Mali inaugurates personnel registration system

The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) inaugurated its Integrated Defence Personnel Management System (SIGPD) in a ceremony attended by Minister of Defence Colonel Sadio Camara on 10 September.

The FAMa said in a statement that the SIGPD is being rolled out in two phases, the first covering the realisation and configuration of the system, and the second being the acquisition of additional equipment to increase the number of users. It added that it is expected to take seven months to enrol all its personnel.

It said the system's reliable tracking of its personnel and their status “will generate substantial savings for the public treasury”.

The FAMa added that the system has been developed and implemented by Malians “whose technical competence and moral integrity are beyond doubt”.

The Malian media cited Col Camara as saying that the success of the SIGPD in no way diminishes earlier uncompleted attempts at introducing similar systems with partners such as the European Union (EU) and Canada, which he described as precursors.

Bart Ouvry, the EU ambassador to Mali, welcomed the inauguration of the SIGPD, describing it in a tweet as a “major advance [in] the management of the FAMa's financial and human resources … it is one of the major objectives of our co-operation in Mali”.