecting off-budget accounts to regular audit and oversight;
• Detailing allocations to, earnings from, and debts of state-owned enterprises;
• Establishing a single supreme audit institution that meets international standards of independence; and
• Ensuring audits cover the entire annual executed budget; and
• Publishing audits within a reasonable period.