Cablegate: Att Lays Out Plans in New Year Address

VZCZCXRO1751
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0008 0061320
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061320Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1021
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS BAMAKO 000008

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PGOV ML
SUBJECT: ATT LAYS OUT PLANS IN NEW YEAR ADDRESS

1. (U) On December 31, Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure
(ATT) delivered his annual New Year's Address to the nation.
The centerpiece of ATT,s address was the discussion of
plans, first summarized on the occasion of his inaugural
anniversary speech on June 8, 2009, for a constitutional
revision and a restructuring of the Malian government to make
it more responsive to the needs of the Malian people.

2. (U) Noting that he had established the Daba Diawara
commission to study institutional reform in February 2008,
ATT said he would now move forward with the process to amend
Mali's 1992 constitution. Specifically, ATT endorsed those
parts of the Diawara Commission's report calling for the
creation of a Senate as a second legislative chamber, a
reorganization of the judicial system, the creation of a
separate court responsible for government audits, and an
extension of the role and power of the Mediator of the
Republic.

3. (U) ATT also called for the restructuring of Malian local
government. Noting that the current system of regions,
districts, and communes often left citizens far removed from
their elected representatives, ATT called for redrawing
administrative maps to literally bring local and regional
government closer to the people. Similarly, ATT stated that
the statute framing government in the District of Bamako
needed to be revised. Finally, ATT reiterated the importance
of decentralization in Malian democracy, although in his
speech, he did not enumerate current or planned proposals for
furthering the process.

4. (SBU) ATT thanked the Aga Khan Foundation, the Islamic
Development Bank, and the governments of Saudi Arabia,
China, and Cuba for their contributions to economic and
social development in Mali. No mention was made of U.S. or
European assistance programs to Mali.

BARLERIN

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