WASHINGTON, February 18, 2016 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$30 million credit to finance Burkina Faso’s Economic Governance and Citizen Engagement Project. This project aims to enhance domestic revenue mobilization and improve the use of public resources by strengthening accountability mechanisms, revenue collection systems, and public expenditure management. It will also help the Government of Burkina Faso sustain progress in the area of economic governance and the fight against corruption.
The new project covers the 2016-2021 period. Its first component will help strengthen citizen engagement and accountability by improving public sector transparency and accountability, and enhance the capacity of civil society to track public service performance and service delivery.
The second component, improving domestic revenue mobilization and public expenditure management, will expand the tax base, increase the collection of domestic revenue, and improve public expenditure performance and the delivery of public goods and services.
Through the rapid response facility component, the project will also assist the new government with the implementation of additional priorities and the development of economic governance reforms in order to pave the way for efficient public services delivery.
Cheick Kanté, World Bank Country Manager in Burkina Faso, stated that “sound management of public resource must be a high priority in a country with limited resources such as Burkina Faso. This new project will support a comprehensive public finance management strategy and fight impunity. The project also responds to the growing call by the citizens of Burkina Faso in recent years for social accountability.”
“The project falls within the scope of World Bank assistance with the implementation of public finance reforms and the development of mechanisms for transparency, the exercise of citizen oversight, and combating fraud and corruption. It will certainly help enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the public finance area,” said Maimouna Mbow Fam, World Bank Task Team Leader for the project.
