BURKINA FASO:
Burkina Faso also known by its short form name Burkina, is a landlocked country in west Africa formerlly known as Upper Volta. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest and spans an area of 274,200 sq. km. (106,000 sq. mi.); about the size of Colorado. The Greenwich Meridian passes through Burkina Faso, thereby giving it a warm climate like many other countries in the West Africa Sub-Region.
The name was changed from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso on 4 August 1984, by then President Thomas Sankara to mean "the land of upright people" in Mòoré and Dioula, the major native languages but as a Marxist-Leninist, analyst see it as a way of severing ties from the colonial past because he allied the country with North Korea, Libya, and Cuba. Burkina Faso, after gaining independence from France in 1960, it has seen so many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, presidential Republic. The flag of red and green and the yellow star depicts the pan-African colors, which reflect a break with the country's colonial past and its unity with other African ex-colonies. The red symbolizes the revolution while the green represents the country's abundance in agricultural and natural resources and the yellow star in middle represents the guiding light of the revolution, The flag was adopted on August 4, 1984
Burkina Faso is a country that has been plauged by coups, President Maurice Yameogo was deposed on Jan. 3, 1966, by a military coup led by Col. Sangoulé Lamizana, who dissolved the national assembly and suspended the constitution, Constitutional rule returned in 1978 with the election of an assembly and a presidential vote in June in which Gen. Lamizana won by a narrow margin over three other candidates. On Nov. 25, 1980, Col. Sayé Zerbo led a bloodless coup that toppled Lamizana and in turn, Maj. Jean-Baptist Ouedraogo ousted Zerbo on Nov. 7, 1982. The current president himself, Blaise Compaoré was part of the Oct 15, 1987 coup that toppled Thomas Sankara, who also came to power in a bloodless coup as a 33-year old flight commander in 1983
Burkina Faso is divided into thirteen regions, forty-five provinces, and 351 communes. The regions are Boucle du Mouhoun, Cascades, Centre, Centre-Est, Centre-Nord, Centre-Ouest, Centre-Sud, Est, Hauts-Bassins, Nord, Plateau-Central, Sahel, Sud-Ouest. Provinces are Bale, Bam, Banwa, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Comoe, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Ioba, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komondjari, Kompienga, Kossi, Koulpelogo, Kouritenga, Kourweogo, Leraba, Loroum, Mouhoun, Nahouri, Namentenga, Nayala, Noumbiel, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Tuy, Yagha, Yatenga, Ziro, Zondoma and Zoundweogo
Burkina Faso is located in the middle of West Africa's "hump" and lies mostly between latitudes 9° and 15°N and longitudes 6°W and 3°E. Burkina Faso is geographically in the Sahel, though a larger part of the country is covered by a peneplain, a gently undulating landscape with a few isolated hills. The Sahel is the agricultural region between the Sahara Desert and the coastal rain forests that lies on the Tropical Savanna and extends beyond the borders of Burkina Faso, from the Horn of Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, and borders the Sahara to its north and the fertile region of the Sudan to the South, 200 meters-300 meters (650 ft.-1,000 ft.) above sea level, with fields, brush, and scattered trees. The country owes its former name of Upper Volta to the three rivers which cross it, namely the Red Volta (Nazinon), the White Volta (Nakambé) and the Black Volta (Mouhoun), which is the biggest of all and one of the country's only two rivers that flows all year round, the other being the Komoé, which flows to the southwest.
Burkina Faso has West Africa's largest elephant population and game preserves are also home to lions, hippos, monkeys, warthogs, antelope as well as others, however tourism is not well developed. It has a primarily tropical climate with two very distinct seasons. In the rainy season, the country receives between 600 and 900 millimeters of rainfall and in the dry season the harmattan, a hot dry wind from the Sahara blows. The rainy season lasts approximately four months, May to September and is shorter in the northern part of the country. The cooler season, November to February, is pleasantly warm and dry (but dusty), with cool evenings. March-June can be very hot.
Burkina Faso has a population of 16.3 million (2010), with a labour force of 6.668 million and an array of eithnic groups but prominent amongst them is the Mossi (almost half of the total population), followed by Gourmantche, Fulani, Dioula, and Bissa.
60% of the population are Muslims, Catholic accounts for 20%, Animist 15%, Protestant 5%. The official language is French followed by Gourma; Fulfulde, Dioula and Tamasheq although most of the ethics groups have their own language but they know a bit of these because it is widely spoken than others. Agriculture attract 71% of the total work force and represents 34% of its GDP while service and industy represents 26% of GDP
Burkina Faso remains one of the top producers of cotton, other agricultural products include Sorghum, Pearl, Millet, Maize, Peanuts, shea nuts and livestock. Natural Resources include Manganese, gold, limestone, marble, phosphate, zinc, uranium. Cotton accouns for the major export, followed by gold, Shea nut, and livestock and its major trading partners include France, Singapore, Belgium, China, India and South Africa.
The government is headed by Blaise Compaoré who assumed power Oct 15 1987 through a coup he master minded, that lead to the assasination of Thomas sankara by former loyal soldiers. Blaise Compaoré have subsequently won four preseidential elections with the latest in November 2010, his current term is supposed to be his last but there have been suggestions that he is preparing to change the constitution to remove limits to the number of terms a president can serve. The president exercises executive power, appoints the prime minister and keeps a tight hold over the military and government bodies. He portrays himself as the guarantor of political stability and economic progress.
There was an army mutiny in April 2011 that was later quelled, the trouble started when soldiers,police and presidential guards in the capital protested about unpaid housing allowances. Hours before the revolt broke out, tens of thousands of people had demonstrated against high food prices.
Burkina Faso operates a civil law based on french model and customary law, a democratic constitution was approved by referendum in June 1991 and amended January 2002. Court hierarchy consists of Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Council of State or Conseil d'Etat; Court of Accounts or la Cour des Comptes; Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel.
The National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale is unicameral with 111 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, just like the presidents who's tenure will come to an end in 2015.
Burkina Faso's capital is Ouagadougou. It is a member of the African Union, Community of Sahel-Saharan States, United Nation, Organization of the Islamic Conference and Economic Community of West African States |
