2012 Mali Citizens Budget Brochure
This document, produced in 2012, provides an example of a graphical Citizens Budget.

Francophone Africa: Open Budget Survey 2021
The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is an assessment of fiscal transparency, public participation and formal oversight in the budget process across a range of countries, conducted every two years.
This brief focuses on the OBS performance of a number of countries in Francophone Africa, where Benin is a leader in budget transparency although some of its neighbors are struggling to make progress. Several coups and other governance challenges have threatened progress in the region. Download the report in French and English.
Mali
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Transparency
39
out of 100
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Public Participation
6
out of 100
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Budget Oversight
39
out of 100
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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]IBP considers countries that score above 60 on the Open Budget Index as providing sufficient budget information to enable the public to engage in budget discussions in an informed manner. IBP considers countries scoring above 60 on participation and oversight as providing adequate opportunities for the public to participate in the budget process and providing adequate oversight practices, respectively.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”white” border_width=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section el_id=”transparency”][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Transparency (Open Budget Index)
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39
out of 100
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Mali provides the public with minimal budget information.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][rrj_bar_chart title=”How Has the Open Budget Index Score Changed Over Time?” labels=”2010;2012;2015; 2017″ datasets=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Score%20(out%20of%20100)%22%2C%22tooltips_format%22%3A%22%7By%7D%22%2C%22values%22%3A%2235%3B%5Ct43%3B%5Ct46%3B%5Ct39%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22%23a1a14e%22%2C%22bar_bg%22%3A%22plain%22%7D%5D” cat_per=”50″ legend=”” tooltip_mode=”nearest” title_align=”left” title_tag=”h5″ axes_color=”#333333″ axis_zero=”yes” jsoptions=”e3NjYWxlczogewogICAgICAgIHlBeGVzOiBbewogICAgICAgICAgICB0aWNrczogewogICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgbWF4OiAxMDAsIAogICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgbWluOiAwLAogICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgc3RlcFNpemU6IDEwLAogICAgICAgICAgICB9CiAgICAgICAgfV0KICAgIH0KfQo=” css=”.vc_custom_1520356799429{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Recommendations for Improving Transparency
Mali should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Publish a Mid-Year Review and a Year-End Report online.
- Publish a Pre-Budget Statement online in a timely manner.
- Produce and publish an Audit Report.
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Public Participation
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text el_class=”country-summary-score”]
6
out of 100
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Mali provides few opportunities for the public to engage in the budget process.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column width=”1/2″ el_class=”country-summary”][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Global%20Average%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2212%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Benin%22%2C%22value%22%3A%229%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congo%22%2C%22value%22%3A%229%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Cameroon%22%2C%22value%22%3A%227%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Mali%22%2C%22value%22%3A%226%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23ff7a22%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Senegal%22%2C%22value%22%3A%222%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Chad%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22C%C3%B4te%20d%E2%80%99Ivoire%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Burkina%20Faso%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Niger%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%5D” bgcolor=”custom” title=”How Does Public Participation Compare to Other Countries in the Region?” units=”/100″ el_class=”country-summary” custombgcolor=”#ffffff” customtxtcolor=”#333333″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Recommendations for Improving Participation
Mali should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in its budget process:
- Pilot mechanisms for members of the public and executive branch officials to exchange views on national budget matters during both the formulation of the national budget and the monitoring of its implementation. These mechanisms could build on innovations, such as participatory budgeting and social audits. For examples of such mechanisms, see fiscaltransparency.net/mechanisms.
- Hold legislative hearings on the formulation of the annual budget, during which members of the public or civil society organizations can testify.
- Establish formal mechanisms for the public to participate in relevant audit investigations.
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Budget Oversight (by Legislature & Audit)
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39
out of 100
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]The legislature and supreme audit institution in Mali provide weak oversight of the budget.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Formulation%2FApproval%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2243%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Execution%2FAudit%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%5D” bgcolor=”custom” title=”To What Extent Does the Legislature Provide Budget Oversight?” units=”/100″ el_class=”country-summary” custombgcolor=”#ffffff” customtxtcolor=”#333333″][vc_column_text]The legislature provides weak oversight during the budget cycle. This score reflects that the legislature provides limited oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and weak oversight during the implementation stage of the budget cycle.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Limited%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2250%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%5D” bgcolor=”custom” title=”To What Extent Does the Supreme Audit Institution Provide Budget Oversight?” units=”/100″ el_class=”country-summary” custombgcolor=”#ffffff” customtxtcolor=”#333333″][vc_column_text]
The supreme audit institution provides limited budget oversight.
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Recommendations for Improving Oversight
Mali should prioritize the following actions to make budget oversight more effective:
- Ensure the legislature holds a debate on budget policy prior to the tabling of the Executive’s Budget Proposal and approves recommendations for the upcoming budget.
- In practice, ensure the legislature is consulted before the executive shifts funds between administrative units specified in the Enacted Budget during the budget year, spends any unanticipated revenue, or reduces spending due to revenue shortfalls.
- Ensure the supreme audit institution has adequate funding to perform its duties, as determined by an independent body (e.g., the legislature or judiciary).
- Consider setting up an independent fiscal institution.
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Learn More
The information on this page presents a partial country summary. For more detailed information, please download:
- Mali Open Budget Survey 2017 Country Summary – English
- Mali Open Budget Survey 2017 Country Summary – French
- Mali Open Budget Survey 2017 Questionnaire
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Mali
Transparency (Open Budget Index) 46/100
The Government of Mali provides the public with limited budget information.
Public Participation 4/100
The Government of Mali is weak in providing the public with opportunities to engage in the budget process.
Budget Oversight
By legislature 70/100
Budget oversight by the legislature in Mali is adequate.
By auditor 50/100
Budget oversight by the supreme institution audit in Mali is limited.
Recommendations
Improving Transparency
Mali should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Publish a Year-End Report.
- Produce and publish a Mid-Year Review and an Audit Report.
- Increase the comprehensiveness of the Executive’s Budget Proposal by presenting more detailed data on debt and interest for the budget year and more information on macroeconomic forecasts.
Improving Participation
Mali should prioritize the following actions to improve budget participation:
- Establish credible and effective mechanisms (i.e., public hearings, surveys, focus groups) for capturing a range of public perspectives on budget matters.
- Hold legislative hearings on the budgets of specific ministries, departments, and agencies as well as on audit reports at which testimony from the public is heard.
- Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist the supreme audit institution to formulate its audit program and participate in audit investigations.
Improving Oversight
Mali should prioritize the following actions to strengthen budget oversight:
- In both law and practice, ensure the legislature is consulted prior to the spending of contingency funds that were not identified in the Enacted Budget.
- Ensure the supreme audit institution has adequate funding to perform its duties, as determined by an independent body (e.g., the legislature or judiciary).
- Establish a system of quality control for the supreme audit institution.