Zawaya

Malian economic development to counter al-Qaeda

By: Jemal Mohamed Oumar

The Malian government is very late in realizing the importance of developing its northern regions, as AQIM’s threat has already proliferated in the area, which has become home to terrorist attacks against the Sahel and the interests of Western countries that have economic, military, and political ties with the Malian government.

Consequently, the PSPSDN project was launched in August 2011 and will last until June 2012, with a budget of 5.6 billion CFA francs in the first phase, and 32 billion CFA francs in the second stage. This extensive development and security programme aims to alleviate poverty and unemployment in this region that has been suffering from political and security unrest for decades, and targets the northern provinces of Kidal, Timbuktu and Goa, which are home to a majority of Tuaregs and Arabs, and to AQIM.

Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré said on August 9th while launching the project: “Development is a permanent measure that can counter the terrorist threat in poor and unstable regions. We are fully convinced that military operations alone cannot put an end to al-Qaeda’s threats in the Sahel, which represents a quarter of Africa”.

By announcing this major development project in its northern regions, the Malian government recognizes the complementary relationship between development and stability in the region. Therefore, Mali is trying to hinder al-Qaeda that has been providing social and economic services, and financial benefits to tribal elders in those villages, in order to earn their loyalty and recruit some of their youngsters. Al-Qaeda had been successful in these endeavors in the past.

In order to gain the trust of the populations that have often been rebellious against the central government, the latter resorted to development to create job opportunities and income-generating projects, combining that with military reinforcements in the vicinity of the villages and communities where al-Qaeda is active.

Toumani Touré’s government is supported in this project by a number of regional and international partners that were often affected by the terrorist threat in the Sahel, namely the World Bank, the UNDP, France, Spain, Belgium and the United States. Algeria is also involved, contributing $10 million to support health and vocational training for young people, and provide security and stability. Algeria will also supervise the training of a 75,000-soldier joint military force with Mauritania and Niger.

As a conclusion, we can say that development initiatives can greatly support military efforts in the region. The marginalization of this region by the Malian government is what helped al-Qaeda penetrate it, and encouraged people to deal with this organization, declare their rebellion, and ally with the devil against the central government. The people’s relationship with the government will improve when the latter fills the void, and provides safety, security and basic services. This will also enhance the people’s sense of security, and make them reject terrorist gangs.