Diéma

Deputy elected in 2007: Makan Cissoko (RPM), Mayor elected in 2007: Mahamadou Sidibé (ADEMA) Diéma is a city of the Mali, chief town of commune and circle in the area of Kayes.

The population of the center city was of 7.000 inhabitants in 1998 and was estimated at 9.028 inhabitants in 2003. The commune of Diéma gathers the city centers, 15 villages and 14 hamlets. Its population exceeds the 20000 inhabitants today.

History

In 1871, Minankourou Konté, chief of the village of Faranbougou, died. The habit of then forced to replace it to choose oldest of the family of Konté. This one declined this favor and proposed Djéguery Sissoko, cousin of Konté which was oldest of the village. Part of Konté accepted this solution, while the other refused it. After several days of negociation, each clan appointed his chief of village. Two chiefs not being able to manage the same village, the clan of Djeguery Sissoko decided to settle elsewhere. Djéguéry, being a mysterious personality, declared that the site of its village would be where one would find his axe of night fixed on a particular tree. The research of the axe lasted a few months during which the dissidents remained with two kilometers of the current site of Diéma. The axe was discovered during the demolition of an elephant and the tree on which one found it corresponds to the current site of the house of the household head of Sissoko with Diéma. At that time, the king of Kaarta was El Hadj Omar Tall. He was informed of the conflict. In front of the charges of dissidence, Djéguéry Sissoko declared with the king that it had been simply withdrawn in a hamlet to cultivate. The king accepted this version. Those which had not accepted the departure of Djéguéry, then proposed to the king a strategy to check his dires. They imagined to give alarm while making resound the large drum of Faranbougou. With the sound of this drum, all the men of the village were to gather in Faranbougou. In the absence of Djéguéry and his, dissidence would be proven. Feeling the danger, one of the sisters of Djéguéry which had remained in Faranbougou went to horse to warn his/her brothers of the trap and the moment when the drum was to resound. The dissidents gathered to answer the call. The fact of gathering at the place where the axe was discovered gave the name of “Diéma”. It is composed of “dié” which means Association and of “maou” which means people. Following this gathering, the king granted his confidence to Djéguéry Sissoko and since follow one another alternatively Diéma of the chiefs of village to the names of Sissoko or Konté. In 1872, Diéma did not count that 22 families which practiced agriculture and the craft industry. Diéma knew colonization in 1891 after the catch of Nioro of the Sahel by colonel Archinard. During colonization, Diéma was in charge of the collection of the taxes and the recruitment of men for the forced labors. Four men of Diéma died for France during the war of 1914. In 39/45, Diéma provided 14 men to the French Army and all returned. Diéma knew its first school in 1935 and was set up as a place chief of district in 1959. After independence, Diéma extended because of extensive practice from agriculture and became place chief of Circle in 1977. Become District rural, it is today a small town which is being reinforced because of its position of crossroads of the roads of Senegal and Mauritania. Diéma as a place chief of Circle has 2 deputies of which one is Makan Cissoko (RPM), elected in June 2007. The Mayor of Diéma is since this date Mahamadou Sidibé (Adéma) which was elected by the Town council, with the favor of the replacement of Makan Cissoko which could not cumulate its functions of Mayor and Deputy.

transport and economy

Diéma is located at the crossroads of the roads towards the Mauritania and the Senegal, supporting the development of the exchanges and the trade.

Twinning and decentralized co-operation

CHILLY MAZARIN - DIEMA A 21 YEARS HISTORY

Since 1986, the towns of Chilly-Mazarin (the Essonne) and Diéma maintain a co-operation supported in good number of fields. This relation, like all the others of the same type, did not always follow a quiet course. She had problems related to the different cultures and waitings. The impatience and the requirement of the right to watch on the French side, the short term and a certain pride on the side Malian, the unvoiced comment on the two sides, often disturbed the projection of the projects whereas the financings were ready. With time, the friendship found its place, the frankness was essential and the problems tend to be untied, even if all is not always idyllic. Between the two cities, one says the things openly this very day if it is sometimes with vehemence when there is dissension. The important thing is that then one returns to fraternity, with the reflection common but also to the bursts of laughter and that the projects advance. In the beginning, the cooperation actions were directed, in an altogether banal way, towards three main roads: • Water • Teaching • Health It should be recalled that at the end of the years 1980, Mali arrived at the end one long period of dryness with a pluviometry largely lower than 500 mm/an limited to two months over the year. Moreover, the state of the wells was then dramatically degraded (absence of pumps, stranding, pollution) It was not rare to see in April, of the women to wait more than three hours before filling a small basin with turbid water. The sanitary situation was disastrous with the quasi absolute absence of health workforce, drugs and hospital structure. What to say education system of the time? The school stationery was non-existent, the crammed classes and teaching without prospect, even in the short run. If one adds to all that the enclavement of Circles which that of Diéma, even of whole areas, and the interminable voyages of more than twelve hours to make 350 kilometers, one measures today the extent of the building site of then. Politically, one was also at the end of a cycle, marked by a military dictatorship rather pitiless toward the possible dissidents and without no imagination to develop the country. The relation between the two cities, like others tied at the same time, had for simple merit to be established at one time hinge of the life of Mali. The international assistance returned, a democratic boiling appeared, the dryness calmed down. After 16 years of co-operation, measurement of what was made within the framework of twinning is not certainly easy. Upstream of the achievements themselves, that requires an analysis of the conditions of the co-operation and choices of the partners. First of all, it is necessary to dimension the relational project between the two cities. Chilly-Mazarin, town of 18.000 inhabitants does not have considerable resources for cooperation actions decentralized. Taking into account the assistances which it receives from the commune, the General advice or the State, the Committee of Twinnings manages however to have an annual budget which borders more than 100.000 Euros. That allows achievements, but remains in on this side needs for Diéma, even if the comparison with the budget of the Malian city of Diéma, 77.000 Euros is not significant. This limit led the Committee of Twinnings of Chilly Mazarin to seek synergies with other speakers, in particular within the framework of the Essonne the Sahel. This structure which gathers the cities of the Essonne twinned with Malians cities of the area of Kayes makes it possible to gear down the assistances and to have a permanent local operator: the ONG Kared Malian which ensures, inter alia things, assistance of the Mayor of Diéma, through the center of town council The measurement of the assistance cannot be however limited to these budgetary or structural data. Chilly-Mazarin devotes, through its accumulated experience and competences, a considerable number of hours to the development of Diéma: studies of files, assembly of projects, communication to the population of Chilly-Mazarin, meetings multiple with in particular the nationals Malians of Diéma in France. This function of study and preparation became more important still since the law of decentralization and the election of a Mayor with Diéma. The contractualisation of the projects spreads. The partners work starting from action plans worked out jointly. All that is made with the difficulties that one suspects and who hold with the different work methods and the modest means of communication. Other rules or constraints are binding to the representatives of the two cities. For example, legal impossibility for the municipality of Diéma to manage directly the water conveyance financed by Chilly-Mazarin obliges the French city to treat directly with managing association, which is not necessarily effective. The prospect for a convention of public service delegation between managing association and the Municipality of Diéma lets foresee a more important control of the Malian city on the dealer and a looseness of the obligations of Chilly Mazarin. In the same way, the choice made by Chilly-Mazarin finance only investment and contribute to the development of the public service was not always included/understood by the partner Malian, even if today, that entered manners. Another rule, obligation that is given Chilly-Mazarin to work on all the projects with the association of the Nationals Malians of Diéma Ville in France. (ARMDVF) How the town of Diéma has evolved/moved for 19 years, and which is the share of the Joint committee in this evolution? On the demographic level. A double movement took place. On a side the population of the city grew with the arrival of populations, civils servant and peasants attracted by the development of a large borough. On another side, the hamlets of cultures were created with the remote periphery of Diéma and accommodate more and more farmers who leave the city, sometimes temporarily the time of a harvest, sometimes definitively. The main roads of the co-operation between the two cities, the development of the services, the stabilization of the populations, obviously accentuated these tendencies. The Economic activity. This one took off modestly in the five last years with construction and the financing by the European Development Funds (FED) of the roads Bamako - Dakar and Diéma - Nioro. The current cut of the provisioning of Mali by the Ivory Coast accentuated road flows considerably because number of goods arriving by Senegal forward by the track (soon the asphalt road) of Diéma. Although one does not have any information on the subject, entering and outgoing flows of goods and people multiplied, in the same way a little anarchistic installation of new populations near the road. That made it possible the market of Diéma to strongly develop. The purpose of a project under development is the restoration of this market. It rises with 80000 euros and is in final phase. This restoration is the first phase of the rebuilding of the center of Diéma. A project of coach station outside the city (50000 €) will supplement it. It will make it possible to move the haulage companies towards the road crossroads and will give to the communal authorities the means of controlling the urbanization of the city. In the next years, economic development will become a priority axis of the co-operation. For that, a reflection is carried out, in particular within the framework of the Essonne the Sahel, on the construction of a micro stopping which will make it possible to create a perimeter of rice growing with important outputs of about 5 tons with the hectare on several annual harvests. The studies for the realization of this stopping are finished and seeks it financings will start. The situation of Water. She knew a considerable transformation. Diéma, in agreement with Chilly Mazarin engaged a double step on this subject: to stabilize the existing hydraulic structures and to develop a water conveyance allowing each one to have access to a water of quality. All the wells of the city and those of the hamlets of culture were restored through a multiannual program. The restoration includes/understands the busage, the construction of curbstones, the overdeepening and protection. A water conveyance, supplied with a double solar energy and thermics was installed in 1995 and produces nearly 20000 m3 per annum, which is still modest but without common measurement with the former situation. Two projects are in hand. One carried out by the French Agency of Development and the Regional management of hydraulics is under development and will bring water on the whole of the public places of Diéma: production capacity will be doubled. The energy of food is thermal. The other, financed by Chilly Mazarin, aims to increase the production of water by solar energy. The financings are found and the realization will start. The two networks have to be connected soon. In addition, all the hamlets of Diéma have a well with large diameter financed by the decentralized co-operation. A drilling campaign is now to consider, coupled with the creation of market-gardening perimeters. A first realization is in study with Sirakoro. The sanitary situation. It clearly improved with construction by the European Development Fund of a hospital dice 1987 and its equipment several years afterwards. Today, the hospital functions with two doctors, several male nurses and other personnel. Concerning the drugs, even if their cost remains prohibitory for much of them, they are now available because of a governmental political will. Twinning brings small equipment and finance of the operations of the eyes (cataract, trichiasis) and the milk supply of infants for the stripped families and whose mothers cannot nurse. In addition, the hospital lays out since 2001 of water with the tap, thanks to the financing of Chilly-Mazarin and of the General advice of the Essonne, after repair of the well of the hospital and the drains. In addition several latrines, financed by Chilly-Mazarin, were built of which one in 2002 close to the market of Diéma which paying and is kept and made it possible to create a job for a handicapped person. Latrines will be carried out (rebuilding of that of the old school, proximity of the large crossroads of the road). An action of collecting of waste had been installation by an association with the assistance of a micro credit: this activity must be begun again and rationalized in municipal management. A Community project of health center is financed. The realization must begin in January 2008. This one would make it possible to release the hospital of the actions of small care, vaccinations, childbirth, follow-up of new born and actions from public health. Those will have to be intensified with the mixing of population related to the arrival of the road The School situation. It remains difficult. The explosion of school demography is real. More than 80 children pile up by class, and double vacations spread. Rates of success are relatively weak and an important mass potential pupils is private of schooling in particular in the hamlets. Chilly-Mazarin annually makes an equipment out of school material for the first cycle and, began again for the second cycle, of the equipments which had been stopped at the time of decentralization, the law Malian assigning the colleges to the Circles (Departments) thus out of the perimeter of intervention of Chilly Mazarin. In addition a repair of the totality of the classes of the first cycle was financed. A large project was recently carried out with the assistance of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the National agency for the investment of the territorial collectivities: Six classes of technical good quality were built and accommodate the children. In the perimeter of this new school a general-purpose sports ground to the use of the three school complexes of the city is currently built. An action of elimination of illiteracy was installation at the beginning of 2005 bound for the adults. A class was electrified for this purpose so that courses can take place the evening. A teacher is recruited and paid by the recipients. The construction of a school of 3 classes was carried out in Kundugula for the hamlets of Diéma. These hamlets are distant from Diéma, of almost 20 km and in 2007, no child of these hamlets went to school. It is not any more the case today since 100 children follow the courses of the fundamental school now. These sectors are most important among those on which the decentralized co-operation intervenes. They give however a negligible image of the work which it remains to achieve so that Diéma reaches a minimum level of development. It should be hoped that it will not be too far in time and that there is no remission in the effort. It is what makes all the interest of the started step there is nearly 20 years and which is not close stopping. Contacts: • Mahamadou Sidibé, Mayor of Diéma, Area of Kayes such: 002232523318 • Claudie Piqué, President of the Committee of twinnings (claudie.pique@wanadoo.fr) • Henri Fiori, assistant Mayor of Chilly Mazarin, in charge with Solidarity and employment, (fiori.henri@wanadoo.fr) 06.76.60.08 .01

PRINCIPAL PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

Construction of the new market of Diéma Creation of 2 truck farming in the hamlets of Fangouné (traditional) and Sirakoro (solar + drop by drop) Creation of an health center Construction of a stopping Construction of latrines to the crossroads of the two roads Construction of a coach station

Partners of Diéma and Chilly Mazarin

• The General advice of the Essonne • The District council of the Ile de France • The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of France • The National agency for the Investment of the territorial collectivities of Mali • Association the Essonne the Sahel • The Kared agency in Mali • The Mixed trade-union Barley Yvette the Seine (Smoys),

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