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Mali’s New Prime Minister Set to Form First Post-War Government

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Mali’s first post-war prime minister Friday began the task of forming a government expected to deliver on promises by the president to reunite a deeply divided nation and crack down on corruption.

Mali‘s new president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita appointed the prime minister, economist Oumar Tatam Ly, to the post on Thursday. While some observers say a technocrat like Ly could be the fresh blood the country needs, others worry that his lack of government experience might be a problem, according to Voice of America.

Until recently Ly was an adviser to the governor of the Central Bank of West African States. He is a relative political outsider and he does not officially belong to any political parties.  His appointment as prime minister was greeted with surprise in Bamako.  However, it could be seen as the follow-up to pledges by  Keita that his government will pursue a new way of doing things for the country, Voice of America reports.

Keita says his government will steer clear of political horse -trading and it will stamp out deeply entrenched corruption and improve state management, the report said.

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