Burkina Faso: “Reconquest is good, of course, but consolidation is what is going to start now”, said the Head of State on the occasion of the New Year.

Dear compatriots,

Valiant fighting people of Burkina Faso,

On this day marking the end of the year 2022 and the beginning of 2023 in the following hours, we are here to pass on a message to the fighting sons and daughters of Burkina Faso.

The precise location, among these fighters, is solemn because elsewhere, while the spirits are celebrating, in the minds of these fighters, the spirit is at war. And you know, this war is beginning; for some time now, an operation has been carried out to liberate the capital of a province right here. I would like to salute the bravery of these men who have led this operation to reconquer this town.

Reconquest is good, of course, but consolidation is what is going to start now. It was the right time for me to come and salute them and through them all these fighters who are engaged throughout Burkina Faso: National Armed Forces, Internal Security Forces, Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland, and I will not forget the greatest fighters who are the mothers and wives of these men who are on the ground.

Today, we are here to share these moments with our brothers in arms and encourage them to go forward in this struggle. Encouraging them means that they must find the courage within themselves to continue. And where to look for this courage?

I would say to all the fighters in this country, that the courage, they will have it where they are implanted; everywhere in the villages where they will pass, they can look in the eyes of the children who bless them. These blessings are an inexhaustible source of courage that they must seek to continue this war because these people, their only hope for life is these fighters. This is the place for me to tell them never to give up, never to give up; we must protect these people, we must defend them.

When during the day they fight to look for their daily bread, we must be in the bush to allow them to look for it in safety. And at night, when they are asleep, let us still be in the bush to allow them to sleep peacefully; this is our mission, the mission of the combatant, a noble mission. And that is the glory, that is the honour. This is what I ask the brave fighters everywhere in Burkina Faso to redouble their efforts, to see the hope of life that the populations have in seeing them. This is what should enable them to rearm themselves with courage and continue this struggle.

The reorganisation of the army started some time ago and we are in a phase of changing tactics. I say tactics, not strategy, for the moment. The tactics must first change on the ground. And for the strategy, the overall change in the organisation of the army, we will talk about strategic change in the days to come.

But in the mentality of the fighters, the tactics have already changed, as evidenced here and there by the victories on the ground. This gives them morale, it proves to them that they are above, that they are capable. That is why I wanted to come and tell them face to face and make them understand this fact and redouble their efforts.

For military equipment and logistics, which were struggling, we have therefore, for some time, begun a process of equipment. And this is the place for me to say thank you to certain neighbouring countries that have spared no effort to help us acquire a certain number of air and land resources. Again, thank you to all of them for everything they do for Burkina and to all of Burkina Faso’s partners.

This logistical reorganisation is underway and will be expanded in the days to come. Because our wish is that when the people ask for the forces, that they are present. And this requires logistics. This is being resolved and we have no doubt that this can be done and that we can quickly meet the security needs of our people.

It was also an opportunity for me to see in these areas the need for road infrastructure which poses a serious problem for the development of this Nation. This is a challenge for us and speaking of this, we will see what urgent investment programme in road infrastructure to accompany the momentum of this war. Because logistical mobility even requires these road infrastructures.

This is also the place for me to talk about governance. Governance has been stalled for a long time. We are in an intense process against corruption and ill-gotten gains. There will be a framework for consultation that the Prime Minister will soon launch the refoundation of the Nation. Our system of governance must be totally reformed. The judiciary and the auditors have been given carte blanche to start leading the fight against corruption and this can already be felt on the ground. I encourage them to continue the work and to help us change our system of governance.

This is also the place for me to say thank you, as I was saying, to all those women, mothers and wives who are at the back, those heroines, who, day and night, pray, not knowing what has become of their children or their husbands, often because of a lack of communication, they struggle to get information but they endure. This is the place for me to say thank you to them, to continue to hold on because this is what also galvanises us on the ground. When we know they are holding on, it galvanises the soldier. Thank you again and may their prayers continue to accompany all these fighters.

I cannot finish without saying that this fight, whether it is on the side of the administration, or in the military, we have opted for a modernisation, a digitalisation of institutions. This will enable us to better fight against corruption, to dematerialise many aspects of our lives.

Dear compatriots,

Fighting people,

I would like to wish all Burkinabè, both inside and outside the country, that 2023, in a few hours’ time, will find us in good health, and that we will be able to draw from within ourselves this surge of solidarity to support these forces and lead them to more victories, to reclaim more land. We are going to pray to God to have more success and to be able to resettle our people where they need to be and to consolidate what they need to be.

Thank you to all those who have already reached out, Burkinabè from inside and outside, thank you to those who are on the way, and we are grateful to all those who have already taken salutary actions to support these Defence and Security Forces. To our valiant VDPs, whom we have recruited and whose training process is underway for the national VDPs, which will be completed by then, and the communal VDPs already installed and a good part of them equipped, we assure them that we will equip them, we will train them all and we will accompany them in their task.

Thank you very much to them for this patriotic fight;

Thank you to them for this patriotic impulse;

We will not be able to salute them and I can assure you that we will do everything possible so that they can fully play their role in this war.

Fatherland or death, we will win!

Miss OLY