Re-election of IBK in Mali: the challenges facing the president

Fight against corruption, improve the living conditions of Malians or the management of natural resources, challenges that await the outgoing Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, nicknamed “IBK” by the population, re-elected on August 16 with 67.17% votes.

The first major project that awaits the outgoing President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (“IBK”), re-elected on August 16 at the head of the country: the fight against corruption.

According to analysts, the measures taken over the past five years in this area have not really paid off.

This is reflected in the annual ranking achieved by the NGO Transparency International on people’s perceptions of corruption in their country.

Mali comes at the end of the pack, 122nd out of 180.

IBK will also have to tackle the country’s economic development.

Efforts were made during his first term, particularly in the agricultural sector.

The president promised to go even further. But he must not lose sight of what preoccupies Malians: the improvement of their living conditions.

Tensions and natural resources

This, for example, requires better access to health services or the fight against unemployment.

According to a study published in July by the polling institute Afrobarometer, in 2017, 74% of the respondents considered insufficient the efforts of the government IBK in terms of job creation.

Last challenge: the management of natural resources, especially in southern Mali, where the exploitation of certain mineral resources such as gold creates strong tensions between the populations.

All these challenges that President IBK will have to tackle are also conditioned by the country’s security situation.