hi,
For Mali (Mauritania, Senegal, Burkina, Niger and...?)you dont need a Carnet but you have to buy a Laissez Passez at the border. This has the same purpose as a Carnet but only costs (if I remember well) about US 20. It works the same way as one page from a Carnet: they take a piece of it when you enter en when you exit.
A Carnet is not a carte gris. The carte gris is your prove of ownership (which in most french speaking counties is a grey paper). A Carnet is a very basic way for a country of insuring that you wont sell you vihicle without paying import duties. If the customs dont have both entry and exit sheet of the Carnet they can assume you sold the vihicle and can claim importduties a the organisation that provided you with the Carnet. Thats what the deposit is for.
By the way, in Holland the deposit is 1 times the value of the bike for all African countries except Egypte (2x).
Peter
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