At the end of its General Policy Declaration (DPG), delivered on the morning of Friday December 27, 2024, the deputies of the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT) asked questions to the new Prime Minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, to which he provided answers.
70.59% of the national territory is now secure. This is the official response provided by the Prime Minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, in the hemicycle, on Friday December 27, 2024, following a question addressed to him by the deputies, at the end of his Policy Declaration general (DPG). Although having taken note of this notable progress in the reconquest of the national territory, the deputies wanted to know the government’s perspectives in terms of total recovery of the territory by the State.
On this point, the Prime Minister assured that additional efforts are being made to accentuate this trend. “It’s an evaluation that is dynamic. We have been witnessing an intensification of military operations on the ground for some time and this is happening in several phases. We must reconquer, consolidate before considering the return of populations. It is therefore a dynamic that will continue and intensify,” he indicated. The head of government, however, once again called for the unwavering support of all Burkinabè citizens for the Defense and Security Forces (FDS).
“The greatest reward for our fighters when they return from the front is when they see the exaltation and pride in the eyes of the populations they meet,” he said. In his opinion, a lot of efforts have already been made in this direction by the populations. He encouraged them to stay the course in order to allow the fighters to keep morale high and achieve more victories. For him, security must be a co-construction. This is why he called on the populations of the reconquered areas to be the actors of their own security. “They must activate monitoring in order to support the FDS with information to further strengthen the climate of tranquility in their localities,”
he argued.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the implementation of measures aimed at strengthening the firepower of the fighting forces. On this point, he clarified, in response to a question from deputies concerning the provisioning of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) with rolling and defense equipment, that these efforts concern all forces without distinction.
“This can be seen on the ground. Our ISF, in the history of our country, have never been so well equipped,” he attested.
Holders of solutions
In his opinion, it is important that each force can make its contribution to the reconquest of the national territory. Concerning precisely the fight against terrorism, the deputies asked for the head of government’s point of view on the establishment of an army of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), instead of the Confederation. On this point, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo considered the opinion relevant. However, he noted that since the AES is currently a Confederation, there can only be one joint force. From what he said, this force is being operationalized.
He noted that the AES Confederation is still being structured. “Initially, it was a defense alliance, but the enlightened vision of the three heads of state made it possible to move to another stage by integrating other aspects such as diplomacy and development to make it a Confederation. The hope is that this momentum continues for total and harmonious integration,” he said.
Faced with the manifest interest of deputies in the rural sector, through the questions asked, the Prime Minister recognized the importance of supporting rural populations and strengthening resilience in key sectors of the national economy.
In the field of education, which was also the subject of particular interest on the part of the deputies, the head of government displayed his ambition to reorganize higher education so that it trains competent and capable executives. of innovation.
This reform aims, according to him, to align academic training with the real needs of national development.
“It is clear that if we continue to train hundreds of philosophers, literary scholars, sociologists, that poses a problem. We need a university that provides Burkina with solutions,” he said.
The responses of the Prime Minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, convinced the deputies who all voted “yes” for the adoption of his General Policy Declaration. The President of the ALT, Ousmane Bougouma, for his part, reaffirmed the availability of his institution to support the government in carrying out its missions in the service of the country.
Nadège YAMEOGO