Mali’s Informal Economy
I took this picture in downtown Bamako as snapshot of the country’s extremely active informal economy. With over 40% of the country’s population involved in the informal sector, its significance on the nation’s Gross National Income and overall economic health cannot be understated.
Advocates of informal sector activities would point to the creation of an economic activity for people who might otherwise be unemployed and without any source of income. While this may hold some validity, one must also take into consideration the “dark side” of the informal economy which can be especially exploitative for women and children by forcing them to accept lower than legal wages and by infringing on childrens’ access to education.
Although it may be unrealistic to expect the informal sector to be fully integrated into the formal economy, some middle-ground must be found with authorities to extend rights to those employed in this sector especially if it leads to less children on the streets and more in classrooms.
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Not A Good Look For Female Youth Literacy
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** I took this picture at “Sougou Ni Koura” market in downtown Bamako. It shows a daughter helping her mother carry daily supplies to her food stand. This picture may bring a smile to your face, until you stop to consider the grim reality it portrays: A country with one of the lowest literacy rates in the World. Someone in this picture should have been in a classroom….
A few stats (courtesy of UNICEF):
| Youth Literacy Rate (15-24 years) Male | 36% |
| Youth Literacy Rate (15-24yrs) Female | 23% |
| Net Primary School Attendance, Male | 45% |
| Net Primary School Attendance, Female | 33% |
| Public expenditure on education as % of GDP | 3.8% |
Now how do we get these so-called “leaders” to focus a little-less on their pockets and a little more on our future….?
Jatropha Field – Missirikoro – Sikasso Region
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** This is a picture of a Jatropha grain I took while working on a Bio-Diesel project in Southern Mali. Jatropha is a plant of Latin American origin, which is now widespread throughout arid and semi arid tropical regions of the world. It is an inedible shrub that can be grown along side other crops (in Mali, it is traditionally used as a natural fence to protect other crops from livestock). The incredible feature of Jatropha is its resistance to drought which can give it a lifespan of over 40 years. Malian authorities should pay attention to Jatropha cultivation because:
- It contains a high-quality oil that can be refined into high grade Bio-Diesel
- It has the ability to grow in poor quality soils, even wasteland, with little rainfall
- It can be used to re-cultivate eroded soils, preventing soil erosion and shifting of sand dunes
- Its uses will create local income and employment
Ssidy is what my friends call me. I was born in Senegal of Malian parents (hence my Mali nationality). I grew up all over the place…Bamako, London, Accra, Cape Town, before I went to college in Miami and finally got a job in Sydney where I’ve been living since August 2008.
When I’m not working on The Timbuktu Project, or as a financial analyst (full-time), you can usually catch me somewhere on a football pitch or involved in anything music related. Music is everything to me. Whatever mood I am in, there is always a song that captures the moment perfectly. Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes around me will probably attest to this: I listen to all types of stuff.....possibly because no single genre holds enough songs to quench that musical thirst of mine... 