Not many may have heard of Burkina Faso, let alone point out where it is located on the map of the world. However, this poor, landlocked, agrarian country in West Africa with a population of just 23 million is charting new directions in financial reform and good governance. Burkina Faso is currently led by Africa’s youngest president – Captain Ibrahim Traoré. After coming to power through a military coup, Traoré has transformed Burkina Faso’s economy by challenging Western financial institutions. He unveiled a new economic blueprint that is boosting the country’s economy. After rejecting IMF loans, Traoré nationalised gold mines and built Burkina Faso’s first refinery. He focused on infrastructure by building thousands of kilometres of roads annually. The latest news is that Burkina Faso’s Council of Ministers has approved a sweeping restructuring of its public-finance. In a bold move, it has consolidated dozens of separate financing mechanisms into just four funds that expected to dedicatedly pursue justice and social welfare.
Shades of Islamic Thought
This restructuring did not grab international headlines. But, in a world that has some straitjacketed forms and structures for governance, this is a good case study to understand how Islamic political thought can be infused in 21st century administrative reform. The reworking of the public finance seems to be inspired by the timeless Islamic principles of amanah (public trust), maslahah (promotion of public good), and adl (justice as fairness). It is not only a masterclass for countries of West Africa but also South Asia. Typically, these nations struggle to implement social welfare under the weight of their bureaucratic style and overlapping schemes and leakages.
Why Transparency Matters in Vulnerable Nations
Developing countries with large sections of the deprived and marginalised are often beset with a typical problem. To cater to the needy, the government launches a variety of schemes to touch those specific segments. However, this leads to fragmentation of their public-finance system. This multiplicity of departments has certain disadvantages. There is uncertainty about accountability and leakage of funds. This means the benefits are not able to reach the target beneficiary. It was observed that Burkina Faso had dozens of specialised financing entities for financing various social sectors. These funds overlapped and became cumbersome to manage efficiently. Combining them into just four consolidated funds helped transparency, coherence, and effective.
Cutting Red Tape
The Burkina Faso public-finance reforms rearrange funds into four instruments: 1. Burkinabe Fund for Economic and Social Development (FBDES): A unified channel for economic projects, bringing national and international resources under one roof to coordinate development and monitor beneficiaries. 2. Fund for Support to Sport and Private Media (FASP): Combining sports and media support into a single structure to reduce paperwork and increase access. 3. Fund for Support to Education and Research (FOSER): Three earlier education and research funds merged into one, allowing coherent investment in training, innovation, and scholarship. 4. Fund for Social Assistance and National Solidarity (FASSN): A comprehensive mechanism for supporting vulnerable populations, humanitarian needs, access to justice, and social protection. This is called institutional consolidation in governance theory and simply adl (justice) according to Islamic terminology.
IMF Confirms
In a recent review, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave a particularly positive assessment of Burkina Faso’s economic situation. Despite a tense security environment and global context, the IMF praised the strength, resilience and coherence of the country’s macroeconomic performance. The IMF assessment highlighted that Burkina Faso’s economy had a steady, controlled growth of about 5% in 2025, driven in particular by strong gold production. Inflation, projected at minus 0.5% percent, reflects effective price management and a stabilised economic environment. This economic structure, rare in the region, strengthens Burkina Faso’s credibility with international financial partners.
On the budgetary front, the IMF commends the vision of the Burkina Faso government, who are committed to gradually reducing the public deficit to 3% of GDP by 2027, in line with regional standards. The discipline applied during the first half of 2025, marked by compliance with programme criteria and protection of priority spending, including education, health and social protection, is strongly appreciated. It demonstrates the government’s intention to balance macroeconomic stability, social needs and structural investment. The IMF also notes major progress in governance, transparency and fiscal integrity.
Challenges Ahead
Despite having made significant progress in such a short period, there are many challenges ahead for Burkina Faso. The country is poorly industrialised and is heavily dependent on exports of gold, cotton and oil-seeds. According to a report by the UN Trade and Development, “Burkina Faso remains one of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), with a large proportion of its population still living in poverty and inequality.
In 2021, real GDP per capita was USD 740 per year, compared with an average of USD 1,053 for LDCs. Nearly four out of 10 people live in extreme poverty, and according to the UNDP 2021-2022 human development report, Burkina Faso was ranked 184th out of 191 countries worldwide. These results can be attributed, among other things, to the structural problems of its economy, manifested by (1) insufficient production capacity for goods and services, (2) the difficult transition from a highly centralised state economy to a market economy, (3) major political instability, (4) the geographical handicap of being landlocked, (5) external debt, (6) demographic factors, (7) shortcomings in the quality of institutions and governance, and (8) socio-cultural constraints.”
When the government of Burkina Faso consolidated more than 40 public-finance legacy structures into four targeted funds, they sent out a powerful message about their commitment to responsible governance. They imbibed the concept of structural clarity in administrative design. Hopefully, it will translate into greater efficiency and transparency for common citizens and deliver justice, especially for Burkina Faso’s poorest citizens.