Agency Details
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Saga
Rue Baba Diarra,
P.O. Box 2454
Bamako
Mali
Tel: (+223) 2223512
Fax: (+223) 2235780
E-Mail: scamara@sdv-mali.com

Click here for a list of all OTAL agency offices

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Transport News
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Ministry Of Transport Circular: Malian Transit Cargo To/From Senegalese Ports
Please note that within the framework of Ministerial Notice No07-2240/MET-MEF-MIC-SG issued 27/08/07 [a modification of Ministerial Notice No06-2882/MET-MEF-MIC-SG issued 27/11/06] all cargo in transit through a Senegalese port to or from Mali will be liable for the following port surcharge 'Redevance Maritime':

· 500 FCFA per freight ton of conventional imports
· 10,000 FCFA per vehicle [tourist /utility] and heavy machines
· 10,000 FCFA per 20TEU
· 20,000 FCFA per 40TEU

The above taxes are effective from 1st November 2007.

For the official Ministerial notification please view OTAL’s website here [3 pages].

IMF Approves US$2.1 Million Disbursement
The IMF has completed the sixth and final review of Mali's economic performance under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement allowing the release of US$2.1 million to Mal. This will bring the total amount drawn under the arrangement to US$14.6 million. [IMF 31/10/7]

Malian Transit Cargo To/From Senegalese Ports - 01/11/07
Please note that within the framework of Ministerial Notice No07-2240/MET-MEF-MIC-SG issued 27/08/07 all cargo in transit through a Senegalese port to or from Mali will be liable for the following port surcharge 'Redevance Maritime'. These taxes are effective from 1st November 2007.

· 500 FCFA per freight ton of conventional imports

· 10,000 FCFA per vehicle [tourist /utility] and heavy machines

· 10,000 FCFA per 20TEU

· 20,000 FCFA per 40TEU

For the official Ministerial notification please click here.

President Amadou Toumani Touré Wins Second Term
Official results in Mali's presidential election on 29/04/07 gave victory to the incumbent, Amadou Toumani Touré who has been elected to a second term with nearly 70% of the votes.
Eight candidates vied for the position as voter turnout for the poll reached only 36%. Key opposition figure was Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, a former prime minister and head of the national assembly.

Mali's opposition say the poll was marred by fraud and members of the military were ordered to vote for incumbent President Toure. They have formally asked the Constitutional Court to annul the election. However annulment is relatively unlikely, as foreign observers declared the poll mostly fair.

Touré led a coup in 1991 to overthrow a military dictatorship. He handed power to the democratically elected president the following year, and only returned to power after being elected in 2002. [BBC 04/05/07]

World Bank Support For Mali's Poverty Reduction Strategy
The World Bank's Executive Board has approved an International Development Association [IDA] credit in the amount of US$45 million to help the Government of Mali achieve the goals set forth in its Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Framework [GPRSF].

This comprises programs grouped into three main areas: [i] infrastructure development and strengthening of the productive sectors, including food security, rural development, development of small/medium-sized enterprises [SMEs], and sustainable natural resource management; [ii] bolstering the structural reform program [composed of public sector reforms, the investment climate, the financial sector, governance, and civil society capacity]; and [iii] strengthening the social services sector.

Specifically the operation is expected to help lower transport and transit costs by ensuring regular road maintenance and streamlined customs procedures for the private sector.

The Malian economy nevertheless remains fragile, owing to its vulnerability to rainfall levels and fluctuations in commodity prices [mainly cotton, oil, and gold]. The economy is dependent on agriculture and gold production, and exports are heavily titled toward gold and cotton - together they account for 90 percent of export earnings. Mali faces challenges linked to its underdeveloped infrastructure and transport services, as well as the prevailing political and economic situations in neighbouring countries. The failure to resolve the Ivorian crisis continues to cast a shadow on the business climate, particularly on road transport and investment prospects. [WB 06/03/07]

Unrest In Guinea Impacts Malian Imports/Exports
With the unrest in Guinea, Mali is seeing another of its direct neighbours in difficulty and yet another access to the sea being blocked. Only a few years ago, the Ivory Coast crisis meant Guinea had been considered as an option for goods to be imported or exported through the sea using the port of Conakry.
Cost of transport for goods is a decisive factor for the non competitiveness of several products in Mali export/Import. It leaves Dakar [Senegal], Tema [Ghana] and Lome [Togo] as the only reliable outlet to the sea. [OTAL Agent 14/02/07]

Transrail Minimizes Tariff Rise
it has now been announced that the private railway company Transrail have postponed the application of a new tariff and have now limited any increases to a lower level. [OTAL Agent 01/02/07]

IMF Approves US$2 Million Disbursement / Extends Commitment Period To October 2007
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund [IMF] has completed the fifth review of Mali's economic performance under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility [PRGF] arrangement. The completion of the review enables the release of SDR1.3 million [about US$2 million], which will bring the total amount drawn under the arrangement to SDR 8 million [about US$12 million].

The Executive Board also approved Mali's request to extend the commitment period of the PRGF arrangement until October 31, 2007 to allow for the completion of the sixth review. The three-year PRGF arrangement with Mali was approved on June 23, in a total amount of SDR9.33 million [about US$13.9 million]. [IMF 14/02/07]

Mali Compact To The US Millennium Challenge Account
In November 2006 President Toure attended the Signing of the Mali Compact to the US Millennium Challenge Account in Washington. The Mali compact is worth US$461million and is the biggest grant ever to be received by the country. The grant will build a new airport as well as an industrial Park in Bamako. The grant is to be executed over a five year period.

Mali endorses road links with Burkina Faso & Ghana - 23/03/04

Authorities here have adopted draft bills related to a loan agreement signed between Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali, and the African Development Fund (ADF), to finance a road project linking the three countries. The Malian cabinet endorsed the bills at a meeting Wednesday here, official sources confirmed Friday. The ADF loan of 64.5 million Units of Account (about 49.6 billion FCFA) would be shared as follows: 18.1 billion FCFA for Burkina Faso; 18.8 billion for Ghana and 12.6 billion for Mali. The loan will cover part of the Road I Programme aimed at facilitating road links among the three signatory countries and between them and other countries of the sub-region. It provides for detailed studies on 900 km of roads, complementary studies for the Dakar-Bamako corridor and feasibility and rehabilitation studies for the Mali-Cote d'Ivoire road. It also touches on rehabilitation works over some 1,050 km roads located on the Bamako-Bougouni-Sikasso-Bobo Dioulasso- Ouagadougou-Po-Kumasi-Accra-Tema
corridor.

PSI
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[ TRIE ] [ PSI ]

Mali - Importers Fiscal Identity Numbers [NIF] - July 2005

In accordance with the latest decision of the Mailan customs authorities, the importers fiscal identity number [NIF = numero d'identification fiscale ] must be mentioned on all import documents, for border crossing operations. This number is the identification number of the Importer/Consignee at the Malian Tax Ministry.

In this respect please make sure and mention this ID number on all shipping documents [ at least suppliers' invoice, if possible the B/L ]. Since this document is required for forwarding purpose out of port of discharge to Mali, we need to receive it prior to vessel arrival with the advance notification or the shipping document, otherwise the oncarriage will be delayed until this number is known.

Transport Routier Inter Etat (TRIE) - September 2001

The issuance of a TRIE (Transport Routier Inter Etat) is now required for all oncarriage cargo ex Abidjan to Mali via road. This document will cost 15,000 CFA to be invoiced to the consignee.

The guarantee fund will now be split - payable by the consignee half in Côte d'Ivoire (0.75% on CIF value) and half in Mali (0.75% on CIF value). This replaces the previous procedure, ie payment of the guarantee fund at the border.

This process will involve the co-operation of both administration departments in Côte d'Ivoire and Mali and may take a while for information to flow smoothly. Administrative delays should be expected especially with charity consignments, which are exonerated from this regulation.

Pre-Shipment Inspection for Mali

General Information

Inspection Requirements

Price Comparision/ Seller's Invoice Requirements

Reporting Requirements

Inspection Fees

• Paid by importer in country of importation.
• Nevertheless, SGS may invoice the seller in the event of abortive inspection visits.
• the costs incurred by the seller in presenting the goods for inspection, such as unpacking, repacking, etc., are for the account of the seller.

Listing Of Goods Exempted from PSI

a) Gold and precious stones
b) Objects of art
c) Ammunition and arms other than those for hunting and/or sport
d) Explosives and pyrotechnic products
e) Live animals
f) Perishable goods for human consumption not frozen nor deep frozen (meat, fish, vegetables and fruit)
g) Scrap metals
h) Plants, seeds and flowering products
i) Cinematographic films - exposed and developed
j) Current newspapers and periodicals, postal and fiscal stamps, stamped papers, bank notes, cheque books, credit cards
k) Personal effects and domestic used items, including one used vehicle
i) Personal gifts
m) Parcel post
n) Commercial samples
) Crude oil
p) Donations offered by foreign governments and international organizations to charities, philanthropological organizations recognized as of public interest
q) Bona fide gifts, supplies to diplomatic and consular missions and supplies to United Nations organizations for their own use in Mali
r) Material and equipment ordered for the army for its own account
s) Wood
t) Fertilizers
u) Sera
v) Vaccines
w) Vehicles of headings 8702/8703/8704
x) Imports ordered by the public administrations for their own account

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Contacts and Links
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Chambre de Commerce, et d'Industrie de Bamako
Place de la Liberté, (B.P.46)
Bamako, Mali
Tel: +223 225036

SGS Website

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The information given in this document has been given in good faith and believed to be correct at the time of writing. Please verify these facts with other relevant sources before using this as the basis of any action taken as we regret we cannot accept liability for an consequences due to inaccuracies in this information.

"THE CARRIER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISSING OR INCORRECT IDR/CRI NUMBERS AND THE RESPONSIBILITY REMAINS WITH THE MERCHANT. ANY FINES/ PENALTIES LEVIED AGAINST THE CARRIER ARE FOR THE MERCHANT'S ACCOUNT"