« Four Weddings and a Fanta | Main | Heading (to my other) home soon »

March 01, 2008

Riots in Ouagadougou

Recent demonstrations in Burkina Faso have developed into riots. Rioters attacked government buildings and set up road blocks with burning tyres in the capital. The problems started in the second city of Bobo-Dioulasso and in Ouahigouya, and spread to the capital, Ouagadougou, on Thursday, the day I left to come back to Gorom.

The riots appear at first glance to be a popular uprising, the spark for which was recent increases in prices. We have all noticed these price rises and the word on the street accuses the new prime minister, Tertus Zongo of being behind them.

Is all as it seems...?
However, while steep price rises have indeed occurred recently, and the government should probably have acted earlier, all may not be as it seems. Zongo has been trying to crack down on corruption, and insisting that import taxes owed to the government – often avoided by “special arrangements”- be properly paid. This is one factor that apparently has been behind the rises.

Taxes on the wealthy are supposed to help the government pay for education and development and decrease dependence upon external aid. However, powerful and wealthy traders who offer bribes to avoid paying heavy taxes are not happy that their scams are being scuppered.

Further, in another town the potential riots were extinguished by careful handling of the main provocateurs, many of whom appear to be people kicked out of previous positions of local political power. Are the genuine needs of people and the gullibility of the press being manipulated by powerful people with their own agenda?

The government has announced a 3-month ban on import taxes on basic staples such as rice, milk, flour and salt, while it looks at the situation and pursues negotiations.

Tags: africa burkina burkina faso riots prices tax trade corruption

Posted by Keith at March 1, 2008 09:51 PM