Former Malian Prime Minister Moussa Mara has opted to give up his pension, believing that the funds would be better used to support the public.
In a letter to current Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga, Mara detailed that his decision was made to alleviate the pressure on public finances and to direct scarce resources toward more essential services for the people.
Mara served as prime minister from 2014 to 2015 and previously held the position of minister of town planning. He also ran for president in 2013 but was defeated by Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in the runoff election.
Mara’s pension package included coverage for his housing, electricity, and mobile phone bills, along with a monthly allowance of around R22,000. He announced that he would start handling these expenses personally from the end of August.
Mali, which has a Human Development Index score of 0.428 as reported by the UN Development Programme in 2021, remains one of the most impoverished countries in the world.
The World Bank indicates that Mali’s poverty rate climbed from 42.5% in 2019 to 44.4% in 2021, with an additional 375,000 people falling into extreme poverty due to lower incomes and rising living costs.
The Malian junta, which took power through a series of coups in 2020 and 2021, has shifted its alliances from Western nations, particularly France, to Russia.
Economic progress is now hindered by renewed rebel conflict in northern Mali and a growing threat from Islamist groups.
The junta failed to meet a March 2024 deadline for transitioning back to civilian governance through elections, leading the opposition to set up a government in exile led by Mohamed Cherif Kone.