Democracy and Development in Mali

Dimensions of Decentralization in Mali

Dimensions of Decentralization in Mali DAVID RAWSON The Drive to Decentralize I n 1991, Mali's revolutionary elite met at the National Conference to set out the boundaries of the new national order. The conference report concluded in part that the previous administration was inefficient, incompetent, and oblivious to the needs of the nation, that state intervention in rural areas had only reinforced central power, and that existing notions of decentralization followed the logic of neocolonial administration. As a cure to these ills, the National Conference recommended: • A redefinition of the mission and structures of territorial administration, • Transfer of competencies to decentralized structures in order to promote real development, • The redefinition of local collectivities, territorial collectivities, and territorial public establishments in harmony with the new political context on the one hand and the activity and interests of concerned populations on the other hand. (Italics added.) The National Conference wanted radical change in the way state business was conducted across the territory. It called for "the abandonment of that type of administration" that did not respond to the requirements of a new "democratic and multiparty" Mali. Building this new Mali required "the purging of the command structure of territorial administration before electoral consultation," and the "reorganization of territorial administration.'" This essay argues that "the new political context" constituted the driving force behind the formulation of a framework for decentralization over the past five years and that the evolving nature of this political context constitutes the greatest challenge to implementation of the decentralization effort. 265 266 DAVID RAWSON But as Mali continues to rebuild its domestic foundations, several questions remain. Will the revolutionary coalition that called for decentralization six years ago hold to its vision? Will real authority and adequate resources devolve to new local authorities? Will Bamako dictate what local authorities may decide, as traditionally done, or will a new spirit of collaboration and constitutional participation evolve between the center and localities? The answers to these questions will have to await the pounding out of political grist within the mortar of Malian history. Historical Perspectives on Decentralization Malian scholars have recently emphasized the decentralized nature of Malian patterns of governance. The major political constructions in Malian history "are, of their essence, decentralized," claims Tinge Coulibaly.2 Within Mande politics, says Mody Sissoko, decentralized institutions resisted all unifying movements "by the nature of things."3 Policymakers also evoke the vibrancy of village life, the deference which precolonial and colonial empires paid to village or canton chiefs, and the counterweight which custom and religion offered against central authority. Many argue that the empowerment of localities will restore an equilibrium long recognized in Malian administrative patterns.4 Malian history is replete with authoritarianism and centralizing tendencies as well as village governance and customary checks and balances. Understanding these historic institutions contributes to our comprehension of the current decentralizing dynamic, especially as Malian leaders seek legitimization in history for a decentralized future. Malian history is rich with well-known precedents for decentralization. Al Umari noted that Ghanaian kings gave autonomy to gold-producing areas because when they tried to extend authority over those areas, "the gold there begins to decrease."s In a similar vein, the division of labor within the occupational caste system of Mande society and Mali empire guaranteed rights and autonomy to persons within customary trade specialties. Throughout Sahelian history, traders, building on relations of confidence rather than force, established commercial networks that transcended political domain and contro1.6 Custom and council in Sudanic courts also limited autocratic tendencies. AI-Idrisi describes a practice among Ghanaian kings of "keeping close to the people and upholding justice among them," in which king awaits the assembly of his counselors before riding at their head through the streets where "anyone who has suffered injustice or misfortune confronts him and stays there until the wrong is remedied."7 Al Bakri tells us of blind old Basi who exercised his DIMENSIONS OF DECENTRALIZATION IN MALI 267 "love of justice" through the advice whispered by his ministers.s Even Ibn Battuta's descriptions of elaborate ritual at Mansa Sulayman's council underscores the importance of his deputy Qanja, Dugha the interpreter, and the farari elders (each with his followers) in assuring access to the sultan and in upholding a system characterized by a "lack of oppression.,,9 Religious communities also provided an alternative to the rapacious centralizing tendencies of the ruler's court. The epic of...