Burkina Faso: Ibrahim Traoré in power for nearly a year – what is his record?

Since coming to power on 2 October 2022,  Ibrahim Traoré has amply demonstrated his patriotism. Thanks to several reforms, he has undertaken the conquest of sovereignty.

On the security front, he has launched a massive recruitment drive for 50,000 Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), as part of the fight against terrorism.

Three months after requesting the departure of French troops, the President of the Transition turned to other partners such as Russia and Turkey, which has enabled the army to track down terrorists to their hideouts and neutralise them in several assaults.

On the economic front, in January 2023 the President of the Transition launched the Patriotic Support Fund, which will help mobilise resources to support the efforts made by the State and provide support for volunteers defending the country. This fund has raised more than 20 billion CFA francs up to 02 June 2023.  This was followed on 12 June 2023 by the launch of the community development programme through popular shareholding, which plans to create one million direct jobs in two years.

Thanks to his diplomatic finesse, the President of the transition has been able to attract investors such as Iran, which plans to build an oil refinery in Burkina Faso in order to export oil to that country. Negotiations are underway to transfer engineering expertise to Ouagadougou. This partnership paves the way for other cooperation projects in the energy sector.

From all the above, it seems clear that Ibrahim Traoré’s record to date is more than positive. The population must remain mobilised to ensure that President Ibrahim Traoré continues in this vein.

Moussa Ramane