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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 OUAGADOUGOU 000490 
 
AF/W FOR EPLUMB, JHUTCHISON 
NSC FOR KAREN O'DONNELL 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/9/2023 
TAGS: PREL ECON EAID UNSC UV
SUBJECT: Burkina Faso: AF DAS Moss Meeting with Prime Minister Zongo 
 
 
OUAGADOUGO 00000490  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Reftel: Ouagadougou 0432 
 
Classified by Amb. Jeanine Jackson; reasons 1.4(b,d) 
 
¶1. This is an action request for IO Bureau.  Please see para 17. 
 
¶2. (U) Summary:  In a June 4 meeting with AF DAS Todd Moss, Prime 
Minister Tertius Zongo explained his government's efforts to promote 
good governance, fight corruption, improve Burkina Faso's business 
climate, and boost agricultural production.  Zongo said that the land 
reform component of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) 
Compact could help boost food production. 
 
¶3. (C) Zongo stated that Burkina Faso's foreign policy priorities 
included promoting regional peace and security, and closer 
collaboration with the United States on the UN Security Council. 
Burkina Faso has had difficulties working with Libya (a fellow UN 
Security Council non-permanent member) since President Blaise 
Compaore visited Israel in May, Zongo said.  DAS Moss told Zongo it 
would be a mistake to reduce the number of UNMIL troop in Liberia 
below currently planned reductions because this could put at risk 
efforts to rebuild that country. End Summary. 
 
Good Governance, Peer Review, Fight Against Corruption 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Zongo opened the June 4 meeting by recalling that DAS Moss, 
during their last meeting together with AF PDAS Linda 
Thomas-Greenfield (in August 2007), had inquired about policy 
measures that Zongo planned to increase the efficiency of the 
Burkinabe Government.  Zongo also recalled receiving from Moss a copy 
of USAID's report on how roadblocks by customs and security forces in 
West Africa were an impediment to regional trade, and asked to 
receive a copy of the latest report.  Zongo explained his interest in 
the USAID report by stressing that a key goal since becoming Prime 
Minister had been to deliver measurable results that positively 
impacted all classes of Burkinabe society.  Zongo stated that his 
Government's three top priorities -- in both Burkina Faso and the 
sub-region -- were promoting democracy; good governance; and peace 
and stability. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Regarding good governance, Zongo noted that he was in 
discussions with the National Assembly and civil society concerning 
reforms that might be undertaken this calendar year, such as the use 
of ID cards to establish electoral lists, financing of political 
parties, the (weak) status of opposition parties, and quotas for 
women electoral candidates. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Zongo also stated that the African Union-endorsed, New 
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) African Peer Review 
Mechanism was a useful tool to improve governance.  This peer review, 
he said, had helped Burkina Faso focus on four points: political 
governance; the economy; corporate governance and improving the 
business climate; and cross-cutting issues -- such as the role of 
women and environmental protection.  President Compaore, Zongo noted, 
would be making a speech on June 29 responding to Burkina Faso's peer 
review with proposals to combat corruption and fraud, and "moralize" 
public life. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Zongo also stressed that Burkina Faso had recently created a 
new anti-corruption entity, the Superior Authority of State Control 
(SASC), whose head would take office on June 9.  SASC will have "real 
independence," Zongo said, including the ability to publish reports 
on its work, and refer corruption cases directly to the judicial 
system.  Zongo consulted with Ambassador before creating the SASC, he 
recalled, and now asked for USG support for this new institution. 
 
¶8. (C) Comment: Zongo is sincere in desiring to attack corruption, 
but we believe his efforts will have only minimal effect.  In 
general, President Compaore will not allow high-level corruption 
cases to be prosecuted by the judicial system, which Compaore 
controls.  Thus, while the SASC may be an institutional improvement 
on paper, its impact will be limited until there are reforms making 
the judiciary branch truly independent.  End Comment. 
 
Improving the Climate for Investment and Business 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Burkina Faso was also improving its investment climate by 
making it easier to do business, Zongo said.  The National Assembly 
recently passed a law making the labor code more flexible.  It is 
also trying to improve the quality of education, which is also key 
 
OUAGADOUGO 00000490  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
for business, and has emphasized girls' education in particular. 
There is a saying in Africa that when a woman is educated, a whole 
family is educated, Zongo explained. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Moss inquired if Zongo had met with Omar Issa, the Chief 
Executive Officer of the Investment Climate Facility Fund for Africa, 
which is based in Dar Es Salaam-based and piloting work in Rwanda 
that could be a model for Burkina Faso.  The United States was not a 
member of the Fund, Moss added, but was thinking of joining this 
initiative.  Zongo responded that he was considering creating an 
Investment Council for Burkina Faso with at least one member who was 
a member of this Fund. 
 
Boosting Agricultural Production: Need for More Reform 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) For Burkina Faso to solve its long-term challenges, it must 
also solve short-term problems as a matter of survival, Zongo said. 
As an example of the seriousness of the situation, Zongo noted that 
demonstrators (in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso) had recently 
protested against the rising cost of living by vandalizing street 
lights.  As a local solution to price rises, the Government hoped in 
the current agricultural season to double rice production, increase 
substantially corn and cereal output, and relaunch the key cotton 
sector -- boosting output over 50%, from around 400,000 tons in 
2007-2008 to over 600,000 tons in 2008-2009.  To achieve these 
increases, the GOBF hoped to make available to farmers increased 
fertilizer, improved seed, and additional agricultural equipment, 
such as machinery to de-hull rice.  To this end, the GOBF would also 
need donor assistance, Zongo added, and would soon be transmitting a 
request regarding food security to Ambassador. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Moss said that the path of reform was not a "one-time 
deal," but rather a continual process.  Even in the United States, 
for example, we are constantly trying fixes to reform our economy, 
such as rules to reduce the cost of listing shares in New York so 
that business is not lost to other financial centers such as London. 
It was also important that Burkina Faso compare itself not only to 
other countries in the sub-region, but also globally.  The bar of 
needed reforms is not only high, but keeps moving upward, Moss 
stated. 
 
MCC: Agricultural Reform, Uncertainty About Compact 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶13. (SBU) In response to a question from Moss, Zongo said that 
Burkina Faso had no problems with regard to liberalizing its markets 
(for agricultural inputs and production).  Instead, its problem was 
primarily one of supply, i.e. how to expand production.  Burkina Faso 
needed to make its agricultural sector more like a business, and be 
able to attract investors to enter that sector. 
 
¶14. (SBU) In this regard, the MCC Compact's land reform program will 
be important because, for example, it will allow a farmer with title 
to 1000 hectares to borrow and purchase agricultural inputs, Zongo 
said.  If Burkina Faso is providing exonerations allowing the 
duty-free importation using in mining or even in making candies, he 
asked rhetorically, why did it not exonerate imports of entrepreneurs 
investing in agriculture?  (Zongo also slipped in a pitch for the 
United States to invite President Compaore to the Compact signing 
scheduled for July 16 in Washington.) 
 
¶15. (SBU) DAS Moss said there was uncertainty in Congress concerning 
funding for MCC that could impact Compacts for Burkina Faso and 
Botswana, but that he was hopeful that this funding would be fully 
restored.  MCA was just one part of the USG's bilateral assistance 
programs with Burkina Faso, he stressed.  The United States would 
also continue to encourage multilateral donors such as the World Bank 
to aggressively attack poverty in Burkina Faso, Moss said. 
 
Stability in Sub-Region and at Home; UN Issues 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶16. (SBU) Stability: Shifting to foreign policy issues, Zongo said 
the Burkinabe Government had made progress in advancing peace and 
security in the sub-region, most notably in Cote d'Ivoire and Togo, 
and was also promoting stability domestically through 
decentralization reforms that empowered citizens to make decisions 
and not feel excluded from the political process. 
 
¶17. (SBU) UNSC Collaboration: Regarding Burkina Faso's collaboration 
with the United States in the UN Security Council, Zongo indicated 
 
OUAGADOUGO 00000490  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
the two sides needed to "keep in touch" and exchange views on major 
issues from time to time.  Burkina Faso's UN Ambassador is under 
instructions to maintain close contact with USUN.  DAS Moss responded 
by stressing that, if Burkina Faso was not getting the level of 
communication that it expected from USUN, it could work through 
colleagues in Washington to gain more information.  Zongo clarified 
that communication was fine, but that Burkina Faso wanted to make 
sure it "kept on being good."  Action Request: We believe that Zongo 
was being polite, and in reality believes that the United States and 
Burkina Faso need to have a bilateral discussion of upcoming UNSC 
issues.  Ambassador recommends that IO consider a bilateral exchange 
with Burkina Faso's UN Mission in New York about UNSC issues -- 
similar to one that IO led last December.  End Action Request. 
 
¶18. (C) Libya and Israel: Zongo noted that difficult questions 
concerning African countries continue to be placed on the agenda of 
the UNSC, where Libya is also a non-permanent member. (Like Burkina 
Faso, its two-year seat is 2008-2009).  Burkina Faso has had 
difficulties working with Libya, however, since Compaore visited 
Israel in May (reftel).  Burkina Faso resented remarks made by Libya 
leader Muammar Qadaffi that suggest that the leader of a sovereign 
country like Burkina Faso did not have the right to go where he 
pleased. 
 
¶19. (C) Liberia: Burkina Faso was gaining extra attention because of 
its UNSC seat, DAS Moss said.  In this regard, the United States felt 
strongly that it would be a mistake to reduce the number of UNMIL 
troop in Liberia below currently planned reductions because this 
could put at risk all the investment made into rebuilding that 
country.  The United States has been rebuilding the Liberian army; 
the United Nations has been rebuilding the police, but neither is 
ready to act alone with significant UNMIL support.  The United States 
does not agree with the iew expressed by some Europeans that Liberia 
hasbeen quiet for several years, and that therefore toop reductions 
can be made, Moss stated. 
 
Jacksn