Politics

Despite planned transition, Burkina Faso’s head of junta appoints Prime Minister

Published

3 years ago

March 5, 2022

Despite announcing plans for transition into civil government on Tuesday, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba of Burkina Faso has appointed 53-year-old Albert Ouédraogo as prime minister.

Slamreportafrica reported on Wednesday that Burkina Faso’s ruling junta, the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), had signed a charter setting a three-year transition period before the country holds elections.

The Burkina Faso strongman, was also ceremonially sworn in as president on Wednesday at a brief occasion to officialize his position in the presence of representatives of the army, political parties, trade unions and the diplomatic corps.

By declaring himself President, the 41-year-old lieutenant-colonel has followed a pattern of some notable African military dictators like General Ibrahim Babangida of Nigeria who also wore the toga of being addressed president.

Lieutenant Colonel Damiba signed the degree which installed Mr. Albert Ouédraogo as Prime Minister stressing that “the new Prime Minister has solid experience in the management of public administrations, development projects and private companies,” according to the presidency. “He has conducted several study missions on the development of the private sector and organisational audits and the drafting of procedure manuals,”

Ouédraogo is an economist by training, an academic, and was up till his appointment as Prime Minister the head of a consulting and auditing firm since 2007.

Having been sworn in as President and with the latest appointment of a Prime Minister, Burkina Faso’s national government structure now resembles a parliamentary system of government where a ceremonial head of state is different from the head of government. It is however short of the ideal parliamentary majority because it did not come into power through a popular election, nor is the said Prime Minister from a legislative parliament.

The coup that brought the current junta into power in Burkina Faso was launched on 23 January 2022 when gunfire erupted in front of the presidential residence in the Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou and several military barracks around the city.

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Politics

Ivory Coast: Ex-minister challenges ex-Credit Suisse boss Thiam for presidency

Published

1 hour ago

October 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Jean-Louis Billon, the former commerce minister of Ivory Coast, announced on Friday that he would challenge party head and former CEO of Credit Suisse, Tidjane Thiam, for the opposition PDCI party’s candidacy in the country’s 2025 presidential election.

The PDCI party, which dominated Ivory Coast from independence until the late 1990s but has had difficulty regaining power because of internal strife, may become even more divided due to Billon’s choice to run.

Thiam just won the PDCI leadership contest and returned to the country that produces the most cocoa worldwide.

His triumph stoked rumours that he may challenge or succeed President Alassane Ouattara. Neither man has made an official announcement about his plans.

Historically, the PDCI’s presidential candidate has been the organization’s leader.

The 59-year-old Billon was Ouattara’s trade minister and the former head of SIFCA, Ivory Coast’s leading agro-industrial organisation. In order to fairly choose the party’s presidential candidate, he demanded that a PDCI convention be held.

“I hope that this convention will be democratic, honest, and transparent, with no tricks or favouritism, no violence, and free from any tribal bias,” Billon said in a statement

Politics

Sources suggest Sahel jihadis finding safety in Ghana

Published

2 days ago

October 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to seven sources cited by Reuters, Islamist militants in Burkina Faso are covertly utilising Ghana’s north as a medical and logistical rear camp to maintain their insurgency. This could allow them to increase their presence in West Africa.

According to the sources, which include regional diplomats and Ghanaian security officials, Ghanaian authorities seem to be largely ignoring the insurgents who are crossing over from neighbouring Burkina Faso to obtain food, fuel, and even explosives, as well as to receive medical attention for wounded fighters.

However, they said that strategy runs the risk of enabling terrorists to establish themselves in Ghana and recruit in some marginalised local areas, even though it has so far spared the country from the kind of devastating Islamist attacks that have afflicted its neighbours.

Ghana and Burkina Faso, which is at the centre of an insurgency that has killed thousands, displaced millions, and, according to some experts, made the Sahel region the epicentre of global terrorism as groups loyal to al Qaeda and Islamic State increase their presence, share a 600-kilometre (372-mile) border.

With the rise of JNIM, a pro-al Qaeda organisation, Burkina Faso has lost control of more than half of its territory. This week, a JNIM senior told French station RFI that the organization’s goal was to expand into Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Unlike Benin and Togo, Ghana has not experienced a significant attack.

Ghana’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, Boniface Gambila Adagbila, told Reuters that the militants were exploiting Ghana’s open borders and viewed the country as a “haven.”

However, he refuted claims that the government had inadvertently reached a non-aggression pact with the jihadists.

According to him, Ghana and Burkina Faso were collaborating to “flush them out”.

Since the beginning of October, attacks on companies have resulted in at least three fatalities and four injuries, according to an official.