Mali Transition Initiative (MTI)/ FY2015 – Q3 Quarterly Report

The program implemented activities that helped disseminate information regarding the peace agreement, including a large peace caravan by the Ministry of National Reconciliation. Despite an uptick in violent clashes between armed groups throughout Timbuktu and Gao Regions, several infrastructure projects were completed, including the restoration of municipal water access in the towns of Gossi and NTahaka. On June 20th, 2015, Mali put an end to three years of conflict after the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), the coalition of the main rebel groups, signed a Peace and Reconciliation Agreement with the Malian Government. This signature was achieved more than three months after the Agreement was initially presented to the parties by the international mediation team in Algiers on March 1st. The agreement represents the culmination of a negotiation process that first began in Ouagadougou in June 2013 and necessitated six major rounds of negotiations in Algiers, as well as three ceasefire agreements. The program continued to focus primarily on promoting the peace process, with the Senior Management Team (SMT) deciding to direct remaining time and resources towards direct support for advancing the peace process. On April 15th-16th, the program held a Rolling Assessment (RA) in Bamako, with teams from Gao and Timbuktu office in attendance. The RA's analytical discussion was guided by the question, "How can PAT-Mali generate and maintain pressure on actors to sign the peace accord?" The discussion focused on opportunities and challenges, and PAT-Mali's ability to leverage or address them. During the quarter, the program cleared 20 activities valued at $533,139.71, broken down by objective in the following table. A total of 196 activities worth $9,536,401 in Transition Activities Pool (TAP) funds have been committed from the inception of the program through June 2015. The activities cleared during the quarter included six activities valued at $323,364.00 to counter violent extremism through inclusion of marginalized communities, 13 activities valued at $179,775.71 to increase the supply and demand for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, and one activity valued at $30,000.00 to restore a sense of normalcy in strategic areas in the North. The program's budget for the quarter was $21,350,000.00, with $16,246,179.49 spent to date, leaving a balance of $5,103,820.51. The program's operations and activities were funded through a combination of Transition Activities Pool (TAP) funds and other sources, including the Conflict and Crisis Fund (CCF) and the Development Assistance (DA) fund. The program's spending was broken down into operations and activities, with 51% of the budget spent on operations and 49% on activities.