Burkina Faso: NDI’s Dr Christopher Fomunyoh reassures H.E. Kyelem de Tambela of his support in strengthening the democratic process.

The Prime Minister, Me Apollinaire Joachimson Kyelem de Tambela, received in audience, the Regional Director for Africa of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), Dr Christopher Fomunyoh. The American think tank reassured the Head of Government of its support for the strengthening of the Burkinabe democratic process.

« We reassured the Prime Minister, Mr. Apollinaire Joachimson Kyelem de Tambela, of the NDI’s support to his Government, to the people of Burkina Faso, with whom we have been partners for more than seventeen years, » he explained at the end of the audience.

According to him, NDI intervenes alongside the actors of the democratic process, which are the political parties, all tendencies, and civil society organizations, to strengthen democracy and good governance.

This is why, he insisted, during this period of transition, when the country is facing particular challenges, NDI is showing the authorities its faith and confidence in the future.

In addition, the NDI Regional Director for Africa said that in the past, the think tank has conducted capacity building activities for civil society organisations.

« For example, we have worked extensively with women’s groups on the issue of women’s participation in politics. We intend to continue with these activities, » he said.

The NDI Regional Director for Africa took the opportunity to congratulate Mr. Apollinaire Joachimson Kyelem de Tambela for his appointment « to the key position » of Head of Government during this transition period.

For the Prime Minister, the NDI must change its paradigm in its partnership with our country. « We are no longer in phase with this kind of transfer of culture, tradition and practices foreign to our society. This Western vision of democracy that you are implementing in our country is not in line with the aspirations of our people, hence the recurrent instabilities in our states, » he explained.

Indeed, Mr. Apollinaire Joachimson Kyelem de Tambela considered that the people do not recognize themselves in this kind of grafting by force, to the point of losing interest, or even defying the institutions resulting from this system of transposition and imposition of foreign values. On the other hand, he maintains, they feel and live in harmony with their endogenous values of governance which they systematically respect, as evidenced by the traditional power that no instability or coup d’état has ever called into question.

This observation, the Head of Government noted, must serve as a rudder to rebuild a true democracy anchored in our society, so that our institutions correspond to the aspirations of the people who will be the guarantors, since they recognize themselves in them. This refoundation, he emphasised, will be materialised by a new Constitution which, like sugar in water, will consecrate the conformity of our values with our aspirations, rather than the crisogenic oil-water mixture that our nations are undergoing today.

The NDI Regional Director for Africa, recognising the originality and the validity of this bold vision, even suggests that African intellectuals should also be invited, through a conference in Ouagadougou, to contribute to such a refoundation.

Miss OLY