Burkina Faso takes critical strides to abolish politicisation of public administration — aka cadre deployment

Poor governance of public affairs has been cited as one of the reasons for Burkina Faso’s two coups last year, and the severe insecurity that has engulfed the country since 2015.

The popular uprising of 2014, which ended Blaise Compaoré’s 27-year reign, revealed citizens’ desire to rebuild their country on the principles of good governance and a public administration free of political influence. That aspiration was taken up in 2015 by then-president Michel Kafando, who laid the foundation for a new law to depoliticise the government. 

Eight years later, on 16 March this year, the bill — which reinforces political neutrality and meritocracy in public administration — was finally passed. The country’s Transitional Legislative Assembly approved the bill, which bans practices prejudicial to the good functioning and stability of the state. 

The law could serve as an example to other countries in the region whose public administrations have similar problems. Governance reforms are vital in most West African nations, where insecurity and rising coups are fuelled by exclusion, injustice and socio-economic inequality. Most of these problems stem from bad governance practices. The putschists in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and recently Niger all justified their actions by referring to the governance deficit. 

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A study requested by Burkina Faso’s 2015 transitional government shows the damage caused by the politicisation of public administration. Political party cells or groups with regionalist leanings were active in government, and wearing uniforms in political party colours was common practice. Promotions and other favours were granted to certain civil servants based on political affiliation, while others could be punished or even persecuted for belonging to the political opposition.

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The influence of party politics on institutions such as the army, civil service and judiciary contributed to the 1998 murder of journalist Norbert Zongo, who was investigating cases involving people close to Compaoré. It has also resulted in clientelism, favouritism, injustice and corruption in government, deepened social inequalities and prevented the equitable redistribution of national resources. The protest following Zongo’s assassination was the harbinger of the 2014 popular uprising.

This situation has also created fertile ground for violent extremist groups in the country’s rural areas, and sparked popular support for the two military coups in 2022. 

Drafting the new law was however an arduous process. The first version of the preliminary draft met with resistance from political stakeholders as early as 2015 — particularly members of former president Roch Kaboré’s party, the People’s Movement for Progress. According to Institute for Security Studies sources, the party was worried that the law would prevent them from rewarding their militants and supporters with government appointments.

Two other attempts to revive the process of finalising the draft bill failed for the same reasons — first under Kaboré in 2017, then in April 2022, under coup leader Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba.

Bill’s mixed response