Faced with crises such as the problem of an armed Tuareg rebellion in the remote north, a moribund education sector and soaring staple food prices, the Malian government is fighting hard to overcome various challenges and provide a better life for its people.
"Like many countries of the world, Mali is today suffering from the effects of the skyrocketing global crude oil prices. The increase in fuel prices simply means an increase in the prices of everything. And any Third World country would find it difficult to resolve such a problem," Moussa Keita, an economist was quoted as saying recently.
"In Mali, the price of everything... water and electricity bills, construction materials, staple foods such as cereals, milk, oil, meat, has gone up," said Keita, who teaches economics at the University of Bamako.
The economist, who was speaking during a media interview, urged "Malians to take it upon themselves to reduce the crushing burden by reexamining their lifestyles" instead of remaining "hostage" to the current situation.
In Mali, a coalition bringing together the civil society, labor unions, consumer associations and various other social organizations has been threatening mass action to press the government to find the "best possible solution to the food and fuel crisis."
Addressing a recent press conference on the anniversary of his accession to the presidency of the republic, Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure said that "the high cost of living was one of the major challenges facing African countries and particularly Mali."
The head of state outlined the "tremendous efforts" that his government had made to reduce the cost of living for the ordinary people, noting that the "payroll moved from 97.4 billion CFA francs (about 229.6 million U.S. dollars) in 2002 to a whooping 168.3 billion CFA francs in 2008."
"It will be necessary to multiply the initiatives to respond to the crisis of cereal. We have granted tax exemptions to several traders in the country, so that they can in turn make cereals more affordable," said the president, adding that Mali was "endowed with enormous potential for agriculture."
"The area around the Niger Office, in the central delta of the Niger River, has a potential of 2.2 million hectares, but for more than 50 years, we have not been able to exploit over half of it," said the Malian head of state.
"We are going to multiply contacts with our external partners to find a solution to the exploitation of all cultivable areas in the country. This will enable Mali to reposition itself as true breadbasket for the African continent," he said.
The Malian government is currently implementing a response initiative drawn from the agriculture component of the Program of Economic and Social Development of the President of the Republic (ESDP).
With the ESDP and the Rice Initiative, which are spearheaded by Prime Minister Modibo Sidibe, the Mali government will ensure self-sufficiency in food production very quickly, said Moussa Guindo, an engineer in rural economy.
"The aim of these initiatives is to gradually achieve that the country produces up to 10 million tons of grains by 2012," said the rural economy engineer, adding that this was well within the country's reach.
"If everything goes as planned, we will produce 4.5 million tons of cereals this year," Malian Agriculture Minister Tiemoko Sangare said recently, noting that the government road map envisages a net grain surplus of nearly 900,000 tones.
Source:Xinhua
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