Mali - Poverty DPO

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This program document presents the first Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth Support Operation (PRIGSO) in the amount of US$50 million equivalent to the Government of Mali (GoM). The series is designed to support the implementation of the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for the period 2016‐2018, known as the ‘Cadre Stratégique pour la Relance Economique et le DéveloppementDurable du Mali’ (CREDD). The CREDD, the 2015 Systematic Country Diagnosis (SCD) and the FY16‐FY19 Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Mali are all closely aligned. The PRIGSO series supports the policies defined in the CREDD by fostering inclusive growth and supporting pro‐poor decentralized transfers and social protection. This is the first credit in the proposed series, which consists of two single tranche credits. The operation has two development objectives: (i) foster inclusive growth and (ii) support pro-poor decentralized transfers and social protection. The operation supports the first objective through a set of mutually reinforcing reforms that should lead to increased revenue of poor rural households following reforms in the provision of agricultural subsidies, the micro‐finance sector, and the legal and institutional framework of rural land. This objective is also supported by improved maintenance of rural roads, an expansion of the mobile phone network, and increased competition in the telecommunications sector. The second objective is supported by increasing the coverage and reducing the fragmentation of the social protection system and by funding accelerated decentralization. This is an important element of the Peace Agreement as reflected by the commitment to almost double the share of spending by non-central entities (collectivités territoriales) from approximately 16 percent of the budget in 2016 to 30 percent in 2018. As governance remains an area of concern, the Authorities have been notified that good governance is an important prerequisite for the PRIGSO series as is maintaining macro‐economic stability.