CERDES is a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Bamako, Mali with an office in Bethesda, MD (Washington, DC area).  CERDES was founded in 1991, at the margin of the historical national conference which took place in July and August 1991, to set up a new constitution and electoral code, a chart for multi-party system and the state of the nation.  That was the outcome of the coup d'Etat of Mars 26 following the bloody turmoil which started in January 1991.  The founder of CERDES was Oumar Makalou, then Senior Advisor at International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.), invited like all Malians of the diaspora by the new Head of State, Amadou Toumani Toure, to participate in the conference.

Along with Oumar Makalou, Malians from abroad and from within the country, subscribed massively to the idea of the Center, and financed the first step of the new institution.  The status, the internal rules and regulations of internal functioning of the organization and a code of conduct were drawn. A Board of Directors was elected with 17 members.

Scientific committees were set up in:

1) Politics and Culture

2) Law and Institutions

3) Economics and Social Development

The entire structure was sent to the government for its approval, and CERDES was officially recognized by law on October 17, 1991. 

Membership was divided into three categories: regular members, friendly members and honorary members most of them sponsors.  Regular members elected the following Board of Directors:

1. President: Oumar Makalou
2. Vice-President:  Adama Traore- Former CEO of BIAO (Banque Internationale de l'Afrique de l'Ouest)
3. Secretary General : Daouda Cisse -Chief of the Informatic Services of the Minister of Finances
4. Secretary for the Organization: Isiaka Dembele- Director of the Price Stabilization, Minister of Finance and Commerce.
5. Alternate Secretary: Bocar Ba- Consultant
6. Administrative Secretary
7. Alternate Administrative Secretary
8. Information Secretary
9. Alternate Information Secretary

Each of the three scientific committees elected a coordinator among five core members of the committee.  Theses members were chosen on the basis of their expertise and experience, their reputation for integrity, and they were not necessarily regular members of the CERDES, they were not necessarily Malians or Africans. 

The coordinators were:

Culture and Politics: Albakaye Ousmane Kounta: Economist, Writer and Manager

Law and Institutuions: Isiaka Keita, Lawyer

Economic and Social: Professor Dione, Agroeconomist

A full list of regular membership and honorary members is available.

OUMAR MAKALOU BIOGRAPHY

Education

Oumar Makalou has a PhD, Docteur d'Etat in Economics from Paris University Sorbonne in 1970. He also graduated from the French National School of Taxation, Ministery of Finance Paris in 1959, and  the Institute of the Economic and Social Development  (IDS) Paris, Sorbonne in 1960.

Professional Experience

Oumar Makalou was civil servant in the French Administration of Finance for four years from 1956-1960, in the malian administration from 1960-1977, and a staff member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1977-1993.