Burkina Faso: The Government passes two bills to help the Patriotic Support Fund (FSP)

The government of Burkina Faso passed two bills on Wednesday to facilitate the mobilization of resources under the Patriotic Support Fund (FSP).

This fund is established in January 2023, as part of the fight against terrorism, according to an official source.

According to the statement from the Council of Ministers, the government adopted a first bill on the establishment of a special contribution on the consumption of certain products and services to feed the Patriotic Support Fund.

The same source added that in addition to these voluntary contributions, the government deemed it necessary to add mandatory contributions collected on certain products.

 According to the Minister of Finance, Aboubakar Nacanabo, who spoke after the Council of Ministers, the products concerned are “drinks, cigarettes, and cosmetic products.”

The purpose of this bill is to strengthen the legal framework for the special contribution on the consumption of these products and services in order to achieve all the expected effects in terms of fundraising, the Minister of Finance stated.

In the same vein, the Burkinabe government has examined and adopted a draft law amending the Mining Code by introducing provisions allowing for the transfer of a portion of the resources from the Local Development Mining Fund (FMDL) to the Patriotic Support Fund (FSP).

The Minister of Mines, Simon-Pierre Boussim, clarified that the aim is to amend Articles 26 and 30 of the Mining Code to enable the Local Development Mining Fund to support the Patriotic Support Fund.

The Council of Ministers has approved the submission of these two draft laws to the Transitional Legislative Assembly.

Last January, the Burkinabe government created a Patriotic Support Fund estimated at 100 billion CFA francs (164 million dollars) to support and accompany the action of Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP, army auxiliaries) in the fight against terrorism.

The establishment of this fund should contribute to achieving the first two missions assigned to the Transition by the Charter signed on October 14, 2022, «namely: restoring and strengthening security throughout the national territory and providing an urgent, effective, and efficient response to the humanitarian crisis», according to Burkinabe authorities.

On April 10th, the Burkinabe government announced that as of March 31, 2023, the amount of 7,366,150,616 CFA francs (12.2 million dollars) had been collected under the Patriotic Support Fund (PSF).

H. Nelchael.