With two coups in the last four years and the political instability that comes with it, Mali is not the easiest place to put down good governance roots. Unless those roots are placed with the one constant: people. We sat down with Accountability Lab Mali Country Director Doussouba Konate and Deputy Country Director Habibou Diaou to talk about how a community-led approach pays dividends in a transitional context.

“We live, these days, in an exceptional situation in which we’ve had transitional governments led by the military. And that’s not an ideal environment for an organization that’s pushing for better governance,” says Konate. 

From program ideation to implementation, the team must work through layers of political, security, and access considerations – walking a fine line to ensure that they are still able to implement effectively while keeping their team and participants safe.

“We were about to start implementing a program in the central part of the country. But just before going there, we heard that there had been an attack on the road so we had to cancel the trip,” she says. “It’s about being constantly aware of what’s happening and making quick decisions without taking any risks for the safety of the staff as well as the participants of our programming.”

Unlike traditional models, Accountability Lab’s approach to co-creating programs with Community Frontline Activists (CFAs), means AL Mali is able to ensure impactful work that can be adjusted as the context shifts. By intentionally working with CFAs, the Lab is reinforcing the will and action that already exists on the ground.

“The communities we work with – we don’t just dump things on them.. No, we really listen and we take feedback and we change things, so our programming is really agile” says Deputy Country Director Habibou Diaou.

“Even the project we’re running now – if you compare its plan at the early stage of inception to updated plans during implementation, you’ll notice a considerable difference, that difference is the direct input of project participants,” he adds.

The program Diaou is referring to is a media literacy program AL Mali is implementing to counter the overwhelming deluge of mis- and disinformation, especially rife during periods of insecurity and uncertainty.

While Accountability Lab has always worked off the premise that people have the solutions to their own challenges and just need the support to access powerholders through different avenues and facilities in their contexts, donors seem to be recognizing the benefits of this approach. 

“Donors are becoming more aware of the perspectives of local organizations and communities, reflecting the principle of localization. In our discussions with donors here in Mali and throughout the Sahel, particularly in light of recent events over the past four years, many are eager to understand, ‘What is happening here right now?'”

For donors implementing projects in Mali – and the Sahel more broadly – 6 coups in 4 countries over a short period of time seemed to come out of nowhere, often knocking out programming that took millions to build. 

“It didn’t come out of nowhere; the signs were already present, such as weak institutions and corruption. People simply chose to overlook them. When everything fell apart in 2020, it became crucial to understand what the community truly needs,” says Konate.

She also emphasizes that organizations are meant to be temporary and should work towards rendering themselves obsolete. By capacitating people to advocate for themselves using participatory and inclusive methods that ensure the longevity and sustainability of solutions, even in the face of instability.

Leading in an environment that requires constant vigilance and adaptation to changing government policies, security concerns and programmatic impact, takes a special skill set. Konate and Diaou’s leadership favors a flatter leadership structure, teamwork and sustainability. But it also helps to have a network Labs to draw support and access from.

“For AL Mali, even though it’s a difficult time, you feel stronger because you are part of a network, you are not alone,” says Diaou. “Being able to learn from each other from different countries, taking lessons learned from one country to the other to improve programming, and so having each lab evolve, that’s something I have not seen elsewhere”.

It is clear from the projects that AL Mali has been able to implement that local partners and participants have a clear idea of the Mali they want to see – one that delivers on democracy’s promises, and reflects Malians themselves in key documents like the country’s Constitution which very closely resembles the French Constitution currently. Diaou asks how existing local mechanisms to be inclusive can be considered in such key democratic elements, such as the Kurukan Fuga, a 13th century charter and one of the oldest constitutions in the world. The Charter, which is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, contains a preamble of seven chapters advocating social peace in diversity, the inviolability of the human being, education, the integrity of the motherland, food security, the abolition of slavery by razzia (or raid), and freedom of expression and trade.

“If you want to have that constitution be more localized and people to own it, to feel that it’s really for them, we have other documents there that are just as valuable as this recent constitution that is very French,” he says. 

“Kurukan Fuga which could be adapted to our own local reality and I can guarantee you that people would be looking at this differently. There are a lot of opportunities to change and adapt things to make it more relatable and still get the same end results.”

Konate adds that without strong institutions – and seeming default towards military rule as a result – Malians have not seen the dividends of democracy and start to question if the system is in fact for them. 

“There is a lot of work to be done, but we’re doing that. Not just for ourselves but also, for our kids, for our grandkids. Because we want to make sure they will be able to see some of the results of the seeds that have been planted,” says Konate.

Samina Anwary