Thirty experts carried out an audit mission, the provisional report of which was submitted yesterday to the Head of State. At the end of several months of work, they made recommendations to enable our country to derive greater benefit from mining activity.
Expert Team Draws Attention To Urgency To Repatriate Gold Export Currencies
The government has chosen the Iventus and Mozar Group, following an international call for tenders, to conduct an audit mission of gold mines in activity according to decree n ° 0316 / PT-RM of June 3, 2022. The restitution of the results of the provisional report of this mission was made yesterday at the Koulouba Palace. The ceremony, which took place behind closed doors, was chaired by the President of the Transition, Colonel Assimi Goïta. It was in the presence of Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga and several members of the government, including the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alousséni Sanou.
At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Economy and Finance recalled that during the National Assembly for Refoundation (ANR), the participants asked themselves the question if gold really shines for our country. This is why, he said, the Head of State instructed him, in conjunction with his colleague in charge of Mines, to carry out all the reflections that should lead to giving a clear idea of what he must be done so that gold can benefit our compatriots. “It is within this framework that we made an open international call for tenders which was won by the Malian firm Iventus in collaboration with Mazar. There are 15 gold mines in operation in Mali. These firms had to work with all of these 15 mines,” explained the head of the Department of Economy and Finance, adding that the firms chosen were supported by a technical team based within his ministry.
At the end of this iterative work in various periodical meetings, this team drew up a provisional report which was submitted to the President of the Transition. In this document, underlined Minister Sanou, mention is made of certain elements which can make it possible to improve the mining sector.
The experts mentioned the review of the Mining Code, the deadline for mining contracts, the significant evolution of the price of gold.
In this regard, the Minister in charge of the Economy indicated that the first mining conventions were signed when gold was between 300 and 400 dollars an ounce. These days, he reported, the yellow metal hovers around $2,000 an ounce. Added to this are the multiple exemptions granted to these extractive companies. Among these, fuel, corporate taxes. “Local content is 0.1%. Around us, some countries are at 1%”, noted Minister Sanou, arguing that there are things to improve to allow our country to benefit from more significant spinoffs from mining activity. He announced a plan to implement all the recommendations from this report.
For his part, the coordinator of the audit mission, Mamou Touré, revealed that around thirty experts worked for months on the document. The finding, he said, the state has found itself in tracks where the law has not been enforced. There are improvements to be made on the methods, advocated the expert, suggesting institutional reforms so that the gold shines for all Malians. “The most urgent thing to put in place is also the repatriation of gold export currencies,” strongly recommended the head of the mission.
For him, it is necessary to ensure that the regulations in force are respected. The current situation has shortcomings, recognized the expert Touré, while hoping that it will improve. “Our study is to allow the State to earn more and also to have visibility and to ensure that all exploitation is carried out under perfect control”, concluded Mamou Touré.
Namori KOUYATE
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