I.1.1 ECONOMIC GROWTH TREND

During 2000–2009, economic growth was very erratic because of climatic uncertainties and recurrent exogenous shocks. In real terms, it averaged 5.2 percent, with a high of 8.7 percent in 2005. Given the population growth rate of 3.1 percent, the increase in GDP per capita was about 2 percent.

During this period, growth was mainly driven on average by the tertiary and primary sectors, respectively by 3.1 and 1.3 percentage points of the GDP, and to a lesser extent, by the secondary sector at about 0.8 points.

This development is the result of the efforts made by the government to improve the business environment, thereby spurring the growth of all branches of the tertiary sector. It is also explained by the measures taken by the government to face the various crises that occurred during the period, especially those respectively for the cotton subsector (increase in subsidies for inputs and strengthening of cotton companies’ equity) and grain producers under the emergency program to stimulate grain production (distribution of improved seeds and subsidies for agricultural equipment). These measures were complemented with initiatives to intensify and diversify animal, forestry, and wildlife production.

Concerning external demand, annual exports increased by 8.3 percent on average. The growth rate of exports was 10.8 percent in 2009 up from 7.8 percent in 2000, reflecting a slight improvement in the degree of openness of the economy, whose weakness stems not only from the low diversification of its range of exportable products, but also from the weight of its informal economy.

Regarding domestic demand (in terms of consumption and investment), its contribution to the progress made by the national economy during the decade has been significant. The reforms made by the government to improve the business climate under the Doing Business program with financial and technical partners, created the conditions for attracting investors. The average overall investment rate was thus 24.6 percent of GDP, drawn by private investments which increased by an annual average of 12.7 percent over the past four years. This growth was boosted mainly by investments in the telecommunications and mining sectors. In the public sector, investment flows were directed toward building socioeconomic infrastructure and production support.

Concerning the mining sector in particular, its expansion is attributed to the start of production at six gold mines over the past three years and to the slight upturn of the global market for precious metals. This resulted in the doubling of gold production which increased from 5.8 tons in 2008 to 14 tons in 2009, placing the product as the country’s leading export earner ahead of cotton and thus, together with its externalities, contributing 4 percent to the formation of the national value added.

The contribution of consumption to growth was 3.3 percentage points mainly owing to public consumption with 6.7 percent annual growth. The increase in private consumption did not exceed 2.8 percent, because the purchasing power of households was eroded by the effects of the food and financial crises, coupled with those of the September 1^st floods.

Despite the vulnerability of the economy to external shocks and unpredictable weather conditions, the significant results represent the beginning of a qualitative change in the growth pattern. This can be attributed to the improvement of the business climate, especially the liberalization of the economy that has encouraged inflows of foreign direct investment.

I.1.2 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FINANCIAL EQUILIBRUM

The concern for rigorous management of public resources led to the adoption of major public finance reforms, in particular the framework of the strategy to strengthen public finances (SRFP). The assessment of public finances using the PEFA (public expenditures and financial accountability) methodology, carried out twice, found the following:

• - The overall credibility of the budget has improved significantly, but remains to be strengthened;

• - The completeness and transparency of the budget are deemed very satisfactory, bolstered in particular by solid budget classification and accounting; and

• - The budget is in line with national priorities.

Burkina Faso has succeeded in controlling the budget deficit, which stood at around 4.5 percent of the GDP on average over the period. This result reflects the combined efforts of increasing domestic revenue and controlling public expenditure.

Indeed, the tax ratio (tax revenue/GDP) rose from 10.8 percent in 2000 to 12.6 percent in 2009, but remains below the target of 17 percent as set by the WAEMU. This progress must be underpinned by ongoing efforts to modernize revenue collection offices, ensure better management of collection units, and strengthen control activities, particularly through joint customs-tax brigades and the import surveillance program.

The implementation of the overall strategy for tax reform has opened up real prospects for improving the tax ratio, in order to move toward the WAEMU target of 17 percent.

The rigorous management of public finances has also enabled the country to record satisfactory results in the fight against inflation, whose average level has remained below the regional target of 3 percent, despite the 2007/8 food and energy crisis.

In terms of prioritization of expenditure, the government has focused on the social¹ sectors in accordance with the objectives of the PRSP and the MDGs. Thus, the share of all social sectors stood at an annual average of 38.66 percent from 2006 to 2010, with a peak of 44.64 percent in 2010.

Table 1:

Evolution of the Share of Social Sectors in Public Expenditure from Domestic Resources

Source: DGB/MEF.

Table 1:

Evolution of the Share of Social Sectors in Public Expenditure from Domestic Resources

Year	Amount (in thousands of CFA F)	Share in Total Budget (in percent)
2006	163 041 264	38.58
2007	183 280 431	35.71
2008	194 928 603	36.05
2009	223 391 713	38.24
2010	276 804 372	44.64
Average	347 148 794	38.66

Source: DGB/MEF.

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Table 1:

Evolution of the Share of Social Sectors in Public Expenditure from Domestic Resources

Year	Amount (in thousands of CFA F)	Share in Total Budget (in percent)
2006	163 041 264	38.58
2007	183 280 431	35.71
2008	194 928 603	36.05
2009	223 391 713	38.24
2010	276 804 372	44.64
Average	347 148 794	38.66

Source: DGB/MEF.

As shown in Table 2, during 2006–2010, Official Development Assistance amounted to 1 569.8 billion CFA francs (or an annual average of CFA F 314.0 billion). This assistance consisted of 35.4 percent of budgetary support, 31.7 percent of project grants and 32.9 percent of project loans. These resources helped to sustain economic growth.

Table 2:

Trend of Official Development Assistance during 2006–2010

Source: IAP/DGEP/MEF.

Table 2:

Trend of Official Development Assistance during 2006–2010

Designation (in billions of CFAF)	Budgetary Support	Project Grants	Project Loans	Total
2006	57.6	112.3	96.1	266.1
2007	95.6	114.7	93.0	303.3
2008	88.2	58.7	69.3	216.2
2009	145.5	86.9	109.4	341.8
2010	169.2	124.4	148.8	442.3
Total	556.2	497.0	516.6	1 569.8
Average for the period	111.2	99.4	103.3	314.0
Share (percent)	35.4	31.7	32.9	100

Source: IAP/DGEP/MEF.

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Table 2:

Trend of Official Development Assistance during 2006–2010

Designation (in billions of CFAF)	Budgetary Support	Project Grants	Project Loans	Total
2006	57.6	112.3	96.1	266.1
2007	95.6	114.7	93.0	303.3
2008	88.2	58.7	69.3	216.2
2009	145.5	86.9	109.4	341.8
2010	169.2	124.4	148.8	442.3
Total	556.2	497.0	516.6	1 569.8
Average for the period	111.2	99.4	103.3	314.0
Share (percent)	35.4	31.7	32.9	100

Source: IAP/DGEP/MEF.

External balances remained fragile owing to the instability of the economy. However, because of efforts to promote exports, the trade deficit was reduced from 11.9 percent of the GDP in 2000 to 5.8 percent in 2009. The current account deficit (including grants) was around 9.6 percent of GDP on average, against a WAEMU target of 5 percent. These results, combined with an active mobilization of external resources, increased foreign reserves to cover 12.9 months of imports in 2009, against five months in 2000.

Concerning public debt, the various initiatives, including HIPC and MDRI, helped to improve its sustainability over the past decade. Indeed, these initiatives helped keep the debt/GDP ratio at 27.4 percent in 2009, well below the regional target of 70 percent.

Regarding the ratio of the net present value of debt/exports, such initiatives helped reduce it to an acceptable level. Thus, this ratio, estimated at 241.3 percent, or 91 percentage points above the adopted standard (of 150 percent) for HIPCs at the end of 2005, was reduced to 108.1 percent at the end of 2006, thanks to the debt cancellations recommended by MDRI. It stood at 124.5 percent in 2008 and 142.54 percent in 2009.

I.2.1 POPULATION TREND

In 2006, Burkina Faso had 14,017,262 inhabitants, 51.7 percent of which were women. This population was predominantly composed of young people with 46.4 percent under 15 years old and 59.1 percent under 20 years old. This young population is a potential lever for innovation and progress in the medium and long term, provided that resources are mobilized to protect them and prepare them for adulthood. In the short term, it induces high dependency ratios, which reduce the savings capacity of households and families and contributes to the reproduction of poverty, because it is among the poor that the number of children is highest.

Population dynamics have been marked by a net acceleration in the population growth rate, which stood at 3.1 percent on average per year between 1996 and 2006, up from 2.4 percent during the previous five years. This development resulted from continued high fertility, estimated at 6.2 children per woman at the end of childbearing age in 2006, as in 1960, coupled with a significant reduction in mortality as a result of development, particularly in the health sector. Indeed, the infant mortality rate fell from 107.0 percent in 1996 to 91.7 percent in 2006. The increase in life expectancy at birth has been significant, with an absolute gain of 24.7 years between 1960 and 2006: from 32 years in 1960, it rose to 53.8 years in 1996, and reached 56.7 years in 2006.

Despite this progress, much remains to be done to reduce morbidity and mortality characterized by profound disparities between rural and urban areas on the one hand, and between rich and poor on the other. With a population growth rate of 3.1 percent, Burkina Faso records an average of 435,000 additional people a year. The country thus had 15,730,977 inhabitants in 2010 and this number is expected to reach 18,450,494 in 2015. This rapid population growth generates high social demand and creates the risk that enormous resources have to be devoted to demographic investments at the expense of productive investment.

Moreover, migration remains an important social factor in Burkina Faso because of a migratory tradition which is a characteristic feature of the Burkinabe population. In 2000–2009 severe migration followed the political and military crisis that occurred in Côte d’Ivoire. The massive (voluntary or forced) return of Burkinabè, mostly of women and children, highlighted the challenges of anticipating and taking care of immigrants.

I.2.2 LIVING CONDITIONS OF HOUSEHOLDS

The living conditions of households have been examined in terms of income poverty and nonincome poverty.

I.2.2.1 Income poverty

I.2.2.1.1 Overall incidence of poverty

The results of the 2009/2010 full survey on the living conditions of households show a decline in poverty incidence by 2.5 percentage points compared to 2003. Thus, as shown in Table 3 below, 43.9 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, estimated at 108,454 CFA francs against 46.4 percent in 2003, corresponding to a threshold of 82,672 CFA francs per adult per year.

These results show that the level of economic growth achieved and the mechanism for the redistribution of its fruits were not sufficient to induce a significant reduction in poverty rates, thereby jeopardizing the achievement of the MDGs.

Table 3:

Evolution of Poverty Indicators According to the Four Surveys

Source: Survey data-INSD.

^*:Excluding consumer durables and housing consumption

Table 3:

Evolution of Poverty Indicators According to the Four Surveys

Survey Period	Poverty2 Threshold in FCFA	Incidence3 P0 (%)	Depth4 P1 (%)	Severity5 P2 (%)	Deviation of P0 Compared to 2009
1994/1995	41 099	44.5	13.9	6	−0.6
1998	72 690	45.3	13.7	5.9	−1.4
2003	82 672	46.4	15.6	7.1	−2.5
2009/2010	108 374*	43.9	14.4	6.5

Source: Survey data-INSD.

^*:Excluding consumer durables and housing consumption

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Table 3:

Evolution of Poverty Indicators According to the Four Surveys

Survey Period	Poverty2 Threshold in FCFA	Incidence3 P0 (%)	Depth4 P1 (%)	Severity5 P2 (%)	Deviation of P0 Compared to 2009
1994/1995	41 099	44.5	13.9	6	−0.6
1998	72 690	45.3	13.7	5.9	−1.4
2003	82 672	46.4	15.6	7.1	−2.5
2009/2010	108 374*	43.9	14.4	6.5

Source: Survey data-INSD.

^*:Excluding consumer durables and housing consumption

I.2.2.1.2 Geographic disparities in the incidence of poverty

The overall incidence of poverty conceals disparities by region and area of residence. Households living below the poverty line are not spread out evenly over the national territory as shown in Figure 1. With a poverty incidence estimated at 17.3 percent, the Center region is least poor. In contrast, the North (68.1 percent), East (62.2 percent) and the Boucle du Mouhoun (56 percent) regions are the areas where poverty is most severe. Compared to 2003, the incidence of poverty increased in the Hauts-Bassins (+12.5 percentage points) and East (+21.3 percentage points) regions. However, it fell in the eleven (11) other regions. The Center-South and Central Plateau regions, with a decrease respectively of 19.4 and 15.7 percentage points, are where the incidence dropped most.

Incidence of Poverty by Region (in percent)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: Survey data-INSD.

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Incidence of Poverty by Region (in percent)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: Survey data-INSD.

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Incidence of Poverty by Region (in percent)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: Survey data-INSD.

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Analysis by area of residence shows that poverty is essentially rural. Indeed, as shown in Table 4, 50.7 percent of the population in rural areas lives below the poverty line, against 19.9 percent in urban areas. Compared to 2003, the incidence of poverty has fallen -1.6 percentage points in rural areas, while it has remained stable in urban areas.

Table 4:

Evolution of the Incidence of Poverty, According to Area of Residence

Source: Survey data-INSD.

Table 4:

Evolution of the Incidence of Poverty, According to Area of Residence

Area of Residence	P0 incidence (percent)				Variations
	1994	1998	2003	2009	09/94	09/98	09/03
Rural	51	51	52.3	50.7	−0.3	−0.3	−1.6
Urban	10.4	16.5	19.9	19.9	9.5	3.4	0.0
National	44.5	45.3	46.4	43.9	−0.6	−1.4	−2.5

Source: Survey data-INSD.

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Table 4:

Evolution of the Incidence of Poverty, According to Area of Residence

Area of Residence	P0 incidence (percent)				Variations
	1994	1998	2003	2009	09/94	09/98	09/03
Rural	51	51	52.3	50.7	−0.3	−0.3	−1.6
Urban	10.4	16.5	19.9	19.9	9.5	3.4	0.0
National	44.5	45.3	46.4	43.9	−0.6	−1.4	−2.5

Source: Survey data-INSD.

I.2.2.2 Nonincome poverty

Analysis of the ability of people to satisfy their basic needs revealed that the social deficit remains relatively visible in energy, housing, and sanitation. However, it has declined sharply in the area of drinking water.

I.2.2.2.1 Electricity

Analysis of EICVM data shows that the rate of access to electricity remained stable between 2007 and 2009, around 13.9 percent. Access to electricity remains generally low in Burkina Faso, albeit with disparities between urban areas (46 percent) and rural areas (2 percent).

Figure 2 shows the rate of access to electricity by region. This rate varies greatly from one region to another. It is 41.3 percent for the Center region, 27.3 percent for the Hauts-Bassins, and 20.8 percent for the Cascades region. However, it remains very low for the Sahel (2.6 percent), the Center-South (3.2 percent), and Center-North (3.4 percent) regions.

Rate of Access to Electricity by Region in 2009 (in percent of population)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: INSD, EICVM data, 2009/2010.

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Rate of Access to Electricity by Region in 2009 (in percent of population)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: INSD, EICVM data, 2009/2010.

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Rate of Access to Electricity by Region in 2009 (in percent of population)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: INSD, EICVM data, 2009/2010.

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I.2.2.2.2 Sanitation

The analysis of access to sanitation concerns household garbage, sewage, and excreta.

Concerning disposal of garbage, 19 percent of households make use of public garbage dumps or have their waste removed by municipal or private services. These two means of disposal allow for better waste management. Figure 3 shows that the road or uncontrolled dumps are places where households get rid of garbage; 6 in 10 households use them. This practice is more common in rural (67.3 percent) than in urban (38.6 percent) areas. It decreases with the level of education of the head of household: from 64.4 percent for those who have not received education; its incidence is reduced to 20 percent for those with a higher level of education.

Disposal of Household Garbage in 2009 and Lavatories Used by Households in 2009

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: INSD, donneés EICVM, 2009/2010.

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Disposal of Household Garbage in 2009 and Lavatories Used by Households in 2009

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: INSD, donneés EICVM, 2009/2010.

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Disposal of Household Garbage in 2009 and Lavatories Used by Households in 2009

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: INSD, donneés EICVM, 2009/2010.

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Concerning sewage disposal, it is clear from the data analysis that, nationally, 2.3 percent of households use the network of sewers or drains. The use of the street as a place for sewage disposal occurs more in the Eastern (99 percent), Center-West (98.2 percent), and Center-East (98 percent) regions.

Concerning toilets, and considering the national requirements for excreta sanitation, 4.7 percent of households in Burkina Faso have access to sanitation, as shown in Figure 3. However, it should be noted that this rate is higher in urban (14.2 percent) than in rural (1 percent) areas.

In the Center region, the rate of access to adequate toilet facilities is the highest with 18 percent, while the Sahel region (0.3 percent) has the lowest rate.

I.2.2.2.3 Housing and habitat

The housing situation in Burkina Faso is characterized by the predominance of precarious dwellings, built with temporary materials such as mud and straw. Thus, as shown in Table 5, 70.1 percent of the population lives in these types of buildings.

Table 5:

Breakdown of Population, according to Construction Material of Main Building

Source: INSD, EICVM data, 2009/2010.

Table 5:

Breakdown of Population, according to Construction Material of Main Building

Area of Residence	Percent of Population
Cement/concrete	17.0
Stone	1.2
(Baked) brick	1.1
Improved banco	12.4
Banco (earth brick)	65.6
Straw	2.5
Others	0.2
Total	100.0

Source: INSD, EICVM data, 2009/2010.

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Table 5:

Breakdown of Population, according to Construction Material of Main Building

Area of Residence	Percent of Population
Cement/concrete	17.0
Stone	1.2
(Baked) brick	1.1
Improved banco	12.4
Banco (earth brick)	65.6
Straw	2.5
Others	0.2
Total	100.0

Source: INSD, EICVM data, 2009/2010.

I.2.2.2.4 Drinking water

Regarding access to drinking water, based on a standard of less than 30 minutes to reach a drinking water source, 81.2 percent of households had physical access to water in 2009. This relatively high level, however, masks the disparities between regions and areas of residence, as shown in Figure 4. Indeed, in urban areas, where ONEA is present, the rate of physical access was 95.7 percent. In rural areas, it was 75.6 percent, because the bulk of the population is located around boreholes and wells.

Rate of Access to Drinking Water by Region in 2009

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: INSD, EICVM data, 2009/2010.

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Rate of Access to Drinking Water by Region in 2009

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: INSD, EICVM data, 2009/2010.

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Rate of Access to Drinking Water by Region in 2009

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

Source: INSD, EICVM data, 2009/2010.

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In terms of use, it shows that 65.2 percent of households use some source of potable water as their source of drinking water. This means that 2 out of 3 households in Burkina Faso have affordable access to safe drinking water. The disparity between the urban and rural areas is high. In towns, out of 10 households, 9 use drinking water, of which 8 are connected to the ONEA network. In the countryside, barely 1 in 2 households use drinking water, with 40 percent relying on boreholes.

I.2.3 LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL

The main progress in human capital has been noted in education and health, including the fight against HIV, AIDS, and STIs. Efforts still need to be made concerning social protection and the promotion of human rights, especially those of children.

I.3.1 LAND DEGRADATION

Burkina Faso has a natural environment with limited potential. In a context marked by variability and a deteriorating climate, human activities and settlements have been the source of a growing erosion of natural capital. The country is characterized by a process of accelerated degradation of land undergoing spatial expansion at the rate of expansion of agro-pastoral activities, with an expected saturation of agricultural land within a generation. Indeed, 34 percent of the territory, or 9,234,500 ha of agricultural land, is degraded due to anthropogenic (agriculture, livestock, land tenure, fuel wood, etc..) and climatic reasons, with an annual estimated increase in land degradation of 105 000-250 000 ha. It also is noted that 74 percent of arid and semi-arid areas are affected by land desertification/degradation.

I.3.2 DEGRADATION OF WATER RESOURCES

The potential in water resources has been declining significantly and is no longer meeting the growing needs of the country. It is estimated that Burkina Faso will move from a situation of moderate water stress in normal, medium to high dry years in the early 2000s, to a situation of permanent high water stress by 2010-2015, with the demand for water reaching 69.7 percent of usable volumes in a normal year and 141.9 percent in a very dry year. The factors causing increasing pollution of water resources (domestic, agricultural, urban) appear to be the source of the exacerbation of the water shortage.

I.3.3 UNSUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEM

The energy system is unsustainable. In a context of a very strong and growing demand for energy, it is the cause of: (i) excessive use of wood resources, degradation of vegetation and damage to soil fertility, (ii) destruction of the primary carbon sequestration wells essential for climate control and (iii) increasing pollution of urban air quality and emission of greenhouse gases.

I.3.4 GROWING PROBLEMS OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Urbanization is experiencing very strong growth in Burkina Faso, with significant impact on the environment: (i) multiplication of the consumption of natural resources (water, energy, food, construction materials, etc..), (ii) accumulation and concentration of pollution in urban areas and development of unsanitary conditions, (iii) development of precariousness and poverty due to the impact of degradation of the urban environment and disparities in access to basic services.

I.3.5 EROSION OF BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity has been marked by erosion as a result of the heavy pressure exerted by human activities (agriculture, livestock, firewood, urbanization, etc..) which are the cause of the fragmentation or destruction of natural habitats (degradation of vegetation cover, deforestation, drying up of humid areas, etc..), a growing vulnerability of plant and animal species and the disappearance of some of these species.

I.3.6 CLIMATE CHANGE

The phenomenon of climate change manifests itself in Burkina Faso by the downward trend in the volume and quality of rainfall, but also by the greenhouse effect, all of which call into question the performance of traditional plant and animal material, as well as methods and techniques. In addition, the increased frequency and magnitude of natural disasters is the first dimension of climate risk assessment related to climate change. The floods that hit the country in recent years are indicative of the effects of climate change in Burkina Faso. They regularly cause the displacement of large populations of affected communities, with their corollary of humanitarian problems. They are also the source of significant economic losses. As an illustration, climatic factors led to a loss of 268 005 tons of cereals, a monetary value of 35.266 billion CFA francs in 2009.

Faced with this situation, national authorities have developed numerous policy and planning instruments, and have implemented action plans. These actions have always taken into account aspects related to environmental governance, sustainable management of natural resources, increased forestry and wildlife production, improvement of living conditions, strengthening the capacities of actors, gender and the fight against global warming. At the institutional level, the agency for the promotion of non wood forest products has been created and the strategy for the prevention and management of Man - Wildlife conflicts developed. Similarly, a National Environmental Assessment Bureau (BUNED) has been set up to ensure better consideration of environmental impact in the evaluation of programs and projects.

Furthermore, the government’s concern has always been that of making eco-citizenship a behavior shared by all Burkinabe people. The integration of environmental education modules into the educational system and the establishment of a “low-carbon emission day” on 1 July each year, stem from this will.

The Burkinabe authorities, convinced that respect for the Kyoto Protocol in full is a way out of the “climate crisis” for African countries in general, and Burkina Faso in particular, have been very committed at both continental and global levels. Proof of this is the holding in Ouagadougou in October 2009 of the 7th Global Forum on Sustainable Development, which served as an opportunity to share views on climate change and sustainable development, and to obtain a consensus stand by Africa that was used as the basis of negotiations at the 15th Conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December 2009.

There are, however, the following deficiencies that characterize the environment sector and living environment: (i) inadequate consideration of environmental issues in policies and development programs, (ii) lack of visibility of the contribution of the environment sector and the living environment to the fight against poverty and the national economy, (iii) low level of public sector financing of the environment and the living environment in the implementation of the PRSP, (iv) insufficient staff both in quality and quantity, (v) lack of appropriate regulations, (vi) lack of relevant indicators for the environment, (vii) absence of recent and reliable data on forest, wildlife and environmental resources, (viii) lack of incentives for private investors in the forestry subsector and (ix) lack of environmental accounting.

Consequently, there are the following challenges facing the sustainable management of natural resources, improvement of living conditions and adaptation to climate change: (i) sustainable management of land, water resources, pastoral resources, fisheries, forestry and wildlife, (ii) the supply of drinking water to urban, semi-urban and rural areas, (iii) sustainable mining, (iv) better living conditions in the rural and urban areas, (v) participation in the prevention and management of natural and technological disasters, (vi) promotion of environmental assessments in all programs and projects, (vii) the practice of environmental education and eco-citizenship at all levels of education (formal, non formal and informal), (viii) the implementation of economic instruments and financial instruments for the environment and (ix) promotion of decent green jobs.

I.4.1 POLITICAL GOVERNANCE

The move to democratize political life in Burkina Faso, begun in 1990, has seen undeniable progress that has reinforced the image of a stable country engaged in an evolutionary process to develop and expand new practices of political governance based on republican institutions and driven by a desire to improve governance and the resolution of socio-political conflicts.

Over the last two decades, Burkina Faso has enjoyed political stability and a democratic new deal momentum. This stability has given the country a reputation that enables it to play an active role in peacekeeping and crisis resolution in the sub-region.

The Burkinabe authorities are well aware of the efforts that need to be made to strengthen political governance. These include in particular:

• deepening the rule of law in order to permanently entrench the democratic process and consolidate political stability;

• promoting credible and accessible justice that requires bringing justice closer to the defendant, by accelerating the devolution of the judicial administration;

• promoting respect for human rights and civic duty through the effective dissemination of texts relating to the promotion and protection of human rights;

• strengthening the promotion of sub-regional integration and the pursuit of foreign policy on the maintenance and consolidation of international peace and security.

I.4.2 ADMINISTRATIVE GOVERNANCE

The Ministry of Public Service and State Reform was created in 2002 to effectively conduct the comprehensive reform of public administration (RGAP). The main objective of this reform is twofold: first, to make public administration a modern and efficient administration, led by well-trained servants, capable of rendering quality service to citizens and secondly, to make public administration a development administration capable of responding to the expectations of the decentralization process. Significant progress has been recorded and examples of this progress are:

• the decongestion of career management acts that resulted in the installation and operation of the Computerized System for the Administrative and Wage Management of State Employees (SIGASPE) in the human resources departments of the various ministries and institutions;

• the capacity building of stakeholders through the sharing of good practices as part of regular consultations between the directors of human resources (DHR) and those of vocational schools;

• access to employment in public service through a competitive process that ensures equal opportunities for all applicants;

• the establishment of an inclusive environment for public employees as a means of improving their working conditions, but also of recognizing older employees for service rendered to the nation;

• the setting up of disciplinary boards in ministries and institutions as part of the promotion of civic responsibility within the administration;

• the fight against corruption, with the establishment of the Supreme State Control Authority (ASCE) and the capacity building of other control structures, such as general inspectorates of services;

• the initiatives taken to provide public administrations with procedure manuals;

• the improvement of services to users;

• the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to strengthen administrative governance;

• the publication in March 2009 of the first white paper on the Public Service.

Furthermore, the various ministries were judiciously decentralized to accompany the decentralization process.

After a decade of implementation, the overall reform of public administration has been evaluated in order to assess the results achieved, lessons learned and examine the appropriate steps to complete it. During the coming years, the challenge will be that of establishing a development republican administration through further reform of the Administration through a ten-year strategy to modernize the State and the administration management system (sectoral policies, program approach, procedure manuals, auditing of institutions, evaluation of public policies, etc.).

I.4.3 LOCAL GOVERNANCE

With the complete communalization of the territory, local governance is on the move and is working to control its values and develop instruments (plans and strategies) to assume its development responsibilities. It is within this context that the revised local government general code wants to be seen as the accomplished form of good practice. Indeed, the new provisions introduced can:

• - find a permanent solution to the recurring crises of municipal councils;

• - raise the level and effectiveness of primary officials of the said councils;

• - improve the mechanisms for the political and administrative management of local communities.

Furthermore, the principle of transfer of powers and resources, initially planned for urban councils, has been extended to all councils in Burkina Faso, thus increasing their capacity and providing them with greater opportunities to successfully carry out their various council development plans. As concerns infrastructure, 282 out of 302 rural councils have headquarters. 11 (Eleven) regional council headquarters are in the process of being completed.

Moreover, after three years of implementation of full communalization, it became necessary to reduce conflicts, optimize town councils and promote the efficient execution of council development plans. To this end, in 2009 the government initiated the process of redrawing the boundaries of territorial communities and administrative divisions. Those of urban councils with special status, such as Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, are already effective.

In 2008, the government established the National Conference on Decentralization (CONAD) with a Permanent Technical Secretariat (STP/CONAD) to promote dialogue between all actors of decentralization. A three-year Action Plan (PAT) 2008-2010 of the Strategy Framework for the implementation of decentralization has become operational under the STP/CONAD. The second session of this advisory body, held in 2010, helped to evaluate various achievements under this plan and lay the groundwork for the next plan covering the period 2010-2012.

Despite these significant efforts, local governance is facing difficulties because of insufficient resources and the limited devolution of administration to support decentralization, weak accountability of local authorities and the poor quality of the relationship between devolution and decentralization. It will be necessary to make the tasks more specialized so that devolution is oriented towards development while decentralization more towards management.

For the coming years, the major challenges will be that of carrying out successful economic decentralization through the creation of genuine regional development centers, capable of promoting a contract policy between the State and the regions. This will also involve the effective transfer of powers and resources to local authorities, the strengthening of the capacity of communities to manage local affairs and ensuring coherence of local action with State policies.

I.4.4 ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE

The issue of economic governance, fixed as a priority since the adoption of the first Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) in 2000, is being vigorously addressed mainly through the public finance reforms implemented under the public finance strengthening strategy (PSRS). In recent years, efforts have been concentrated on strengthening the control system, the fight against corruption and the procurement mechanism.

To improve and strengthen the control function, the government restructured the procurement mechanism and took steps to make it more efficient. The control system (for the fight against fraud and forgery, auditing and rendering of accounts) has significantly improved, mainly owing to reforms implemented by the RGAP and SRFP, including computerization of budget execution (CID SIMP) and the mobilization of internal resources (ASYCUDA, CIR, SINTAX), the establishment of structures (IGF STI CASEM) and the legal provisions to ensure the audit and rendering of accounts (RGAP with mission letters and waiting cards for staff, programs and activity reports, the regulations establishing the deadline for rendering accounts, etc..) and strengthening the fight against fraud (review of the typical organization of ministries to broaden the powers of ITS in the fight against fraud).

The restructuring of the mechanism against corruption led to the adoption of a decree on the organization of specific jobs for control bodies and another on the allowances system. A study was conducted to rationalize financial control, review the repository of payment deadlines and the attractiveness of the Inspectorate General of Finance. These decrees and measures have thus come to enhance the function of control and to create an overall synergy in the fight against fraud and forgery.

Despite all these efforts, shortcomings continue to exist. Thus:

• - with regard to the fight against corruption, there are difficulties with enforcing regulations, weakness in monitoring the recommendations of control bodies, weaknesses in the application of sanctions, lack of internal control and insufficient coverage of the field of jurisdiction and territory by the control bodies;

• - concerning audits and rendering of accounts, human, material and financial resources are inadequate, thereby making these activities insufficient in quantity and quality. Moreover, there is no performance audit and a culture of results is not yet well established. There is usually no response to audit recommendations, in terms of incentives or sanctions. In addition, the rendering of accounts and their consolidation for the CASEM are not returned to the structures with recommendations or suggestions; the culture for monitoring is still insufficient.

The strategic management of the economy is facilitated by effective instruments. Their implementation has helped lay the foundation for the proactive management of development and ensure coordination between long-term development policies and those of the medium and short terms. It has also contributed to the significant improvement of the public finance management system.

However, the strategic management has a number of shortcomings, including (i) the weak link between the different territorial levels (national, regional, and local) and low consistency of relevant actions, (ii) inadequacies in the development studies on economic forecasts, (iii) low anticipation capacity to help avoid obstacles and external and internal shocks owing to shortcomings in strategic analysis, and (iv) insufficient consistency of most sectoral policies with development needs.

Regarding the institutional arrangements of the PRSP more specifically, their effectiveness was severely limited because they monitored activities and measures undertaken at the expense of results. Similarly, they were inefficient owing to high transaction costs for government and civil society, and for the technical and financial partners (multiple meetings, insufficient monitoring of recommendations, and poor use of existing data and surveys for tracking).

In addition to these key findings, there were also the weak link between the (PAP)-PRSP (triennial) Priority Actions Program (PAP-CSRLP) and budget, and the inadequacy of the overall schedule (juxtaposition of PRSP, fiscal and sectoral calendars). Indeed, the PAP-PRSP annual installment and the budget for that year were not prepared and adopted at the same time, and this weighed heavily on its effectiveness.

Regarding aid coordination, there have been significant achievements: Adoption of the National Action Plan for Aid Effectiveness, development of an integrated external funding facility referred to as the Integrated External Funding Circuit (CIFE), establishment of the management platform (PGA), etc. But several challenges remain:

• - poor integration of aid flows in the budget process, because of its high level of unpredictability;

• - too many aid project conditionalities and the, sometimes contradictory, diverse approaches implemented at project level in the field;

• - low debt management capacity;

• - plethora of projects and program management units.

The major challenges are improving predictability and budget implementation control, ensuring better coordination between the various development benchmarks, strengthening capacity for aid management, and streamlining project and program management.

I.5.1 PRIORITY TO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The region is seen as a mainstay of the state for the promotion of economic and social development. This option has been strengthened by measures, the most important of which are

• economic devolution, especially utilities (electricity, drinking water...) at regional level;

• coordination of government action in the regions by regional governors;

• the requirement for regional councils to develop regional development plans and regional budgets.

In addition, regional programs have reinforced the priority given to regional development. They include the Regional Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, the adoption of the Sahel regional planning scheme, rural development projects, natural resources management programs, local development programs, etc. Local and regional development has also been strengthened through reforms and institutional measures.

I.5.2 INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

At the institutional level, the division of the territory into 13 regions in 2002, the appointment of regional governors, and the election of regional councils, respectively responsible for coordinating government action in the regions and acting as project managers for regional development programs, are measures that all attest to the government’s desire to promote grassroots development. This administrative reorganization of the territory has now been crystallized with the decentralization of ministries to the regions, in order to ensure continuity of public services in the regions. Finally, regional development frameworks for consultation and outreach activities, the Regional Consultation Framework for Development (CCRD) and the Regional Commission for Regional Planning (ARCT), have been established.

I.5.3 REGIONAL INVESTMENTS

The economic organization of the territory has always been a concern of the government. In the aftermath of independence, the government tried to create economic regions. In addition, an effort was made to implement investment projects of a regional character. Development centers have been set up for several decades now and are experiencing a revival with the rise in regional planning in recent years. These are urban centers and agricultural clusters that contribute to economic growth via polarized activities. The most widely shared polarizing function is the administrative function, with the other functions having a variable attractive force.

Apart from these growth poles, the government has implemented major urban and rural structural projects. The main urban structural projects include the program for the development of 10 medium-size towns that has become the program for the development of secondary centers. Amongst those projects, we find an urban project that covers Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso and that concerns works in the areas of drinking water, sanitation, mobilization of local resources, urban management and community participation. The Ouaga 2000 project, which is a large urban development project which seeks to transform the area into an urbanized functional unit with all the urban facilities and services needed (nearby public facilities, individual and collective housing, public transport…). Other projects include the Greater Ouagadougou project, which seeks to integrate the capital with its suburbs, the regional poles of development project, which seeks to support the decentralization process by strengthening the capacity of urban councils involved to provide infrastructure and services to their populations.

In addition, major investments have been made to develop wildlife areas (national parks, total or partial wildlife reserves, a biosphere reserve, sanctuaries, ranches), forest areas as forest reserves, fisheries (Bagre and Kompienga), pastoral areas, mining (through mining concessions), large schemes such as Bérégadougou, Douna, Kou Karfiguela, Banzon, Sourou, Bagre, and the SOSUCO. Another of these investments is the development of a small agro-industry, mainly located in Bobo-Dioulasso, Banfora Koudougou, and Ouagadougou.

These various initiatives that contribute to regional development need to be provided with the effective governance expected of decentralization.

Government efforts have led to the development of council development plans for the 302 rural councils. As for regional development plans, the process has begun for the 13 regions 7 of which have already been formulated.

I.5.4 DECENTRALIZATION

Since the early 1990s, as part of political, economic and institutional reforms, the government began implementing decentralization to promote grassroots development. The process of decentralization reached a milestone with the full communalization enshrined in Law No. 055-2004/AN of 21 December 2004 General Local Authorities Code (CGCT). The elections that followed in April 2006 enabled the government to establish 351 councils across the entire territory, made up of 49 urban and 302 rural councils as well as 13 regions. The regional scale is both an administrative division and a local authority, while the council corresponds to that of the division, which has been maintained as the level of state representation and assistance to councils.

Today, the decentralization process, which is being implemented progressively, has recorded the following results:

• the legal architecture is in place. The general code on local authorities, which is the key element, provides 11 blocks of powers to local governments working toward economic, social, educational, health, cultural and scientific development, the development of natural resources, and the improvement of living conditions;

• with the appointment of a secretary general of the council, local authorities have a minimum of administrative organization;

• local authorities have financial resources from state support, own resources, endowments, etc.;

• a Permanent Fund for the Development of Local Communities (FPDCT) has been established by the General Code on local authorities, with the mission to assist in the financing of local development priority programs of local authorities and to contribute to the strengthening of their operational capabilities.

The process as thus described is experiencing difficulties and the core problems are as follows:

• - the resources of local authorities are limited (6.95 percent of the state budget in 2009) and unevenly distributed. Councils with special status (Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso) represent 47.41 percent of general grants with 37.90 percent allocated to Ouagadougou. The other urban councils represent 26.18 percent of operating grants, with the rural councils and regions sharing 22.34 percent and 4.08 percent respectively;

• - 48.31 percent of investment allocations go to special status councils, while those of the other urban districts are estimated at 15.20 percent. Rural councils and regions are positioned at 28.84 percent and 7.65 percent on average. This amount falls short of the 20 percent expenditure recommended by the texts on decentralization, concerning the self-financing of capital expenditure;

• - local authorities are obliged to prepare their development plan in accordance with national policies, but do not have all the means to do so, nor the skills to conduct such processes;

• - the transfer of resources relating to the 11 blocks of power has not been fast enough to enable local authorities to manage the continuity of the public services transferred. In 2009, only four decrees of transfer were signed in health, education, preschool, primary education, water supply and sanitation, culture, youth, sports and recreation;

• - all the councils are faced with human resource problems in quantity and quality;

• - the Permanent Fund for the Development of Local Communities (FPDCT) is not fully operational. It is experiencing financial difficulties that are undermining its independence and hindering its ability to accomplish its mission.

On the whole, despite the difficulties and inertia, local and regional development is a difficult issue, fueled by an increasingly strong social demand. It is also a political will that is being increasingly asserted through the actions of the state. The main challenges will be the acceleration of the regionalization process, the completion of the devolution of public administration, capacity building of local actors in all areas and sectors, and strengthening the financial resources of local authorities.

I.6.1 MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS

The significant results obtained over the past decade have placed Burkina Faso among the leading countries of WAEMU in terms of macroeconomic performance. This is one of the country’s strengths and demonstrates its ability to restore and maintain the equilibrium of the main macroeconomic aggregates and a political stability that facilitates the implementation of more ambitious development actions. These efforts have benefited from the trust and support of the technical and financial partners, the private sector, and the civil society.

These achievements reflect the country’s ability to handle various aspects of public life, cope with external shocks, and adapt to natural hazards and constraints; while the adoption of a vision, through the implementation of the results of the “Burkina 2025” prospective national study, has helped to develop the capacity to anticipate events.

This has resulted in an economic, social, and environmental situation in Burkina Faso today, which can be presented as follows:

• - the national economy is on a growth path, albeit with rapid population growth;

• - poverty has been reduced, but must be further reduced for any hope of achieving the MDGs;

• - the country has made significant progress in human development that has resulted in qualitative leaps in drinking water, HIV and AIDS, and the education of girls;

• - the government has implemented programs and projects that have helped improve the living environment and enhanced the sustainable management of natural resources.

I.6.2 MAIN CHALLENGES

Concomitant with the achievements, challenges to address persist in defining guidelines for the coming years to boost growth and ensure better distribution of its fruits. Indeed:

• Good macroeconomic performance contrasts with massive poverty affecting 43.9 percent of the population. The main reasons are

• weak growth in relation to population growth that has not induced a significant reduction of poverty;

• the variability in growth rate, given the importance of the agricultural sector, which remains dependent on weather conditions;

• the preponderance of sectors, in particular the tertiary sector, with a low concentration of poverty and low job creation in national wealth formation, without strong policies of redistribution that ensure the transfer of fiscal benefits to the poor or their production sectors;

• the low per capita creation of wealth of the active population in the primary sector compared to other sectors; with over 80 percent of national poverty, the sector contributes only 30.4 percent of the GDP on average;

• high population pressure (3.1 percent) which destroys all efforts to build wealth.

• the low progress in Human Development Index results, among other things, from the weak performance in the education sector. In fact, key indicators of access to preschool and secondary education remain very low. Even though those of primary school are higher, improving its quality remains a challenge. As for higher education, it is the weak link of the education system despite the strong growth of university infrastructure. Building a nation of knowledge is therefore a challenge to address;

• key health indicators have improved, but inequalities persist in health outcomes, and strengthening the national health system should be considered a major challenge to create conditions conducive to reform, especially that of hospitals;

• establishing a balance between the sexes in terms of schooling and literacy, improving the status of women, and gender mainstreaming in all development sectors are significant challenges for accelerating growth;

• regional planning is a political will which is asserting itself, but much remains to be done to develop planning tools and instruments; reforms in governance have progressed considerably, but many challenges remain to further the rule of law, establish a republican development administration, fight against corruption, and achieve economic decentralization;

• the situation in Burkina Faso in terms of sustainable development is not satisfactory. Indeed, the dominant production system, namely subsistence agriculture, cannot feed the population adequately, given its rapid growth rate. This rapid population growth in a relatively performing economy leads to high poverty and the degradation of natural resources. Added to this are low yields, suburbanization, and land tenure problems that are all factors that can undermine prospects for sustainable development in Burkina Faso;

• Burkina Faso is a country facing structural weaknesses that affect its competitiveness. This state of affairs is the result of several factors: high cost of production factors, underdeveloped basic economic infrastructure, difficulties in accessing markets (domestic and external) in a sustainable way, low development of national energy potential, tax burden on businesses and dependence on thermal energy; economic growth in Burkina Faso is dependent on agriculture which is not very diversified and vulnerable to exogenous shocks. Overcoming the challenge of accelerating growth implies meeting the challenge of diversifying the economy;

• public spending has continuously been on the rise without any visible impact on poverty reduction. The challenge for the coming years will be to control and improve its effectiveness and efficiency;

• the importance of the share of external resources in investment financing in Burkina Faso reflects the confidence of PTFs in the country’s national policy choices. It does, however, pose the challenge of predictability and effectiveness of using these resources, because these are the sole guarantees of good planning and a proper execution of development programs;

• the risk of debt distress remains high in Burkina Faso, because of a high ratio of net present value of debt. This reflects new debt accumulation, coupled with low exports and moderate growth. This situation calls for vigorous reforms in the export sector, continuous and accelerated improvement of the tax ratio, and strengthening of the quality of institutions that would help enhance borrowing capacity through an increase in the CPIA score (Country Policy and Institutional Assessment).

Therefore, the great challenge facing Burkina Faso is the acceleration of growth and sustainable development, while significantly reducing the incidence of poverty.

II.2.2.1 Global Objective

The overall objective of the SCADD is to achieve a strong, sustained, and quality economic growth, generating a multiplier effect in terms of income generation, quality of life of the population, and caring about sustainable development.

II.2.2.2 Specific objectives

From 2011 to 2015, the SCADD will seek to accelerate growth and pursue the achievement of the MDGs. As such, it will endeavor to

• 1. achieve a real GDP average growth rate of 10 percent;

• 2. alleviate extreme poverty and hunger in the country;

• 3. ensure primary education for all;

• 4. promote gender equality and empower women;

• 5. reduce the mortality of children under five years;

• 6. improve maternal health;

• 7. combat HIV, AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, and continue the reversal of the trend; and

• 8. ensure environmental sustainability.

These specific objectives related to MDGs are presented in Table 6 with targets to be achieved by 2015.

Table 6:

MDG targets set by SCADD for 2015

Table 6:

MDG targets set by SCADD for 2015

		Indicators	Current level
MDGs	Targets		Year	Value	MDG target by 2015	SCADD target by 2015
	Target 1A. Reduce by half, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day (in PPA).	1.1 Proportion of population living with incomes below the national poverty line	2009	43.9	22.25	Less than 35
		1.2 Poverty gap index	2008	14.10	6.95	6.95
		1.3 Share of quintile of the poorest population in national consumption	2009	4.01	13.50	10
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger	Target 1B: Achieve productive full employment and decent work for all, including women and youth.	1.4 GDP growth rate per person employed	2007	3.80	10.6	10.6
		1.5 Ratio of employed urban population/total active urban population	2003	86.20	100	100
	Target 1C. Reduce by half, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the population suffering from hunger.	1.6 Prevalence of insufficient weight among children under five	2007	31.70	28.65	23
		1.7 Proportion of population without the minimum level of calories	2006	32.80	13.34	23
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education	Target 2A. Give all children, boys and girls, across the world the means to complete a full cycle of studies in primary school by 2015.	2.1 Gross enrolment rate	2009	74.80	100	100
		2.2. Net enrolment rate	2009	57.40	70	70
		2.3 Primary school completion rate	2009	45.90	100	75.7
		2.4 Literacy rate of women and men of 15–24 years of age	2007	39.30	60	60
Goal 3: Promote Gender equality and empower women	Target 3A. Eradicate gender disparity in primary and secondary schools and at all levels of education by 2015 at the latest.	3.1: Parity index	2009	0.91	1	1
		3.2: Proportion of seats occupied by women in parliament	2009	12.70	50	33
Goal 4: Reduce mortality of children less than five years old	Target 4A. Reduce, by two-thirds, the mortality rate among children under five years between 1990 and 2015.	4.1 Mortality rate of children under five	2006	142	62.30	52.71
		4.2: Infant mortality rate	2006	91.77	35.86	34.43
		4.3 Proportion of 1-year-old children vaccinated against measles	2008	97.60	100	100
Goal 5: Improve maternal health	Reduce maternal mortality by ¾ between 1990 and 2015.	5.1: Maternal mortality rate per 100 000 live births	2006	307	141.50	176.70
		5.2: Proportion of births attended by qualified health staff	2009	70.70	100	85
	Target 5B: Increase access to	5.3: Contraception rate	2008	27.90	45	40
Goal 6: Combat HIV, AIDS, malaria and other diseases and continue reversing the trend	Universal reproductive medicine by 2015.	5.4: Prenatal care coverage (at least one visit)	2008	95.10	100	100
	Target 6A. Halt the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015 and started reversing the current trend	6.1: HIV and AIDS prevalence rate in percent of population aged 15–24	2008	1.30	0.77	1.12
		6.2: Use of condoms during last high risk sexual relations	2009	69.60	100	100
		6.3: Proportion of population 15–24 years with correct full knowledge of HIV/AIDS	2009	24.90	100	100
	Target 6B: Ensure access to treatment, by 2015, for all those who need treatment against HIV/AIDS.	6.4: Proportion of population in advanced stage of HIV infection with access to antiretroviral drugs	2009	47	100	100
	Target 6C: Bring malaria and other major diseases under control by 2015 and begin reversing the current trend	6.5: Proportion of children under five sleeping under insecticide treated nets	2005	23.17	90	80
		6.6.a: Tuberculosis detection rate	2008	19.9	51 percent	51 percent
		6.6.b: Prevalence of tuberculosis per 100 000 inhabitants	2008	337	200	200
		6.6.c: Rate of deaths owing to tuberculosis	2008	10.9	<5 percent	<5 percent
		6.7: Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured through a direct short-term program and under observation	2007	72.12	90	85
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability	Target 7A: Reduce by half, the percentage of people	7.1: Rate of access to drinking water in urban areas	2009	72	87	89
		7.2:: Rate of access to drinking water in rural areas	2009	55	76	76
		7.3: Rate of access to sanitation in rural areas	2009	19	57	57
		7.4: Rate of access to improved sanitation in the rural areas	2007		54	54
	Target 7.B: Integrate sustainable development principles in national policies and reverse the current trend of loss of environmental resources	7.5: Percentage of activities subject to environmental assessment that have conducted an environmental study	2010			80 percent
		7.6: Percentage of land recovered	2010	0		10

View Table

Table 6:

MDG targets set by SCADD for 2015

		Indicators	Current level
MDGs	Targets		Year	Value	MDG target by 2015	SCADD target by 2015
	Target 1A. Reduce by half, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day (in PPA).	1.1 Proportion of population living with incomes below the national poverty line	2009	43.9	22.25	Less than 35
		1.2 Poverty gap index	2008	14.10	6.95	6.95
		1.3 Share of quintile of the poorest population in national consumption	2009	4.01	13.50	10
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger	Target 1B: Achieve productive full employment and decent work for all, including women and youth.	1.4 GDP growth rate per person employed	2007	3.80	10.6	10.6
		1.5 Ratio of employed urban population/total active urban population	2003	86.20	100	100
	Target 1C. Reduce by half, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the population suffering from hunger.	1.6 Prevalence of insufficient weight among children under five	2007	31.70	28.65	23
		1.7 Proportion of population without the minimum level of calories	2006	32.80	13.34	23
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education	Target 2A. Give all children, boys and girls, across the world the means to complete a full cycle of studies in primary school by 2015.	2.1 Gross enrolment rate	2009	74.80	100	100
		2.2. Net enrolment rate	2009	57.40	70	70
		2.3 Primary school completion rate	2009	45.90	100	75.7
		2.4 Literacy rate of women and men of 15–24 years of age	2007	39.30	60	60
Goal 3: Promote Gender equality and empower women	Target 3A. Eradicate gender disparity in primary and secondary schools and at all levels of education by 2015 at the latest.	3.1: Parity index	2009	0.91	1	1
		3.2: Proportion of seats occupied by women in parliament	2009	12.70	50	33
Goal 4: Reduce mortality of children less than five years old	Target 4A. Reduce, by two-thirds, the mortality rate among children under five years between 1990 and 2015.	4.1 Mortality rate of children under five	2006	142	62.30	52.71
		4.2: Infant mortality rate	2006	91.77	35.86	34.43
		4.3 Proportion of 1-year-old children vaccinated against measles	2008	97.60	100	100
Goal 5: Improve maternal health	Reduce maternal mortality by ¾ between 1990 and 2015.	5.1: Maternal mortality rate per 100 000 live births	2006	307	141.50	176.70
		5.2: Proportion of births attended by qualified health staff	2009	70.70	100	85
	Target 5B: Increase access to	5.3: Contraception rate	2008	27.90	45	40
Goal 6: Combat HIV, AIDS, malaria and other diseases and continue reversing the trend	Universal reproductive medicine by 2015.	5.4: Prenatal care coverage (at least one visit)	2008	95.10	100	100
	Target 6A. Halt the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015 and started reversing the current trend	6.1: HIV and AIDS prevalence rate in percent of population aged 15–24	2008	1.30	0.77	1.12
		6.2: Use of condoms during last high risk sexual relations	2009	69.60	100	100
		6.3: Proportion of population 15–24 years with correct full knowledge of HIV/AIDS	2009	24.90	100	100
	Target 6B: Ensure access to treatment, by 2015, for all those who need treatment against HIV/AIDS.	6.4: Proportion of population in advanced stage of HIV infection with access to antiretroviral drugs	2009	47	100	100
	Target 6C: Bring malaria and other major diseases under control by 2015 and begin reversing the current trend	6.5: Proportion of children under five sleeping under insecticide treated nets	2005	23.17	90	80
		6.6.a: Tuberculosis detection rate	2008	19.9	51 percent	51 percent
		6.6.b: Prevalence of tuberculosis per 100 000 inhabitants	2008	337	200	200
		6.6.c: Rate of deaths owing to tuberculosis	2008	10.9	<5 percent	<5 percent
		6.7: Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured through a direct short-term program and under observation	2007	72.12	90	85
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability	Target 7A: Reduce by half, the percentage of people	7.1: Rate of access to drinking water in urban areas	2009	72	87	89
		7.2:: Rate of access to drinking water in rural areas	2009	55	76	76
		7.3: Rate of access to sanitation in rural areas	2009	19	57	57
		7.4: Rate of access to improved sanitation in the rural areas	2007		54	54
	Target 7.B: Integrate sustainable development principles in national policies and reverse the current trend of loss of environmental resources	7.5: Percentage of activities subject to environmental assessment that have conducted an environmental study	2010			80 percent
		7.6: Percentage of land recovered	2010	0		10

Achieving these goals requires the adoption and implementation of effective and sectoral strategies aimed at accelerating growth, consolidating the development of human capital, and promoting sustainable development.

II.3.1.1 Accelerated growth model

The model adopted makes the private sector the engine of growth. It is based on an innovative approach that focuses on (i) promotion of growth⁶ poles, (ii) development of promising sectors and promotion of niches⁷ business⁸ clusters, and (iii) promotion of pro-poor growth to effectively fight poverty.

II.3.1.2 Development of priority sectors

The new growth model involves adopting a new vision of sectoral policies to reflect the different challenges and promote a transformation of the structure of the economy in the long term. To do this, selected areas of intervention will be rearranged to adapt to expected changes.

II.3.1.3 Development of support structures

Concerning infrastructure, priority will be given to supporting the production system. The pro-poor growth approach will be used by labor-based work (high intensity of labor). This approach will not only help with building infrastructure, but also promoting higher incomes of the poor, during both construction and use of such infrastructure.

Thus, emphasis will be placed on the following priority areas: (i) hydro-agricultural infrastructure, (ii) transportation infrastructure to make inaccessible areas accessible during all seasons, (iii) infrastructure to increase productivity in all sectors and promote market expansion beyond the borders, (iv) energy infrastructure to reduce costs of production and allow better access to modern energy services (v) real estate development and urbanization, (vi) promotion of support institutions, and (vii) commercial and marketing infrastructure.

II.3.1.3.1 Hydro-agricultural and pastoral infrastructure

The country has enormous potential for the development of lowlands and irrigation. The practice of irrigated agriculture and the cultivation of out-of-season crops have provided proof over the recent years. The government’s objective is to increase the contribution of these crops by 50 percent by 2015. From this perspective, a sustained effort will be made to create hydro-agricultural infrastructure (large- and small-scale irrigation). The pace of creation of dams for small-scale irrigation will be accelerated to expand production areas.

The intensification of animal production also requires the establishment of water points, grazing areas, and access roads to encourage sedentary livestock and increase its contribution to growth.

II.3.1.4 Promotion of economic integration and foreign trade

The current globalization process offers, thanks to foreign trade, access to a wide range of goods, services, technologies, and knowledge. However, the highly demanding global market requires states, especially developing ones, to create large economic blocs to tackle the world market collectively. From this perspective, Burkina Faso needs to actively promote economic integration and foreign trade, to exploit the opportunities they offer. To this end, the strategy will seek to

• support regional and subregional solidarity by participating in the development of transnational infrastructure, and contribute to the functioning of institutions of integration and especially to the promotion of peace, security, and sociopolitical stability in the subregion and region. To this end, it will be necessary to (i) support the construction of transborder social and economic infrastructure and amenities and (ii) ensure effective subregional economic solidarity mechanisms (community levy, economic program, etc.).

• ensure compliance with the standards of integration, by continuing and strengthening efforts to meet commitments on the harmonization of policies. It will also have to bring its peers to engage decisively and effectively in building an economic subregional space that is sustainable as a framework for the development of national economies. To this end, Burkina will be expected to (i) promote and respect the concerted measures to facilitate trade and payments, (ii) develop national productive capacity and exchange to make the most of regional integration, (iii) ensure compliance with the standards of convergence in terms of indicators and policies and (iv) ensure compliance with community principles of free movement of goods, persons, and capital, and the right of establishment within the subregion;

• open up to the rest of the world, by seizing the opportunities offered by regional integration. To this end, the main directions will be as follows: (i) open up prudently and gradually and (ii) implement a strategy to conquer the international market through a phased approach, based on the industrial development of primary products and respect of the standard norms of quality (labeling);

• use the natural comparative advantages of the country to develop sectors with potential comparative advantages, by implementing the policy on the promotion of trade, industry, and crafts.

II.3.2 AXIS 2: CONSOLIDATION OF HUMAN CAPITAL AND PROMOTION OF SOCIAL PROTECTION

During the past, significant progress has been made with regard to human capital development and social protection. This dimension remains vital to the country that is initiating a turning point in its development to rank among emerging and prosperous nations. The government therefore intends to focus on increasing income and employment, developing technical and vocational education, teaching, health (especially women’s health), social protection, and access to modern energy services.

II.3.3 AXIS 3: STRENGTHENING GOVERNANCE

II.3.4 AXIS 4: TAKING INTO ACCOUNT CROSS-CUTTING PRIORITIES IN DEVELOPMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS

Taking into account cross-cutting issues such as gender, population, environment, and regional planning is a prerequisite for the successful implementation of the SCADD. These issues need to be constantly present at all levels of dialogue, policies, and in the formulation of policies and programs. Manuals will be developed to facilitate the implementation of this guideline.

III.1.1 STABILIZATION OF THE MACROECONOMIC FRAMEWORK

The stability of the macroeconomic framework is needed to strengthen prospects for accelerating growth and reducing poverty. It will be necessary, therefore, to ensure the sustainability of public finances and strengthen the external position and debt sustainability during 2011–2015.

The sustainability of public finances requires increased revenue, public expenditure control, and better resource allocation, to reduce deficits. In addition, the prudent management of public finances, the reduction of cash flow pressures, and avoidance of slippages that could weaken its balance, require ensuring the efficiency and capacity of expenditure and procurement circuits, improving procedures for budget execution, and monitoring cash flow.

Strengthening the external position involves strengthening exports, gold and cotton, and diversifying export commodities. All of these are the prerequisites for reducing the vulnerability of the economy and accelerating growth.

Regarding external debt, the country’s debt policy and strategy should remain cautious while giving priority to concessional loans. Furthermore, increased computerization, training of debt management executives, improvement of database quality and the establishment of an integrated external funding management system should strengthen the capacity for managing the country’s external debt.

III.1.2 STRUCTURAL REFORMS AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE BUSINESS CLIMATE

Structural reforms and improving the business climate are necessary for accelerated growth. Regarding structural reforms, the government should

• - modernize public administration to strengthen the wage policy and the quality of administrative services;

• - implement the strategy for the development of the financial sector;

• - reform and consolidate sectors, particularly the restructuring of the cotton sector (financing of inputs and smoothing funding mechanism).

Improving the business climate will involve

• - elimination of bottlenecks in land tenure, by improving the corresponding legal and regulatory frameworks;

• - consolidation of achievements in simplifying administrative procedures and reducing their cost;

• - adaptation and modernization of the support and advisory capacities of state structures and the instruments for promoting private investment;

• - accompanying of institutional, technical, and financial changes in the informal sector;

• - development of domestic private capital;

• - operationalization of commercial courts, especially those of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso;

• - establishment of a one-stop window for foreign trade;

• - operationalization of the National Agency for Investment Promotion.

III.2.1 EVOLUTION OF THE REAL SECTOR

Growth will be fueled in particular by good performance of the agricultural, livestock, and mining sectors as well as the buoyancy of the services sector, through the modernization of production, improvement of the competitiveness and productivity of the economy, and the diversification of activities.

In the primary sector, improving yields and productivity will lead to an average growth of value added by 10.7 percent, thanks to a good rainfall and especially to the strengthening of strategies on (i) water control, (ii) subsidies for agricultural inputs, (iii) technical supervision of producers, (iv) support to agricultural research for the development and introduction of adapted varieties, and (v) access of producers to agricultural mechanization and credit.

In the livestock subsector, average growth will increase to 4 percent between 2011 and 2015. This increase will be attributable to genetic improvement through artificial insemination and the start of actions such as (i) launching of the manufacturing plant for animal feed, (ii) construction of two large dairies in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, and (iii) creation of a company for the production of “day-old chicks” to improve egg production.

In the secondary sector, the favorable trend of world prices for mining products such as gold, zinc, copper, and manganese, combined with the industries’ production, will result in an 11.8 percent increase in the average annual value added. This increase will be attributable to the extractive industries and the buoyancy of the construction subsector.

The tertiary sector will experience an annual growth rate of 12.5 percent. This development will be supported by the expected buoyancy of market services and mainly will be driven by trade, financial services, and ICTs, as well as by tourism, culture, and related activities boosted by strengthening of the reputation of the tourist destination Burkina Faso. Table No. 7 shows the expected trend of growth in the sectors and GDP.

Table 7:

Expected Growth Trend in the Sectors and GDP

Source: IAP October 2010.

Table 7:

Expected Growth Trend in the Sectors and GDP

Years	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.
Primary sector	4,3	5.5	7.5	12.5	13.2	14.7
Secondary sector	11	11.3	11.7	11.9	12.1	12.2
Tertiary sector	5.2	8.7	9.7	13.6	14.5	15.6
Real growth rate	5.2	8.5	9.8	10.4	10.7	10.8

Source: IAP October 2010.

View Table

Table 7:

Expected Growth Trend in the Sectors and GDP

Years	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.
Primary sector	4,3	5.5	7.5	12.5	13.2	14.7
Secondary sector	11	11.3	11.7	11.9	12.1	12.2
Tertiary sector	5.2	8.7	9.7	13.6	14.5	15.6
Real growth rate	5.2	8.5	9.8	10.4	10.7	10.8

Source: IAP October 2010.

III.2.2 PRICE EVOLUTION

Good agricultural production, coupled with measures by the government to regulate and control the price margins of basic consumer products, will help keep inflation below the WAEMU community norm. Thus, the average inflation rate will be about 2.9 percent, supported also by the expected stability of the price of a barrel of oil and the dollar. Controlling inflation will encourage investment and consumption, thus contributing to faster growth.

III.2.3 DOMESTIC DEMAND TREND

The average growth of 10.04 percent of GDP will be driven mainly by private investments, which will grow at an average annual rate of 17.5 percent, and by private final consumption, whose contribution to growth will average 2.52 percentage points.

III.2.4 4 EVOLUTION OF THE MONEY AND CREDIT SECTOR

Credit to the economy will progress positively during SCADD implementation to accommodate the expected level of economic activity. Indeed, the outstanding credit to the private sector would average CFA francs 1 040 billion per year. It is expected to increase by 10.6 percent on average, per year, which will allow the country to finance investments to stimulate growth.

III.2.5 TRENDS IN PUBLIC FINANCE

In public finance, efforts to enhance the mobilization of fiscal potential and external financing, combined with actions to restrain public spending will help contain the basic fiscal deficit at 4 percent of GDP on average. Based on the assumption of good economic performance, the projected financial operations of the state are expected to move toward the WAEMU convergence norms. Indeed, total revenues and grants will increase on average by 13.18 percent. The tax revenue-to-GDP ratio will rise from 11.6 percent on average during 2000–2010 to 15.7 percent between 2011 and 2015.

The implementation of various programs under the SCADD will result in a sustained increase in total overall expenditure, especially capital spending, which will rise on average by 14 percent a year during the period. The development and investment program would lead to a significant surge in operating expenses. However, the policy to rationalize public expenditure will help control the increase in current expenditure, which, with an average annual growth of 7 percent, will grow less rapidly than resources. Overall, expenditure and net lending will represent about 23 percent of nominal GDP. All of these will provide more fiscal space for the financing of public investments needed to accelerate growth.

III.2.6 EVOLUTION OF THE EXTERNAL ACCOUNT

Increased exports will help to contain the trade deficit on average at around 4.8 percent of GDP compared to 7.2 percent in 2010. This development will come mainly from increases in exports of cotton fiber, nonmonetary gold, and livestock products and other agricultural products. Besides the expected buoyancy of the traditional export sectors, cotton and especially nonmonetary gold, this improvement will also depend on the prospects for diversification of the basis of exportable products.

Import demand will also increase during the period, to provide the country with the necessary energy (petroleum products, electricity, etc.) and satisfy needs for capital goods.

III.4.1 GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE MATRIX

The government’s performance matrix will be developed in parallel with the process of preparing the state budget to be used in (i) negotiations with parliament and (ii) the dialogue with technical and financial partners.

It will be developed per year (n) to cover a rolling three-year period (n +1) to (n +3) and will be annexed to the draft budget submitted to parliament for consideration and adoption.

As an instrument of negotiation with parliament and dialogue with technical and financial partners, it will include both measures for strategy reform to be taken by the government in key sectors of the SCADD and indicators for measuring progress in the implementation of the country’s development policy. This matrix, which measures the government’s performance, will be simple, to take into account key reform measures in a limited number (30 measures at the maximum), covering the SCADD’s axis and key sectors. The indicators will also be in a limited number (30 indicators at the maximum for the government and 10 indicators at the maximum for donors).

III.4.2 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT

For the annual assessment of government performance in implementing the SCADD at year (n-1), a performance report based on the matrix will be developed and discussed at the annual review. The report validated by the government will be attached to the budget execution bill for year (n-1) for consideration by parliament. It is prepared on the basis of reports on sector reviews, particularly on SCADD priority sectors. To this end, it will be essential to develop sectoral and global reporting manuals with standard frameworks for the preparation of the various reports.

Given that the performance matrix provides impact indicators, these indicators will be evaluated every three years by an independent expert to fuel the dialogue on the effectiveness of the policies supported under the SCADD.

III.5.1 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The institutional arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the SCADD come from lessons learned from the PRSP mechanism. They highlight, on the one hand, decentralization as a promising vector for participatory development through effective communalization, which has given local authorities a key role in the implementation of the SCADD and the related sectoral policies and, on the other hand, the concern for the implementation of program budgets that will introduce a new dynamic in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of development actions, and the allocation of resources.

It will be the mechanism for coordinating and supervising the implementation of the SCADD. It includes on the one hand, the institutions responsible for fostering the frameworks for dialogue between the various development actors and, on the other hand, the structures that constitute the dialogue frameworks. In addition to these institutions and structures, there are plans for political dialogue at high levels. Their results will fuel the work of the institutional arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the SCADD.

III.5.1.3 High-level political dialogues

High-level political dialogues are annual frameworks for consultation between the government and other development partners. They are advisory in nature and include, in particular, meetings between (i) the government and the private sector, (ii) the government and civil society organizations, (iii) the government and the local government, and (iv) the government and technical and financial partners.

They are chaired by the prime minister, assisted by members of government concerned with the topics on the agenda. They operate in accordance with their respective creative texts.

The diagram below illustrates the institutional arrangements for the implementation of the SCADD.

Institutional arrangements for implementation of SCADD

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

SP= Private sector, CT=Local authorities

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Institutional arrangements for implementation of SCADD

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

SP= Private sector, CT=Local authorities

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

Institutional arrangements for implementation of SCADD

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 123; 10.5089/9781475503951.002.A001

SP= Private sector, CT=Local authorities

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

III.5.2 CONSOLIDATION OF EXISTING MONITORING AND EVALUATION SYSTEMS

In light of the means needed, the state alone cannot adequately implement the SCADD. It will therefore proceed by means of an active multistakeholder partnership. Those to be involved will be companies, universities and training centers, the government, local governments, the private sector, financing institutions, and the population. This will entail boosting cooperation between these actors on innovative projects that create value added for members of the value chains.

This strategy is also an opportunity to upscale decentralization by making local authorities responsible for matters under their competence and within their reach. It would also be necessary to further specify the division of roles between the state, the private sector, and civil society under the leadership of the state. It would be necessary to establish the conditions for broad participation of the population, as the SCADD is an opportunity to create a real development dynamic in which producers improve their productivity and share in the benefits of growth.

Improving the production of information will be continued by consolidating and strengthening existing surveys and information from the day-to-day management of government services, such as those produced by the Ministry of Basic and Literacy Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Youth and Employment, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Fishery Resources, etc. .

Efforts will also aim at identifying and carrying out new surveys that can improve knowledge of the priority areas of the SCADD. All these actions for generating information will be channeled through a minimum statistics program necessary for accelerating growth and sustainable development. Furthermore, implementation and impact evaluation indicators will become increasingly important over the coming years. That is why a service will be specifically designated to coordinate the work necessary for

• - ensuring the availability and reliability of the identified indicators;

• - developing new indicators needed for extending the monitoring and evaluation of results to all the axes of the strategy.

III.5.3 Development Of The Production Of Information Needed For Determining Strategy Choices And Monitoring Programs

In addition to aspects related to the organization of information production and specific actions for implementation and impact indicators, priority will be given to the following activities:

• - full surveys on household living conditions (EICVM);

• - population and health surveys (EDS);

• - general agricultural census (RGA);

• - regular production of national economic accounts;

• - production of social performance indicators;

• - regular production of sector statistics.

III.5.4 Implementation Of A Communication Strategy

An active communication on the SCADD will promote ownership by the people of Burkina Faso and the country’s development partners.

The core target of this communication will be local, regional, and national decision makers. The secondary target groups will include (i) central and devolved government services, (ii) parties and political groups, (iii) local authorities, the civil society and the private sector, (iv) communication and media professionals, (v) researchers, (vi) youth, (vii) technical and financial partners, (viii) opinion leaders and traditional and religious authorities, (ix) grassroots communities in the rural and urban areas, and (x) the Burkinabè diaspora.

Communication on the SCADD will be through (i) strengthening of mass communication and ICTs, (ii) use of the institutional channel, and (iii) development of traditional communication channels.

Preference will be given to the use of national languages through media and local communication programs.