Ouagadougou: The President of Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traore, indicated Sunday evening, during an interview with the national and international press, that the State will continue to take control of certain sectors formerly occupied by the private sector, while inviting the latter to adapt by investing in other areas such as mining and agriculture.
According to Burkina Information Agency, since Captain Ibrahim Traore came to power on September 30, 2022, the Burkinabe state has intervened in the infrastructure sector with the creation of the National Office of Dams and Hydro-Agricultural Development (ONBAH) and Faso-Mebo; in industry with the creation of Faso Kosam, tomato factories, the takeover of SN-SOSUCO; as well as in the mining sector.
The head of state justified this direction during his major interview, summarizing three years of governance. “There are things that must be returned to the state,” he said, before adding: “Because if we leave everything in the hands of the private sector, there will be no country.”
On the other hand, President Ibrahim Traore encouraged the private sector to adapt and invest in the mining sector, while regretting that his call has not, to date, been well received by economic operators, with the exception of one.
“I gathered the operators and told them: invest in the mines. But many didn’t understand. There was one, in any case, who started investing. I think I recently managed to contact him and he told me that I had opened his eyes. He didn’t know there was money there,” he said.
For the Head of State, the import-export practiced by certain economic operators only takes money out of the country and does not provide jobs for the people. According to him, there is therefore a need for these operators to reorient themselves by investing in mining but also in agriculture. In this area too, he deplored the persistent reluctance of private actors. To the latter, the Head of State issued a warning.
“Don’t be surprised if tomorrow I say that no one will take money to go abroad to pay for rice and come back. You invest to grow rice. You have to know how to change. You have to know how to adapt to the ideology of those who rule,” he stressed.