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64 CHAPTER 1Mali was administratively organised in six Régions, headed by a governor. Theregions were divided into Cercles, largely taken over from the colonial period,and Arrondissements, which mostly overlapped with the colonial Subdivisionadministrative unit. In these constituencies existed parallel administrative andparty structures, which were quite often filled with the same people. At eachlevel, Arrondissement, Cercle and Région, a monthly Conférence des Cadreswas organised to discuss the economic and political situation. These conferenceswere often attended by high-ranking party members and administrativeofficials from Bamako, who came to explain and defend measures taken.Moreover, each Région organised a Conférence Economique des Cadres Trimestriellethat was systematically attended by Modibo Keita himself. 110 Despitethe regular attendance and close monitoring of the US-RDA leaders at meetingsin the country, to adequately solve local problems governors and administratorswere allowed a measure of executive freedom in a system described by Zolbergas closest to European medieval feudalism.Nowhere, perhaps, is the historical parallel with [Weber’s view on medieval feudal]Europe as striking as in Mali, where Modibo Keita has appointed a set of regionalgovernors directly responsible to him in his capacity as president, and also a set ofroving party commissioners directly responsible to him as Secretary-General of theUnion Soudanaise. In addition, he spends about one-quarter of every year touringthe regions with a suite consisting of party officials, elected representatives, andimportant bureaucrats. (...) In spite of the use of modern Marxist phraseology, themood is akin to that of pre-modern Europe. 111Although this image is fitting in its irony, since Keita was determined toeradicate social practices he himself described as ‘feudal’, it is not altogethertrue. It is more appropriate to compare Keita’s travels to the colonial administrativetours made by the Commandant de Cercle, so often described in Frenchcolonial literature. 112 This comparison with colonial times could be, and indeedwas, extended to the whole national administration. According to Barate, ajurist specialised in the administrative structures of Mali:The functions of the regional administration are, apart from their militancy, in noway different from those of their colleagues of the colonial period. No innovationsare made in this field. The traditional administrative functions of the colonialadministrators have simply been taken over. The only difference: nationals occupythe old positions. 113In the late 1950s the colonial government had officially inaugurated a policyof administrative ‘Africanisation’, promoting lower rank African civil servants110 Traoré, A.S., K. Pleah, M. Talla & K. Sidibe 1996: 50.111 Zolberg, A. 1966: 136-137.112 Colin, R. 2004; Clauzel, J., ed., 2003.113 Barate, C. 1977: 1045.