Programming Framework

(2001-2011)

1. Introduction
2. Development Context and Challenges for Burkina Faso 3. Burkina Faso's Development Strategies
4. Canadian Cooperation in Burkina Faso
5. CIDA Bilateral National Programming for 2001-2011 in Burkina Faso 6. Risk Assessment

Annex I - Table of Human Development Indicators for Burkina Faso
Annex II - Table of Bilateral Disbursements, 1990 -2000
Annex III - Linkages Between the Programming Profile and the PRSP
Annex IV - Linkages Between the Programming Profile and CIDA's Social Development Priorities

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List of Acronyms

Acronym	Full Title	Unofficial translations for French acronyms specific to Burkina Faso or Africa
AfDB	African Development Bank
AMBF	Association des maires du Burkina Faso	Association of mayors of Burkina Faso
CCSU	Canadian Cooperation Support Unit
CDN$	Canadian dollar
CET	Common External Tariff
CFAF	CFA franc
CIDA	Canadian International Development Agency
CND	Commission nationale de la décentralisation	Nat. commission for decentralization
CPD	Congrès pour la démocratie et le progrès	Congress for democracy and progress (ruling party in BF)
DGCOOP	Direction générale de la coopération (Ministère de l'économie et des finances)	Cooperation Branch (Min. of the Economy and Finance)
ECOWAS	Economic Community of West African States
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
HDI	Human Development Index
HIPC	Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
IDRC	International Development Research Centre
IHA	International Humanitarian Assistance
IMF	International Monetary Fund
INSD	Institut national de la statistique et de la démographie	National institute for statistics and demography
LISHD	Letter of Intent for Sustainable Human Development
MATS	Ministère des affaires territoriales et de la sécurité	Ministry for Territorial Affairs and Security
MEBA	Ministère de l'enseignement de base et de l'alphabétisation	Ministry for Basic Education and Literacy
MEF	Ministère de l'économie et des finances
NGO	Non-governmental organization	Ministry of the Economy and Finance
ODA	Official development assistance
OPP	Organisations professionnelles paysannes	Rural vocational organizations
PACD	Programme d'appui canadien à la décentralisation
PACEB	Programme d'appui canadien à l'éducation de base	Canadian basic education support program
PAF	Programme d'appui à la filière bio-alimentaire	Bio-food distribution channel support program
PA/OPP	Plan d'action/ Organisations professionnelles paysannes	Action plan/Rural vocational organizations
PAPPE	Programme d'appui à la promotion de la petite entreprise	Small busin ess promotion support program
PRSP	Poverty reduction strategy paper
RAF	Réforme agraire et foncière	Agrarian and land reform
RBM	Results-based management
SMEs	Small and medium-sized enterprises
SWAP	Sector-wide approach
TOD	Textes d'orientation sur la décentralisation	Decentralization policy documents
UNDP	United Nations Development Program
UNICEF	United Nations Children's Fund
UNITA	Union nationale pour I'indépendance totale de l'Angola	National union for the total independence of Angola
US$	United States dollar
VAT	Value-added tax
WAEMU	West African Economic and Monetary Union
WID/GE	Women in development/gender equality

1. Introduction

This programming profile describes the basic components of what Canadian bilateral cooperation in Burkina Faso at the national level will involve from 2001 to 2011, as defined jointly by Burkina Faso and Canada.

The proposed programming has been the subject of extensive prior consultations. It has been defined with the central objective of cooperating with and contributing to the combined efforts of the Government of Burkina Faso, its people and its partners to reduce poverty in Burkina Faso significantly. In cooperation with officials in Burkina Faso and its development partners, CIDA will thus ensure that as the various components of this programming are planned, they will closely mirror the principles and priorities defined in the Burkina Faso poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP).

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2. Development Context and Challenges for Burkina Faso

2.1 Macro-Economic Situation

In 1991, Burkina Faso undertook a wide range of economic reforms under a series of structural adjustment programs supported by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donors. At the end of 1997, Burkina Faso qualified for support under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative,¹ on the condition that the authorities act rapidly to complete the ambitious program of reforms then under way and scheduled to end in April 2000. The PRSP, recently prepared by Burkina Faso and approved by the World Bank, now qualifies Burkina Faso to access funds under the HIPC Initiative.

Burkina Faso's GDP has grown appreciably since the devaluation of the CFA franc (CFAF) in 1994, rising by an average of 0.8% in 1992-19 93, 4.2% in 1994-1997 and an estimated 6.2% in 1998. Initial estimates for 1999 predict growth of 5.8% and a decline in prices, with the harmonized C onsumer Price Index down by 1.1% (Prime Minister's state of the nation address, March 23, 2000). The primary sector has contributed an average of nearly 40% of the GDP in recent years, but grew by less than 3% annually in 1995-1998, as compared to the overall growth rate of 5% for the same period. The secondary sector has accounted for approximately 18% of the GDP in recent years, while its annual growth rate rose slightly to 6.5% in 1995-1998. Finally, the tertiary sector has contributed 42% to the GDP, growing at a rate of 7.6% in 1995-1998. Inflation has been brought under control gradually, dropping from 29% at the end of 1994 to 3% in 1998.

Burkina Faso's external debt rose from US$1.04  billion in 1990 to US$1.319 billion in 1997, a 27% increase. This sharp rise was due partly to the 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc. Arrears, however, have been reduced substantially from US$213 million in 1990 to US$6 million in 1997. This reduction was made possible by an improvement in the government's cash flow and improved mobilization of external aid. Internal borrowing rose 80% in 1990-1996, from CFAF 20 billion to CFAF 36 billion, but all arrears were repaid as of December 31, 1997.

External trade has also grown since the CFA franc was devalued in 1994. This change in exchange rates drove exports up strongly, with an export growth of 58.7% that also resulted in a 44% increase in imports. The current overall trend is for exports to grow faster than imports, as a result of structural adjustment measures. Burkina Faso's balance of trade might thus be expected to improve in the near future, but for the moment it still shows a structural deficit, with exports covering scarcely 48% of imports.

Burkina Faso has made major efforts to strengthen its public finances, through a budget policy designed to increase revenues while controlling expenditures. The government's own revenues have grown at a rate of 15% in recent years and represented 13% of the GDP in 1998, as compared to 11.9% in 1994. This rising percentage is largely due to the growth in tax revenues as a result of various tax reforms. In addition, current expenditures have been kept in check to give priority to investments. The government's progress in managing its finances has allowed it not only to eliminate its foreign debt arrears but also build up a surplus to finance a portion of its investment expenditures. However, Burkina Faso's economy is still heavily dependent on outside contributions to finance investment.

Despite this relatively positive overall economic picture, the impact of the general growth of Burkina Faso's economy on its people, and especially on poverty in Burkina Faso has been slow in making itself felt. In recent years, the proportion of the population living below the absolute poverty line has been 45.3%, up slightly from 44.5% in 1994. Preliminary results of the 1998 priority survey on household living conditions conducted by the INSD [national institute for statistics and demography] show that this absolute poverty line was CFAF 72,690 in 1998 as compared to CFAF 41,099 in 1994.

This situation is of concern to government authorities and the government's development partners. The recent adoption of the PRSP, which was supported by Burkina Faso's development partners, is expected to improve targeting of strategies and activities, as well as internal and external support, and make poverty reduction in Burkina Faso more effective in the coming years.

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2.2 Environment and Natural Resources

Burkina Faso occupies a transitional zone between the Sudan/Guinea region and the Sahel with an area of approximately 274,000 km². Its climate is characterized by sparse and irregular rainfall , and a very limited supply of arable land. These fragile resources offer a precarious base for the sustainable development of agriculture and the livestock industry, yet these activities employ nearly 88% of the labour force. A further problem is that the country is landlocked: this places a major constraint on external trade, while also tending to make production factors more expensive.

Burkina Faso's economy is based chiefly on agriculture and livestock, which together accounted for 37.2% of the GDP and 80% of total exports in 1998. However, these sectors are characterized by low productivity. Agriculture is still largely dominated by small family farms comprising three to six hectares of land. These farms are engaged primarily in subsistence agriculture, with grain crops occupying 88% of the area cultivated each year, while cash crops (such as cotton, peanuts and sesame seeds) occupy only 12%. As for the livestock industry, extensive herding remains by far the dominant activity. Productivity per animal remains low in terms of both milk and meat. Both agriculture and livestock breeding are affected by the unfavourable climate and soil conditions: irregular rainfall and soils with low organic content.

Maintaining a reliable water supply is difficult because of the uneven distribution of rainfall and high evaporation rate, while the infrastructure for water storage and distribution is for the most part both insufficient and inadequate. The environment is characterized by an accelerated degradation of natural resources. In 1992, the total area covered by natural forests was estimated at 14 million hectares (51% of the area of Burkina Faso). Every year, however, 50,000 hectares of land are deforested because of population growth and migration.

Burkina Faso's economic infrastructure (transportation, communications, energy and water) has a low capacity and is particularly expensive for users. This is one reason why production costs are high in Burkina Faso. A major effort has been made to develop ground transportation to improve road links to neighbouring countries, which has given Burkina Faso a fairly good position for trade within the region. However, links within Burkina Faso have yet to be developed. In the energy and telecommunications sectors, low capacity and relatively high costs present obstacles to expansion, though the potential demand is very high.

The mining sector remains largely undeveloped, and gold deposits in particular are still mined by traditional techniques. Some reforms are under way to modernize this industry and make it more productive and competitive, but a great deal remains to be done before it can make any significant contribution to Burkina Faso's economy.

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2.3 Private and Banking Sector

Burkina Faso's private sector is still dominated by relatively small firms. The formal economy consists of a few major agri-food, textile and mining companies, slightly more than 1,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and over 5,000 micro-businesses. This sector employs only 2% of the labour force but contributes up to 40% of Burkina Faso's GDP. The informal economy includes a host of micro-businesses (about 90,000) in a variety of trades and industries. It contributes 32% of the GDP and accounts for 70 % of all non-agricultural employment. Businesses in the formal economy are highly concentrated in Ouagadougou and the surrounding area: 80% of all companies were located there in 1997. Another 10% were in Bobo-Dioulasso, with the remaining 10% in other cities. On the other hand, 85% of activity in the informal sector is located in rural areas, and only 15% in urban areas.²

Burkina Faso's private sector is not highly dependent on foreign capital. With the exception of large service enterprises (like banks, insurance firms, hotels, fuel distributors) and the mining industry, the presence of foreign capital is insignificant. Up until 1990, the political climate did not encourage foreign investment. In recent years, relations have improved between the private sector and the government, which now sees the private sector as one of the pillars of the country's economic development. Reforms have recently been undertaken to improve its environment. However, growth of the private sector is still held back by a slowness to implement reform.

The private sector has benefited from many relatively large infusions from donors in recent years. However, it still faces major constraints, which mainly have to do with the legal environment, financing, factor costs, as well as technological and managerial expertise. The government has yet to undertake major reforms and initiatives to promote private sector growth.

Finally, Burkina Faso's banking sector has emerged stronger from the restructuring begun by the authorities. Nevertheless, both households and SMEs still find access to bank credit (and financial services in general) difficult and costly. As a result, they continue to use their own equity to fund a major portion of their investments and working capital. Moreover, few financial products are accessible and available to the vast majority of potential savers. Savings interest rates remain low, while the average lending rate remains unusually high, as in many other countries in this region. Finally, access to credit for the poor, and for women in particular, remains extremely limited, if not virtually non-existent in some areas.

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2.4 Population, Urbanization and Migration

The population of Burkina Faso, estimated at 4.3 million in 1960, is now about 11 million and growing at an average annual rate of 2.37%. At this rate, its population is expected to reach 15 million by 2015. People 15 and under make up 48% of the population, and women account for 52, or more than half of the population.

The geographic distribution of Burkina Faso's population is very uneven. Population densities range from 335 per km² in Kadiogo province to 5.8 per km² in Komandjoari province. The two main cities, Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, are the country's most densely populated areas, and its urban population is growing very rapidly. Burkina Faso's rate of urbanization rose from 3.7% in 1960 to over 15% in 1996. This rapid urbanization has not, however, been accompanied by enough development to meet the social and employment needs that it has created.

Migration has long played an important role in the demographics of Burkina Faso. Internal migration from rural to urban areas is significant, but the vast majority of migratory movements are still from one rural area to another. In terms of international migration, Burkina Faso still acts as a labour pool not only for neighbouring countries like Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, but more distant ones, like Togo. It is estimated that nearly three million nationals now live outside the country. Migration is thus a poverty reduction strategy for many families in Burkina Faso. However, growing rivalry between natives of Burkina Faso and immigrants from Côte d'Ivoire is expected to create some instability in this migration flow in the coming years.

The trend toward the integration of West African states, and especially the opening up of their borders to the free movement of goods, people and capital, also can be expected to have a considerable impact on the future migration of populations in the sub-region.

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2.5 Poverty, Basic Needs and the Status of Women

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Human Development Index (HDI) of Burkina Faso for 1998 shows it to be one of the world's poorest countries (172^nd out of 174 countries ranked). Social indicators for Burkina Faso are very low, even by the standards of the countries of the southern Sahel. In 1998, an estimated 45.3% of the people of Burkina Faso lived below the poverty line.

General Characteristics of Poverty³

Poverty in Burkina Faso is worse in rural areas, and affects the northern part of the country more than the central and southern regions. Those most vulnerable to poverty are children under 15, women, the unemployed and the aged. One hundred women live below the absolute poverty line for every 95 men. About 47% of all children between the ages of one and four suffer from malnutrition, and 70% of children under five are anaemic. The poor earn their livelihoods through agriculture, livestock breeding, fishing, handicrafts and the informal economy.

By socio-economic group, the incidence of poverty in 1994 was highest among food crop farmers (51.5%), cash crop farmers (50.1%), and people who were unemployed or not in the labour force (41.5%). By 1998, poverty had declined to 42.4% and 38.7%, respectively, for cash crop farmers and the unemployed. Poverty tended to increase for all other groups (employees in the public and private sector, craftspeople and business people, and other members of the labour force).

The profile of poverty in 1994 shows that Burkina Faso is characterized by relatively significant disparities in income distribution, with 10% of the population earning 50% of all income. The poverty reduction strategy thus needs not only to raise incomes, but also to ensure that they are distributed more equitably.

Basic Human Needs

Although major efforts have been made to promote basic essential social services, they remain inadequate because of high demand due to rapid population growth on one hand and very limited service capacity on the other. The primary school enrolment rate is clearly increasing but is still one of the lowest in the sub-region (41% of the gross enrolment rate in 1998-99 and about 32% for girls). Public health conditions are characterized by very high morbidity and mortality (especially among mothers and infants), attributable to infectious and parasitic diseases and the rapid spread of HIV infection. Between 8 and 10% of adults are living with HIV/AIDS. The supply of drinking water has improved significantly but is still inadequate to serve all the needs of Burkina Faso's urban and rural populations.

AIDS has become one of the most serious challenges to the development of Burkina Faso, which is currently one of the West African countries most affected by HIV. It is estimated that 7% of the general population has HIV/AIDS. Young people have been hit especially hard, and the number of cases of AIDS among youth has risen steadily from 3% in 1987 to an estimated more than 7% today. A growing number of women is becoming infected: from 25% of all AIDS cases in 1988, they now account for nearly 40%.

Status of Women

All social indicators for Burkina Faso show that women are more disadvantaged than men in health and education as well as access to paid jobs, production factors, etc. Women in Burkina Faso are still the victims of prejudice and regressive practices. Their participation in public life continues to be very slight and they remain very under-represented in decision-making roles in every sector. Yet the government, donors and NGOs have made substantial efforts in recent years to promote the status of women in Burkina Faso through a number of government policies and measures. The country's legal system, for example, treats women and men as equals, while the country's Code for Persons and the Family, adopted in the 1990s, is considered one of the most favourable to women in the sub-region, and indeed in Africa, especially its provisions concerning land, conjugal rights and the regulation of relationships between men and women. However, women in Burkina Faso still know too little about this code, and it is enforced very unevenly, especially in rural areas, where customary law often continues to take precedence. In 1997, authorities in Burkina Faso established the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, which has defined strategic objectives and implemented five specific action programs. Elsewhere, in areas like primary education, the recent 10 year plan gives the highest priority to increasing the enrolment rate among girls. The health development plan also focuses special attention on the needs of women, especially in maternal and reproductive health. Programs to assist women have also been implemented in areas like agriculture, micro-business and micro-credit.

Although the status of women in Burkina Faso has improved somewhat in the past decade, major efforts are still needed before its women can well and truly enjoy equal rights and participate fully in their country's economic, social and political life.

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2.6 Democracy and Governance⁴

For the past 10 years, Burkina Faso has been building a strong structure of republican institutions, the pillars of which include justice, democracy, separation of church and state, public order, and individual freedoms. Though this march toward development has not been without its tensions, significant and undeniable progress has been achieved in consolidating the country's democracy.

Since independence, the history of Burkina Faso has been marked by both political pluralism and great instability, with alternating authoritarian and liberal regimes. The country's First Republic (1960-1966) was a one-party presidential system. From 1966 to 1970, the constitution was suspended. In 1970, the Second Republic established a multi-party parliament; but this attempt at political pluralism did not survive for long. The Third Republic, established in 1977, lasted only three years, after which the country went through a series of military coups d'état and revolutionary regimes until the early 1990s. After more than a decade of military "emergency governments", a transition toward a constitutional government began with the restoration of a multi-party system in 1990 and the adoption of a democratic constitution in June 1991. This transition has continued through a series of frequent trips to the polls: the constitutional referendum in June 1991, a presidential election in December of the same year, elections to the legislature in May 1992, local elections in February 1995, new legislative elections in May 1997, and a new presidential election in 1998.

The national authorities have clearly expressed their desire to commit the country to a path toward democracy and good governance. The consolidation of democracy must therefore be considered in light of this expressed intention of the government and the institutions of civil society. In this regard, Burkina Faso enjoys one undeniable asset: political stability. In addition, the absence of ethnic polarization means that there has been no voting along ethnic lines and until just recently, relatively little political violence. These factors explain the generally peaceful nature of the process thus far. Burkina Faso is also fortunate in having a strong, dynamic civil society. Finally, even though Burkina Faso remains one of the poorest countries in the world, the way that it has managed its macro-economic policy over the past decade has generally contributed positively to its development and stability.

Despite this fairly positive picture, the past two years have seen some very violent incidents that were triggered by a particuarly strong public response to failures to punish political and economic crimes. There are other contributing factors-the way the majority party, the CPD [congress for democracy and progress], dominates the seats of power; the deep penetration, or even symbiosis between the CPD and the government; the limited, uncertain role of the opposition; the army's ongoing (but less obvious) influence; and the persistence of the authoritarian impulse. All of these factors call for vigilance. Other concerns include the increasing wealth of the ruling class, the widening gap between rich and poor, the relatively recent appearance of corruption on a scale previously unknown in Burkina Faso, as well as certain administrative practices in the public service that violate the principle of transparency, which is essential for genuine good governance.

As for the Burkina Faso judiciary, even though the independence of the courts is enshrined in law, the reality is more ambiguous, for several reasons. One is the justice system model, under which judges are appointed by and owe their careers to the executive branch, which can thus affect their decisions. Another is that the courts remain vulnerable to the pressures of the social and economic environment in general, and hence to corruption, since judges' salaries are still very low in relation to their responsibilities. Finally, the legal system is notoriously weak, with inadequate infrastructure, too few judges, low budgets, crowded courtrooms, lack of professional development, etc.

Burkina Faso recently adopted a national plan for good governance and a public service reform plan. The successful implementation of these two action plans would substantially improve the nation's governance.

Burkina Faso needs to go further toward consolidating democracy by continuing its current decentralization process, while implementing an economic growth strategy designed to reduce poverty and the growing disparities between rich and poor significantly. However, continuing the decentralization process will require sustained efforts in the coming years, if grassroots democracy is truly to take root. There will be many challenges. One will be to redefine and, above all, to exercise effectively the roles assigned to the various ministries and institutions, like the Ministry for Territorial Affairs and Security, the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the National Commission for Decentralization, as well as ministries with technical portfolios. Other challenges will be to decentralize the associated technical services; build up the capacities of local communities and their elected officials; inform and raise awareness among the general public, so they can participate in community life more actively; and review and implement the agrarian and land reform program (RAF).

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2.7 Regional Integration

Burkina Faso is strongly committed to a process of regional economic integration with the other countries of West Africa and is pursuing this process through a number of regional organizations. The most important of these are the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The integration process, especially through the WAEMU, will affect the economies of the member states, their trading activities (mainly with each other), their public finances, the competitiveness of their products and distribution channels, and hence the competitiveness of their industries.

The WAEMU's Common External Tariff (CET), which went into effect on January 1, 2000, will increase the free circulation of goods and trade among the union's member countries. However, according to Modeste Thombet (1999), [translation] "in general, the reforms will be accompanied by losses of revenues for WAEMU countries. Revenues from customs duties and value-added tax (VAT) will be affected most seriously. In Burkina Faso, these losses are estimated at CFAF 12.1 billion, including CFAF 10.94 billion in lost customs revenues and CFAF 1.154 billion in lost value-added tax."

The integration process will have two major benefits: i) the larger regional market will create economies of scale for producers and thus should enable them to reduce production costs , while making their products more competitive; ii) the expanded market will attract local and foreign investors, thus strengthening the economic fabric of the member countries.

To benefit from this large market, Burkina Faso must try to make the most of its comparative advantages while removing constraints that put it at a disadvantage in relation to other countries. The country enjoys a comparative advantage in the livestock sector (livestock, meat, leather and skins), as well as the textile and cotton sectors. It is at a disadvantage in the construction materials, pharmaceuticals, fruits and vegetables, tobacco, sugar, fish, flour, cigarettes and sheet metal markets.⁵

The government certainly has an important role to play: it can make Burkina Faso more competitive by "implementing a strategy based on a policy of openness (liberalization of distribution channels and prices), strengthening human resources and reducing factor costs." These are some of the objectives of the new PRSP. The private sector also has a decisive role to play: it must restructure and revitalize itself to take advantage of regional integration-the new economic order. Finally, the support of Burkina Faso's development partners is necessary and must be actively sought by both the government and the private sector.

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2.8 Burkina Faso's Development Partners

Burkina Faso depends heavily on external aid to fund its investment projects and programs. This aid accounts for nearly 80 % of the country's public investment budget. (The country received an average of some US$400 million per year between 1995 and 1997.)

Development aid comes from two main sources:⁶

• Multilateral aid (US$171.6 million in 1997, or 46% of all aid received). The main multilateral donors are the World Bank, the IMF and the European Union.
• Bilateral aid (US$199 million, or 53% of ODA [official development assistance] in 1997). This type of assistance is on the rise when compared to previous years (42% between 1994 and 1995), partly because of new donors like Belgium, China, Norway and Japan, but also because of a sizeable increase in payments by Denmark, the United States, the Netherlands and Canada. In descending order of the percentage of their total bilateral assistance to Burkina Faso in 1997, the largest donors were: France (21.10%), Germany (12.56%), the Netherlands (12.36%), Denmark (10.95%), the United States (7.88%), Belgium (6.23%), Switzerland (6.03%), Canada (5.82%), Japan (3.36%) and Taiwan (2.91%).

Aid from NGOs accounted for only about 1% of the total volume of ODA to Burkina Faso, although some 249 NGOs are active there and 92 of these are locally based.

In 1997, five main sectors received ODA. In descencing order, they were: transportation, economic management, a griculture/forestry/fishing, health and social development, and regional development.

Coordinating assistance to Burkina Faso remains a constant challenge. Of the mechanisms that coordinate assistance, the UNDP is the one that coordinates the United Nations system and contributes to coordinating the various donors in Burkina Faso, as it is a "round table" country. In recent years, however, the World Bank and the European Union have assumed an increasingly important role in coordinating development assistance. The fact that Burkina Faso has so many development partners (about 50), each with its own rules and procedures, often means that it is difficult to coordinate their activities to achieve synergy. The past five years, however, have seen a start toward coordination of specific sectors to achieve some coherence and follow Burkina Faso's move to institutute the program approach. It is true that the variety of aid delivery mechanisms used by the various donors is not always conducive to the effective partnerships required to implement the program approach. But here too, a number of donors are moving to harmonize their practices and increase their partnership potential.

The Government of Burkina Faso will need to work harder to increase the effectiveness of the institutions responsible for coordinating aid to its country. At present, it uses a multitude of coordination mechanisms that are dysfunctional in many respects. The Cooperation Branch of Burkina Faso's Ministry of the Economy and Finance recently carried out an assessment of its capacities and took steps to improve its performance. The ministry has also conducted studies aimed at reforming the institutional framework of Burkina Faso's aid management system.

The recent production of the Burkina Faso PRSP, in which both donors and civil society were closely involved (the latter still timidly), should promote coordination and better targeting of external aid to reduce poverty in Burkina Faso.

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3. Burkina Faso's Development Strategies

The Government of Burkina Faso has defined and/or introduced a series of policies, strategies and action plans in recent years to address the many different challenges of sustainable development, economic growth and poverty reduction in Burkina Faso. It has moved on several fronts: basic human needs, development of agriculture (including the livestock industry), public service reform, and policies on good governance, decentralization, competitiveness, etc.

Until very recently, the Letter of Intent for Sustainable Human Development (LISHD), prepared in 1995, constituted the strategic reference document on development and poverty reduction in Burkina Faso. Efforts to implement this policy have focussed mainly on social sectors. Despite these efforts, however, results have been poor, raising questions on whether resources were being used effectively. Not enough significant progress has been made in recent years in areas crucial to poverty reduction, such as providing the poor with land, productive capital, jobs and financial services.

In 1995, the Government of Burkina Faso began to develop the PRSP with the participation of many stakeholders in Burkinese society as well as the country's technical and financial partners. As in other developing countries that have developed PRSPs, generally with the support of the World Bank and the IMF, this strategy must be "country-directed," results-based, comprehensive and detailed, conducive to forming partnerships, and based on a long-range focus. Completed and approved in June 2000, the Burkina Faso PRSP is now the reference point for all stakeholders and partners in Burkina Faso in defining their development programs and activities to achieve equitable growth and reduce poverty. This also applies to Canadian cooperation programming for 2001-2011, which will very closely reflect the major principles and strategies identified in this strategy paper. The main elements of the PRSP (its guiding principles, objectives, strategic directions and priorities) are briefly outlined below.

"The government's overall strategy for reducing poverty in Burkina Faso is based on seven key guiding principles: refocussing the role of the government, sustainable natural resource management, promotion of a new partnership with donors, promotion of good governance, work on regional integration, focus on disparities among regions, and consideration of the gender dimension."

"To reduce poverty significantly, stronger economic growth is required in the years ahead. Accelerated growth should:

• create the conditions to improve the people's standard of living, particularly for the poorest members of society;
• enhance the impact and effectiveness of public policy, focussing initially on social sectors;
• promote rational management of natural resources;
• foster improved governance and better coordination of official development assistance."

The PRSP will focus on a set of programs organized under the following four strategic objectives, with budgeted priority activities planned for each.

Objective 1: Accelerate equity-based growth

• Maintain a stable macro-economic framework
• Increase the competitiveness of the economy and reduce factor costs
• Accelerate the development of the rural sector
• Support productive sectors

Objective 2: Guarantee that the poor have access to basic social services

• Promote their access to education
• Promote their access to health services
• Promote their access to drinking water
• Improve their housing

Objective 3: Expand opportunities for employment and income-generating activities for the poor

• Reduce the vulnerability of agricultural activities
• Intensify and modernize agricultural activities
• Increase and diversify rural incomes
• Build roads to open up rural areas

Objective 4: Promote good governance

• Good democratic governance
• Local governance
• Good economic governance
• Combat corruption

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4. Canadian Cooperation in Burkina Faso

Diplomatic relations between Canada and Burkina Faso date back to 1962. Actual field cooperation began in 1965. The 1986 General Agreement on Development Cooperation is the primary document defining the legal framework for Canadian assistance to Burkina Faso. Canada's bilateral national cooperation in Burkina Faso currently represents approximately 50% of Canadian ODA to this country. Other CIDA programs that support this country's development efforts include i) regional bilateral projects, which are used to fight AIDS, monitor epidemics, strengthen civil society in the Sahel and promote women's rights and their share in power; ii) multilateral project support; iii) projects based on partnerships between institutions and NGOs in Canada and Burkina Faso; and iv) private-sector industrial cooperation projects.

The purpose of the most recent bilateral program (for 1995-2000, parts of which are still being implemented) was to "contribute to poverty reduction in Burkina Faso. Broadly focussing on human resources development, this program is to support the initiatives of various dynamic segments of the population of Burkina Faso in seeking solutions and implementing mechanisms to remove the constraints and effect the changes necessary to increase their collective well-being and improve living conditions for the most vulnerable groups".

The intervention strategy was based on the following components: social development, economic growth, democracy and good governance. The programming strategy also included a cross-sectoral strategy for regional integration, women in development and gender equality (WID/GE), and the environment.

The 1995-2000 program also included sub-regional projects in areas such as health, human rights, strengthening of civil society, regulation of credit unions, and the environment. Some of these programs are still ongoing. As noted above, CIDA also supports other activities by Canadian institutions and NGOs, as well as multilateral programs (through agencies such as the African Development Bank [AfDB], the World Bank, the UNDP and UNICEF) and emergency food assistance.

This program was reviewed during the 1998-99 fiscal year. For the first time, this exercise was done jointly by Canada and Burkina Faso. Its detailed results are reported in a document entitled "Bilan conjoint de la coop ération bilatérale au Burkina Faso-Programmation 1995-2000" [joint assessment of bilateral cooperation in Burkina Faso-1995-2000 programming] and were generally very positive. The report highlighted the relevance of the program to Burkina Faso's development issues and priorities. It included a number of recommendations, mostly dealing with best practices for program and project design, planning, delivery, implementation, monitoring and assessment. The report essentially recommended that Burkina Faso be more closely involved in these various program and project phases, and that national capacities be assigned a greater programming role. The report also recommended that future programming focus on a more limited range of themes and projects. A great deal of weight was given to these recommendations in defining the programming for 2001-2011 that is outlined in this profile.

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5. CIDA Bilateral National Programming for 2001-2011 in Burkina Faso

The programming proposed in this profile for 2001- 2011 deals strictly with the national component of Canadian bilateral cooperation in Burkina Faso.⁷ This programming was developed through a joint process that included extensive consultation with authorities in Burkina Faso. They defined its broad outlines with CIDA and the various development partners, especially including donors and Canadian organizations currently active in Burkina Faso.

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5.1 Guiding Principles

A number of basic principles have guided the development of this programming profile and will continue to guide its implementation. Their basic purpose is to improve the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of efforts to achieve sustainable development in Burkina Faso. These principles were established jointly by Burkina Faso and Canada and are based on their recent joint review of the 1995-2000 program. They are summarized below.

Leadership by Burkina Faso- Burkina Faso must design, direct and coordinate its own development agenda. Accordingly, the country's development priorities, as stated in its PRSP and various sectoral policy documents, shall be the chief guides in the choice of the components of Canadian bilateral cooperation programming. An implicit corollary is that the government should have in place or strengthen its capacity to create clear, realistic policies, and establish a broad consensus about them among its own people and its international development partners. This principle also implies the existence of the effective capacity and desire to achieve coordination among the various ministries and donors, as well as to negotiate and manage assistance. This principle shall be embodied in Canadian cooperation activities that reflect Burkina Faso's poverty reduction strategy and are in line with development plans in sectors where Burkina Faso has clearly and convincingly demonstrated a capacity for strategic planning and coordination.

Program approach versus project approach-This relatively new approach seeks to develop and promote a common vision, consistency and synergy among activities relating to a common field or sector, as well as improve coordination among stakeholders implementing them. As with the preceding principle, the implementation of this approach presupposes the existence of clear, realistic operational policies and effective capacities for coordination at the national level. The program approach shall also be applied internally in Canadian cooperation programming and combined with a genuine coordination effort by the other technical and financial partners working in the areas targeted by this programming.

Partnership and openness to delivery mechanisms involving Burkina Faso-The essential goal of this principle is to explore and experiment as much as possible with various forms of partnerships and contractual agreements between Canada and Burkina Faso that involve Burkina Faso more closely and make more room for local capacities in managing and implementing development support activities.

Results-based management and shared responsibility for monitoring and evaluation-The results-based management (RBM) approach that was introduced during the 1995-2000 programming period must be continued and strengthened so that the various partners can share responsibility for achieving results, as well as for monitoring and evaluating cooperation programming and its components.

Concentration and continuity / Value-added by Canadian cooperation-To optimize the impact and maximize the limited resources of Canadian ODA in Burkina Faso, CIDA managers have been clearly instructed to focus on a limited number of themes and areas and substantially reduce the number of projects in new programming. This is also reflected in the recommendations of the joint review. The themes and areas dealt with in the 1995-2000 programming period are still among the major development priorities for Burkina Faso. Most will require long-term efforts to achieve the desired results. With this in mind, the principle of continuity has been considered in defining programming for 2001-2011. Activities from the preceding programming will continue in new programming over the coming years, thus consolidating past achievements in areas where Canadian expertise and experience provide added value.

Long-range vision and conditionality-To be consistent with the preceding principles and the requirement for cooperation that is better suited to the complex realities and challenges it must address, a long-range perspective is essential. Alt hough the administrative requirements for Canadian ODA do not allow budget commitments to extend more than five years into the future, Canada and Burkina Faso have now agreed to define the major priorities and strategic objectives of programming for the next 10 years.

It should be stressed here that the decision to program on a long-term basis rests on the assumption that Burkina Faso will develop in accordance with the principles of good governance, especially those pertaining to human rights, democracy and competent management of public affairs. These principles constitute essential conditions for Canadian ODA to Burkina Faso and will be monitored regularly as programming is delivered. Appropriate indicators will be defined jointly with Burkina Faso and integrated into the joint monitoring framework for the program.

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5.2 Programming Goal and Directions

The stated goal of the 2001-2011 programming is "to help to reduce poverty, in partnership, by developing Burkina Faso's human resources and productive potential."
This goal closely matches the directions defined in the PRSP recently prepared by Burkina Faso in consultation with its constituents and its international partners. In the words of a PRSP preparatory document, "the situation of lack of social services and extreme poverty, and the vulnerability of the people of Burkina Faso to crises of all sorts constitutes a major handicap to any sustainable development initiative." All of the various studies and analyses of the situation in Burkina Faso convey this same message. Thus this decision, made jointly with Burkina Faso, to make poverty reduction again the central objective of Canada's new cooperation programming, was in a way the only logical choice. Moreover, this objective is broadly shared among the development partners. The stated goal also explicitly includes the idea of partnership. The achievement of this objective will require substantial and concerted efforts by a wide range of stakeholders over a long period. This goal also includes the idea of significant results. Sustainable development in Burkina Faso can be achieved only through substantial, properly targeted poverty reduction.

As we have already seen,⁸ economic growth alone does not guarantee significant poverty reduction. Growth may help reduce poverty, but it may also affect it very marginally, especially if its effects are not equitably distributed among the people. It is thus essential that strategies for achieving economic growth be accompanied by strategies for creating conditions favourable to the population's effective participation in the achievement and benefits of this growth. It is from this perspective that the concept of equity and proper targeting must guide feasibility analyses and detailed planning of all components of Canada's bilateral cooperation programming in Burkina Faso in the coming years. The goal of reducing the gender gap will be given sustained attention in all programming components. Another principle will be to focus mainly on rural areas, where the incidence of poverty is by far the greatest, andongeographically focussed programming (as much as possible), to maximize its impact and internal synergy. However, no decisions have yet been made on the specific nature and scope of this geographic focus.

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5.3 Overview of 2001-2011 Programming Profile

Table 1a provides an overview of the 2001-2011 programming profile. The activities shown under each proposed program are to be incorporated into specific national action plans for the sectors and areas concerned.

Table 1b gives an overview of the timetable for carrying out approved and operational projects, as well as an approximate timetable for the overall implementation of new activities. Priority intervention sectors are shaded under each program. However, these are neither exhaustive nor definitive. They could be modified somewhat in coming years, depending on the development conditions at the time, and their exact content will be defined as detailed planning exercises are conducted with the authorities concerned in Burkina Faso. The precise timing of the introduction of each new specific activity will be determined as detailed planning activities are implemented in the coming years.

This programming is based on estimated annual spending of approximately CDN$9 million, for a total commitment of about $45-50 million over a five year period, and similar estimates for 2006-2011.

Table 1 b -Summary Table of Proposed Programming

Goal: "To help reduce poverty , in partnership, by developing Burkina Faso's human resources and productive potential."
Key Programs The graphs below indicate possible intervention sectors and a timetable for including them in programming.
Current activities and planned activities	00-01	01-02	02-03	03-04	04-05	05-06	06-07	07-08	08-09	09-10
Basic Education Program
PACEB	Yes
Informal Education Project	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Support for the 10-year plan for basic education, including decentralization in this sector.		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Program for the Development of Local Economies
PAPPE	Yes	Yes
Grain Marketing II	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bio-food sectors (PAF)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Activities in the proposed fields: small business promotion and support, grain marketing, funding tailored to SMEs, bio-food distribution channels, economic capacities of local communities, support in implementing PA/OPP.		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cross-sectoral Democratic Development Program
Decentralization in Nahouri	Yes	Yes
PACD	Yes	Yes
Social communications	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Support in implementing the Decentralization Act (decentralization policy documents, etc.)			Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Support in Implementing Programming The two funds identified below will be used to respond to ad hoc requests by Burkina Faso within the programming policy framework.
Canadian cooperation support unit (CCSU), including a local capacitiy building support fund	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Local opportunities support fund	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

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5.4 Selection and Overview of Main Programming Components

The magnitude of the development challenges in Burkina Faso made the choices for the current programming profile difficult to make. They were guided by PRSP directions and objectives, and the financial limitations of Canadian ODA planned for Burkina Faso. Preference was given to sectors in which Canada has developed a degree of experience in Burkina Faso and where the Canadaian contribution clearly would provide added value, always with the ultimate goal in mind. The need to optimize the limited resources available for Canadian bilateral national cooperation and maximize their impact forced certain tradeoffs. For example, certain sectors that are crucial to poverty reduction, like health and justice, were excluded. However, they are supported through other Canadian aid channels available to institutions and organizations in Burkina Faso.⁹ The West Africa AIDS project is a good example: a new phase of this project has just been approved.

As shown in Table 1b, the proposed 2001-2011 programming tends toward gradual concentration on two major programs-the basic education program and the local economic development program. Thus, over the medium term (by 2006-2007), these two programs should receive more than 90% of their planned disbursements. This strategy of concentration is designed to make programming more effective. However, these two key programs will eventually include governance and decentralization as cross-sectoral themes in their respective intervention sectors, since these two themes are still strategic priorities for poverty reduction and sustainable development in Burkina Faso. The official process of political and administrative decentralization is now under way in Burkina Faso, supported by Canadian cooperation. It is expected to continue to be an aspect of programming for a few more years under a "cross-sectoral program of democratic development" which will lapse in the medium term. A phasing-out strategy will then be established with stakeholders.

To retain a certain flexibility in implementing programs, provision also has been made for a local opportunities support fund, which can respond to ad hoc requests by Burkina Faso within the framework of predetermined directions for the programming. This fund will be managed jointly by Canada and Burkina Faso, and could be modeled on the Canada-Burkina Faso Counterpart Fund. Provision has also been made for alocal capacity building support fund which would be administered by the Canadian Cooperation Support Unit (CCSU) and included in its budget. It will be available to various partners involved in programs funded by Canadian cooperation and used mainly for ad hoc training or development needs.

Note that gender equality and the environment are cross-sectoral themes for all programming. Accordingly, even though they are not the focus of specific programs, they are an integral part of all the programs briefly described above. Each program will systematically address these themes in its activities. Note that WID/GE is already a concern in current Canadian cooperation program activities. However, given the gravity of the problems faced by women in Burkina Faso and their particularly disadvantaged, poverty-stricken situation, greater efforts will be made to include the WID/GE approach in new programming. Each program will analyze the particular strategic interests of women and their status in particular areas. When the detailed program planning is done, specific results and indicators will be targeted to reduce the gender gap. These will be discussed with the affected partners, and policy dialogue will be maintained with authorities in Burkina Faso in terms of the PRSP.

Finally, Table 1b shows new activities to be planned in the future as blocks under each program. The precise nature of these new activities will be defined through the joint development of a detailed work plan covering the first three years of programming. They will then be the focus of detailed identification and planning exercises with appropriate Burkina Faso officials. The timetable for beginning new activities, given here as an indication, will consider the financial flexibility available as previously planned projects are completed. Also, the way new activities are integrated and delivered under each proposed program will depend on Burkina Faso's capacity to appropriate and absorb them.

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5.5 Rationale and Consistency with Burkina Faso's Development Priorities

Each of the three proposed programs has its own specific goal. As they are carried out concurrently in partnership, however, they will ultimately contribute to poverty reduction by expediting the development of Burkina Faso's human resources and productive potential.

Basic Education Key Program

The specific goal of the basic education key program is to increase, in partnership with the various stakeholders, the quality of basic education services and grassroots participation in managing this sector. Accordingly, new activities will stress improving the quality of education and involving communities more extensively in the management of formal and informal education. The decentralization of basic education thus will be part of the program. Governance of the system will also be improved by strengthening the management and leadership capacities of Burkina Faso's Ministry for Basic Education and Literacy.

The decision to make basic education a key program ties in closely with the education strategies of the Government of Burkina Faso. Thus, the crucial importance of basic education as a development factor and mainstay for any effective, sustainable poverty reduction strategy is reaffirmed by strategic objective 2 of the PRSP, where one of the programs is designed to "promote access of the poor to education". Through this program, the Government of Burkina Faso will seek to achieve the following objectives by the year 2010: i) increase the gross primary enrolment ratio by 40% to 70% at a reasonable cost, especially for boys and girls in rural areas, as well as improve the quality and effectiveness of primary education; ii) offer high-quality literacy services to adults (especially women and residents of disadvantaged areas) and raise the literacy rate from 22% to 40%; iii) improve the quality of learning and teaching to reduce waste when large numbers of students have to repeat a grade or drop out of school; iv) build up the management capacities of schools, inspectors and regions as well as the leadership capacities of the Ministry for Basic Education and Literacy, to keep pace with the fast-growing volume of activities expected under the program, and Burkina Faso's policy of decentralization and deconcentration; v) to increase the proportion of the government's budget that is allocated to the education sector's operating budget from 21.6% to 26%, while ensuring that basic education receives 60% of this budget.

Burkina Faso's existing 2000-2009 10 year plan for the development of basic education provides a framework that will promote coordination and a partnership approach with Burkina Faso's various technical and financial partners. While this 10 year plan is ambitious, its recent adoption by the council of ministers (cabinet) of Burkina Faso clearly expresses the country's determination to continue and consolidate the progress achieved in recent years. Because of the extent of the problem and the need to fund it on a substantial, long-term, coordinated basis, Canadian cooperation officials launched a joint planning exercise in the year 2000. Its purpose is to introduce and experiment with a sector-wide approach (SWAP) to basic education in cooperation with other donors, including the World Bank, France and the Netherlands. The other areas targeted for Canadian cooperation under this key program will be specified in future planning exercises.

Finally, the fact that Canada is currently one of Burkina Faso's major technical and financial partners in basic education, and that Canada's recent activities have been appreciated, confirms the relevance and "value-added" of Canada's continued involvement in this area. Ongoing Canadian support will make it possible to capitalize on past successes and make the most of the lessons learned in recent years.

Local Economic Development Key Program¹⁰

The specific goal of this program is to increase job opportunities in targeted rural and urban areas so as to increase family income. A number of local development activities have begun already under 1995-2000 programming. They are focussing on the promotion of SMEs, grain marketing and support for certain bio-food distribution channels. They are slated to continue during the first few years of the new programming. Financial flexibility to begin new initiatives under this program, as previous initiatives are completed, will not become available until the 2002-2003 fiscal year.

Once current activities have been completed, they will be assessed jointly with the parties concerned. These assessments will enable Canada to draw lessons from these experiences and determine on follow-up. In the short and medium term, this program will also include new SME financing activities as well as provisions to strengthen the economic capacities of local communities . These will gradually incorporate related concerns on governance and decentralization. Joint detailed planning exercises will again define the nature and scope of new initiatives under this program, most of which will be centred on rural areas.

The main reason for choosing this key program is that experience has shown that direct, properly targeted private-sector support, especially for micro-businesses and SMEs, produces tangible results in the form of higher incomes and new jobs for the people of Burkina Faso, especially among the poorest families. As noted above, most of this program will target rural areas, where poverty is rife: it can thus have a direct impact on poverty reduction.

Canada's experience in decentralization and in working with associations and other groups is a major asset for the local economic development program. The Canadian partner thus will be able to help forge alliances among the various stakeholders and channel their efforts to maximize results while minimizing duplication of effort.

In its choice of sectors, the local economic development program closely reflects the strategies identified by Burkina Faso. For example, PRSP strategic objectives 1 and 3 call for programs to support productive sectors and to increase as well as diversify rural incomes. These programs would boost the private sector in urban and rural areas, support producers' organizations and collective infrastructures, strengthen marketing channels in high potential sectors and improve access to credit.

In related initiatives, the Burkina Faso Ministry of Agriculture has recently developed a strategic policy document and an operational strategic plan. In addition, an agricultural sector investment plan is currently being developed. When it is ready, it is expected to become the basic frame of reference for all coordination activity and investment in the rural sector.

As for the private sector, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Crafts has just developed an intervention platform and submitted it for approval by the various stakeholders, associations and groups in the private sector, as well as by the country's donors. Once this platform has been adopted by Burkina Faso's council of ministers, it will become the master document guiding public interventions in the private sector.

Canadian cooperation program activities deal with a number of areas addressed in these various strategic documents. Care will be taken to ensure that the activities adhere to the principles and approaches recommended in these documents, and that they are carried out in coordination and cooperation with the many stakeholders involved in these areas. However, much work remains to be done to harmonize the various strategies and action plans, as well as to keep the number of management and operational structures to a minimum. So Canadian cooperation will have to monitor the development of these strategies and action plans carefully in defining new initiatives for this key program.

In this context, where there are many strategic frameworks and stakeholders, and where the national coordination mechanisms are not yet well developed, using the program approach to plan and implement these activities could be difficult or even inappropriate, at least over the medium term. Canadian cooperation will nevertheless seek to encourage its application, or at least improve the potential for synergy wherever possible.

Cross-Sectoral Democratic Development Program

In addition to what the two key programs propose on the issues of governance and decentralization, a cross-sectoral democratic development program has also been included in the 2001-2011 programming. Its particular objective is "to increase the number of areas in which the people of Burkina Faso can participate and influence their own development, as well as their opportunities to do so."

This program will be centred mainly on the establishment of the decentralization process, in particular by supporting the implementation of the decentralization policy documents recently adopted by the Burkina Faso National Assembly. Canadian cooperation has already been involved in decentralization efforts for a number of years. It supports the n ational commission on decentralization, whose primary mission is to make decentralization a reality through a donor's collective. Canadian cooperation also regularly supports two key ministries, the Ministry of the Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Territorial Affairs and Security, which oversee local governments administratively and financially, as well as the association of mayors of Burkina Faso. In addition, CIDA funds support a decentralization project in Nahouri province which seeks to encourage its elected officials, agents and communities to participate more effectively in the process of decentralization and local development.

The exact form of future support has yet to be determined. Already, plans call for emphasis on building up the capacities of local communities and thus reducing the relative role of national institutions. CIDA will favour activities whose methodology, local development planning, instrumentation and training will maximize the benefits of the first generation of projects. Meanwhile, the current project to support social communications, whose objectives include building up the capacity of people to participate in decisions affecting them, will be concluded.

The cross-sectoral democratic development program ties in very closely with the principles and priorities set out in the PRSP. Good democratic governance and local governance are two of the four priority programs under PRSP strategic objective 4. Under "local governance," the PRSP points out the need to i) continue the decentralization policy; ii) implement adequate funding provisions to give communities the means to meet their newly-acquired responsibilities; iii) train local elected officials; iv) establish an efficient local administration; v) encourage citizen involvement in local development through civil society institutions; vi) permit decentralized cooperation; vii) adopt legislation to resolve any anomalies resulting from the geographical remapping of administrative borders; and viii) adopt laws allowing true decentralization of the Government's management of human, material and financial resources. The PRSP also states that in all these processes, better access to economic and social information is a key factor in building up the capacity of civil society to act and giving citizens the means to contribute effectively to urban life.

It is from this standpoint that the new Canadian cooperation initiatives under this program will be defined. Note that the combined impacts of the two key programs and the cross-sectoral one affecting democratic development, governance and decentralization will be manifold. These programs will affect these sectors in many ways: political and administrative decentralization will also mean decentralization and management of individual sectors like basic education and economic capacity building in the (decentralized) local communities. By proposing the adoption of an approach that gradually incorporates cross-sectoral support for decentralization and governance in this way, Canadian bilateral cooperation plans to carry on with activities that began in the preceding programming period. In addition, it will support new initiatives-by government institutions, civil society and the private sector-effectively designed to decentralize decision-making processes and broaden the people's participation in managing their own development.

Support for Program Implementation

In addition to the three programs described above, various steps will be taken to support the implementation of programming between 2001 and 2011. The CCSU will continue its mandate to assist in the delivery of the Canadian cooperation program during this period. It will also administer a local capacities development fund, which will meet particular capacity building needs of the various Canadian cooperation program partners in the field. As noted above, a local opportunities support fund also will be put in place to meet ad hoc requests from Burkina Faso, subject to the guiding principles set out in this programming profile. This fund will be managed jointly by Canada and Burkina Faso.

Finally, the bilateral/country program featured in this programming profile is only one CIDA funding and support channel. There are others available to (and currently used by) institutions and NGOs from Burkina Faso which expand the potential range of sectors supported by Canadian cooperation there.¹¹

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5.6 Joint Programming Management Strategy

Here are some of the proposed mechanisms for establishing a joint programming management strategy.

• The creation of a joint programming committee, with representatives from both Burkina Faso and Canada. Its first tasks would be to define the detailed work program for the first three years of the 2001-2011 programming period, as well as a performance measurement framework reflecting the indicators developed jointly by the government and its development partners for "the test on the reform of conditionality" they have performed over the past three years.
• The creation of steering committees for each of the proposed programs, with a ll partners involved in a program represented where possible. After the annual meeting of these steering committees, the joint programming committee's basic job would be to assess the progress achieved in overall programming and on the jointly defined work program, as well as the results obtained and any necessary adjustments.

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5.7 Conclusion

This Canadian bilateral cooperation programming profile is intended to be both open and concentrated, and to innovate while maintaining continuity and consistency with the principles that guided its development. Canada wishes to reiterate its desire to adhere closely to the national sustainable development and poverty reduction priorities and strategies of Burkina Faso. Throughout its implementation, the 2001-2011 bilateral cooperation program between Canada and Burkina Faso will maintain the flexibility it needs to adjust to these national priorities and strategies and to the recently adopted PRSP in particular. This flexibility also will ensure that the specific content, implementation mechanisms and activities of these proposed programs will be identified systematically, in joint consultation with the country's local, national and international stakeholders, as well as its development partners.

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6. Risk Assessment

A number of mechanisms have been planned or put in place to both manage and monitor risks, and reduce their impact on program delivery wherever possible. They include the following:

• The joint development, implementation and management (by Burkina Faso and Canada) of a framework for measuring the performance of the program and its components, specifically including a set of risk indicators and key assumptions for each level. This follow-up tool also will help to create more opportunities for political dialogue with authorities and stakeholders in Burkina Faso on how to manage and mitigate risk.
• The use of a risk-analysis framework developed specifically for Burkina Faso (already in place), to be updated periodically. This is a flexible tool that will allow program managers regularly to assess the development of key factors that represent potential risks to program delivery.

The list of risks set out below is not definitive; rather it highlights those we consider plausible (though to varying degrees) and that therefore could affect the successful delivery of the 2001-2011 programming described in this profile.

Internal political stability - In general, Burkina Faso is considered a stable country. Nevertheless, on several occasions in recent years, its people have demonstrated their dissatisfaction, particularly with the general lack of accountability in the political, judicial and economic spheres; corruption; lack of transparency; and social injustice in their country . Burkina Faso has a strong civil society that constitutes a dynamic force for development, as well as an active opposition. But it cannot compensate for the lack of any real opposition within the government without the risk of potentially violent confrontations. President Compaoré and the party in power (the CDP) clearly dominate parliament and the machinery of government: Burkina Faso is thus a "semi- democracy."

The "Zongo affair," the very recent closing of the University of Ouagadougou (on October 6, 2000) and other recent incidents illustrate the government's difficulties in finding satisfactory solutions to the crises that are shaking the country and sharpening tensions between the government and civil society. This situation is disturbing in more than one respect and entails the risk of continued social and political unrest.

In addition, recent allegations that the President himself is involved in violating the arms embargo against UNITA and in trading "weapons for diamonds" in Sierra Leone have greatly damaged the country's credibility. These allegations could lead to some destabilization of the current political landscape.

Poverty - The extreme poverty in which the majority of the population continues to live, the ever-widening gap between rich and poor, and the spread of corruption constitute significant sources of frustration. In this context, the risk of political destabilization cannot be discounted. This type of situation could affect the conduct of Canadian cooperation programming in Burkina Faso significantly.

Effects of climate - The economy of Burkina Faso is essentially agricultural, which means that it depends on rain. A single year of drought can mean disaster for most of the population, while neutralizing or even reversing the little economic progress achieved in recent years. Such a reversal would have repercussions for all of the country's development indicators and seriously handicap the development efforts of all stakeholders and partners in Burkina Faso, including Canadian cooperation.

Decentralization - The current decentralization process in Burkina Faso has reached a turning point. Making the decentralization policy documents work will require genuine political will on the part of the government to effectively transfer powers and the corresponding resources to local communities. The government will have to give substance to its plans to extend decentralization to rural communities and to ensure that the decentralized communities receive the tools and resources they need to meet their new responsibilities. In addition, to be effective, this process must be accompanied by an adequate deconcentration of technical services. To date, this has not taken place in most sectors. Without a major effort by the government and its partners to address these various needs, decentralization will mean very little to the people, and the establishment of the democratic process may be delayed even longer.

Sub-regional environment - Throughout the West-African sub-region, the risks are essentially political, but may have substantial economic and social repercussions as well. In particular, the current political situation in Côte d'Ivoire, including the phenomenon of ivoirité (nativism), represents a major risk if instability and the resulting clashes continue. Côte d'Ivoire is Burkina Faso's main economic partner in the sub-region. Many people from Burkina Faso also work there periodically or even live there. For many families, this emigration is a poverty-reduction strategy. However, recent rivalries between natives of Côte d'Ivoire and its immigrants might stem this flow of migration in the coming years, with potentially major impacts on poverty and the internal political stability of Burkina Faso.

At the same time, renewed debate over the regional integration process now under way also could have harmful impacts on the economy of Burkina Faso. All of these regional factors could affect the cooperation program negatively.
Adaptability of Canadian cooperation - The implementation of the new programming will require some major adjustments on the part of the Canadian cooperation effort and its partners: administrative mechanisms (especially the untying of aid), program delivery mechanisms and relations with partners in Burkina Faso will all be affected. If we fail to adjust fairly quickly, we will not be able to apply fully the principles that guided the definition of this programming or achieve their objective "to improve the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of efforts by all parties to achieve sustainable development in Burkina Faso."

Finally, let us recall that the new programming covers a 10 year time horizon and is based on the assumption that ODA to Burkina Faso for the years 2006-2011 will at least match current levels. If not, the proposed programs will not have the scope to "make a difference," and some targeted areas will have to be dropped from the programming, an exclusion that would compromise its overall integrity.

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Annex I: Table of human development indicators for Burkina Faso

BURKINA FASO - Human Development Indicators¹²

Gender- related development index
1998 rank	142
Life expectancy at birth (years) 1998	F 45.5	M 43.9
Adult literacy rate (% of pop. aged 15 and over) 1998	F 12.6	M 32.0
Combined primary, secondary and post- secondary gross enrolment ratio (%) 1997	F 16.0	M 25.0
GDP per capita (PPP US$) 1998	F 712	M 1,028
Human poverty
Probability of not surviving to age 40 (%) 1998	39.9
Adult illiteracy rate (% aged 15 and over) 1998	77.8
People without access to:
safe drinking water (%) 1998	58
health services (%) 1993	60
sanitation (%) 1998	63
Children under five who are underweight (%) 1998	30
Share of income or consumption:
poorest 20 % (%) 1998	5.5
richest 20 % (%) 1998	55.5
Gender and education
Female adult literacy as % of male rate, 1998	39
Female secondary enrolment (adjusted by age group) as % of male ratio	64
Female post-secondary students as % of males, 1997	29
Female post-secondary science enrolment (as % of female post-secondary students) 1994-97	7.7
Women in government
At all levels (%) 1998	10.0
At ministerial level (%) 1998	9.5
At sub-ministerial level (%) 1998	9.9

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Annex II: Table of bilateral disbursements, 1990-2000

Burkina Faso Country-to-country by Transfer Mechanism

($'000)	GOV'T TO GOV'T	VOLUNTEER	IND. COOP	IHA	IDRC	OTHER	TOTAL
1988/89	14,663	4,158	0	0	1,030	0	19,851
1989/90	10,460	4,436	137	0	647	0	15,680
1990/91	13,513	3,044	496	0	736	0	17,789
1991/92	17,981	3,173	248	0	604	0	22,006
1992/93	13,707	4,269	316	0	698	104	19,094
1993/94	11,859	592	73	0	696	25	13,245
1994/95	10,211	287	51	50	543	15	11,157
1995/96	10,560	260	23	0	836	0	11,679
1996/97	9,314	248	116	50	433	0	10,161
1997/98	8,852	430	854	0	839	0	10,975
1998/99	11,339	360	766	0	551	0	13,016
Total	132,459	21,257	3,080	100	7,613	144	164,653

Country-to-country approximate multilateral

($'000)	GOV'T TO GOV'T	OTHER	ESTIMATED MULTILATERAL	TOTAL
1998/89	14,663	5,188	7,346	27,197
1989/90	10,460	5,220	6,840	22,520
1990/91	13,513	4,276	6,439	24,228
1991/92	17,981	4,025	7,480	29,486
1992/93	13,707	5,387	7,575	26,669
1993/94	11,859	1,386	12,207	25,452
1994/95	10,211	946	7,512	18,669
1995/96	10,560	1,119	8,450	20,129
1996/97	9,314	847	6,605	16,766
1997/98	8,852	2,123	6,918	17,893
1998/99	11,339	1,677	7,180	20,196
Total	132,459	32,194	84,552	249,205

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Annex III: Linkages Between the Programming Profile and the PRSP

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Annex IV: Linkages Between the Programming Profile and CIDA's Social Development Priorities

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¹ Burkina Faso's external debt was estimated at 261% of its export revenues.
² The information source on population densities and geography is a study on the private sector and the business environment of Burkina Faso, prepared by a group of donors coordinating their efforts to develop the private sector: Étude sur le secteur privé et l'environnement des entreprises du Burkina Faso . Concertation des bailleurs de fonds sur le développement du secteur privé. Oct. 1997.
³ Source: Burkina Faso Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Ministry of the Economy and Finance. June 2000
⁴ This section is largely from International IDEA. Democracy in Burkina Faso , Assessment Mission Report, 1997; and from A. Loada, État des lieux sur la gouvernance, Étude complémentaire No 10, October 1999.
⁵ Modeste Thombet, Place et rôle du Burkina dans les initiatives de la construction régionale en Afrique de l'Ouest, Étude complémentaire No 19, November 1999.
⁶ UNDP, Development Cooperation, Burkina Faso, 1997 report.
⁷ This profile does not deal with regional or sub-regional bilateral cooperation.
⁸ See Section 2.1
⁹ See Annex III.
¹⁰ The term "local economy" includes the formal and informal, rural and urban private sectors, as well as the economic dimension of decentralized local communities.
¹¹ See Annex III.
¹² Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2000.

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Programming Framework (2001-2011) (PDF 264KB, 38 pages)