Amid debates over USAID using its funds to interfere in internal matters of various countries, the West African nation of Mali has said that it has been denouncing USAID funding accusing it of misusing the so-called development schemes as instruments of destabilization and subversion of the country by funding terrorist networks. Mali also said that the US aid agency was violating the sovereignty of the states.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Mali said this in a statement referring to an announcement by the US government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cancelling certain US-funded projects in different countries. On 16th February 2025, the DOGE posted a list of cancelled projects on X which included a $14 million ‘social cohesion’ project in Mali.
US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled:
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 15, 2025
– $10M for "Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision"
– $9.7M for UC Berkeley to develop "a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills"
– $2.3M for "strengthening…
US funds allegedly misused by terrorist networks to destabilise Mali
In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mali clarified that in its efforts to achieve sovereignty, the country has been denouncing the US financial assistance coming in the name of ‘official development assistance’ to prevent it from being misused by terrorist networks for destabilising and subverting the country. “It should be recalled that Mali, in its efforts to achieve sovereignty, had been denouncing the danger of missing “official development assistance” as an instrument of destabilisation and subversion of our countries by funding terrorist networks, and as a means of violating the sovereignty of our States, long before the new US administration took office,” the statement read.
The translated version of the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation following the publication on social media by the Department of Government Effectiveness of the United States of America concerning an alleged USAID grant to Mali in the amount… pic.twitter.com/wvbZtOEfxZ
— Ministère des Affaires étrangères du Mali (@MaliMaeci) February 25, 2025
“For this reason, the Government of Mali has, for the past two years, refrained from signing the five-year Development Objective Grant Agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and has postponed the implementation of some activities, including those relating to social cohesion, provided that they respect Mali’s sovereignty, priorities and implementation procedures in this area”, the statement added.
The Ministry welcomed the US government’s efforts to ‘clean up’ and ‘humanise’ the US international financial assistance and the “awareness of the reality regarding their “official assistance” and the actions taken against their subversive use, inconsistent with the essential needs of the beneficiaries”. It urged the US authorities to initiate legal proceedings against individuals involved in diverting US financial assistance for funding international terrorism in Mali and other AES members. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) is a confederation formed by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. It originated from a mutual defence pact which was signed on 16th September 2023.
USAID is under scrutiny for meddling with internal affairs of several countries
USAID has come under significant scrutiny for its shady operations and for providing financial assistance to jihadis and other vested interests to meddle in different countries, including India, and advance American interests around the world. The DOGE headed by businessman Elon Musk is overseeing the overhaul of the US international financial assistance. The Donald Trump administration has cracked down on the controversial USAID. It has sent senior officials on leave, fired contractors and, most importantly, imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance. This put an immediate halt to several projects run by USAID in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ukraine and other countries.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that the USAID allocated $21 million to boost voter turnout in India. He questioned whether the funds were meant to “get someone else elected,” raising concerns that the money from USAID was used to help the opposition in the elections.
