The suspension of development aid and budget support by France to Burkina Faso sounds like a sleeve effect, because for two years, the country of honest men has received zero copeck as budgetary support from the former colonizing power, the AIB has learned.

France announced on the evening of August 6, 2023, the suspension of its development aid and budget support to Burkina Faso.

Commenting on this decision, Western media have advanced 13 million euros (8.5 billion FCFA) as budget support programmed in 2022 for Burkina Faso and 480 million euros (315 billion FCFA) for the financing of development projects.

Credible sources contacted by the AIB gave more modest figures and indicated that the bulk of French aid was in the form of loans and grants in the financing of projects. Budget support provided directly to the Burkinabè state has been nil since 2022.

Indeed, in 2021, France provided nearly 6 billion 559 million FCFA in budget support to Burkina Faso, compared to zero francs in 2022 and 2023.

In 2021, twelve agreements worth more than 82 billion FCFA were signed, namely 52.48 billion FCFA in loans and 41.56 billion FCFA in grants.

Four agreements were signed in 2022 for an amount of 11.4 billion FCFA. The disbursement for the financing of projects amounted to 56.82 billion FCFA, including 36.88 billion FCFA in loans and 19.94 billion FCFA in grants.

“The impact of the decision of the French partner remains altogether derisory” according to our source.

Captain Ibrahim Traoré, in power since September 30, 2022, has repeatedly urged Burkinabè to make all the necessary sacrifices to regain the dignity and sovereignty of the country.

Source: Burkina Information Agency