VZCZCXRO8188
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHOU #0827/01 2661140
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 221140Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY OUAGADOUGOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4143
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OUAGADOUGOU 000827 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W - LOCKHART; AF/PD - LISENBY & TITUS; ECA/A/L 
DAKAR FOR ALICE MURRAY 
DAKAR ALSO FOR FAS, USAID, OFDA 
ACCRA ALSO FOR USAID 
AFRICOM FOR JIM BARBER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2018 
TAGS: PREL ECON SCUL KPAO PHUM CASC UV
SUBJECT:  BURKINA FASO: HOPE AND CHALLENGES NEAR THE COTE D'IVOIRE 
BORDER 
 
REF: A) Ouagadougou 439; B) Ouagadougou 424; C) Ouagadougou 272 
 
Classified by Amb. Jeanine Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  Officials in Western Burkina Faso are depending on 
the successful implementation of the Ouagadougou Peace Accords for 
their region's economic survival and long-term stability.  The 
flashpoint of the February food price riots, Bobo-Dioulasso, still 
bears the scars seven months later.  Additional food shortages, 
infrastructure problems, and inadequate schools exacerbate the 
underlying economic problems, which were made worse by the Cote 
d'Ivoire crisis.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U) September 12-15, PAO and ConOff traveled to Bobo-Dioulasso 
and Banfora in the West of Burkina Faso to conduct outreach to the 
local Muslim community and to facilitate American voter registration 
for the upcoming presidential election.  During the trip, EmbOffs met 
with local and regional officials as well as religious leaders.  In 
addition, an estimated 500 individuals from the Muslim community 
participated in PAS-sponsored programming. 
 
------------------------ 
"La Vie Chere" Continues 
------------------------ 
 
¶3.   (C) Bobo was the flashpoint for the February cost-of-living 
riots across Burkina Faso, and according to Fatou Ziba Deputy Mayor 
of the Dafra sector, the city has not yet fully recovered.  Most 
traffic signals, where there are any, are still out.  Food prices are 
higher than ever before, which reflects the situation throughout 
Burkina.  According to Dafra officials, rice doubled in price this 
year hitting the poorest communities the hardest.  Last year's meager 
harvest is impacting more people now because food stocks have run 
out.  While this year's harvest looks good - it is still a month or 
so away. 
 
¶4.  (C) Officials in Banfora also highlighted the difficult economic 
situation for much of the population.  However, they were hopeful 
that, in spite of heavy rains and some localized flooding, the crops 
would be good this year.  Furthermore, despite these continuing 
difficulties, no interlocutor suggested that additional civil unrest 
was imminent.  However, Dafra Deputy Mayor Ziba said that the 
discontent that sparked the February riots was still simmering under 
the surface. 
 
------------------------------- 
Hope for Peace in Cote d'Ivoire 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) The Secretary General of the Haut-Bassins Region, Ahmed 
Ouattara Sory, reported that much faith has been put in the 
successful implementation of the Ouagadougou peace accords.  He 
indicated that the economic viability of the area was hit 
particularly hard by the Cote d'Ivoire crisis.  However, the recent 
stability had already yielded improved cross-border trade and 
increased transportation through the region.  Assuming the 
Presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire are peaceful, he expected 
this trend to continue upward. 
 
¶6.  (C) The Secretary General of the Cascades Region, Paul Yameogo, 
and the Deputy Mayor of Banfora, Amadou Tiekoura Tou, reiterated this 
sentiment, noting a significant increase in road and rail commerce 
through their region since the signing of the Accords.  Banfora 
officials raised another interesting consequence of the renewed 
cross-border stability.  When schools in Cote d'Ivoire were closed 
during the crisis, many families sent their children to schools in 
and around Banfora.  Now that stability has returned, they indicated 
that many children were returning to Cote d'Ivoire for school this 
year.  However, Tiekoura was dismayed to learn that Pres. Gbagbo had 
proposed a delay of the November 30 elections.  He asserted that 
"failure of the accords is not an option for the economic livelihood 
of this region." 
 
------------------------- 
The 2008-2009 School Year 
------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Local officials in Bobo and Banfora are preparing for the 
October 1 opening of school.  Interlocutors in both regions indicated 
that enrollment in all levels of the system is increasing. 
Unfortunately, an unintended consequence of the focus on primary 
education in recent years has been severe overcrowding in middle and 
high schools.  Happily, the Secretary General of Banfora, Batoro 
Adama, said that it was now "rare" for primary-school-aged children 
(even girls) not to go to school.  However, he added that girls are 
 
OUAGADOUGO 00000827  002 OF 002 
 
 
still the first to be kept home when the upper school is outside the 
community, too expensive, or overcrowded. 
 
¶8.  (C) The Secretary General of the Haut-Bassins Region told PAO 
that Bobo had not benefited from the GOBF's pilot project to make 
free textbooks available for public school students.  This additional 
cost and the growing overcrowding problem are making education beyond 
the primary years impossible for most poor families.  The Deputy 
Mayor of Dafra lamented that every day she receives desperate parents 
looking for help in order to continue their children's education.  In 
addition, most primary schools in her district have resorted to two 
half-day classes to keep class numbers below fifty.  In Banfora, 
officials insisted that all children received free school books under 
the GOBF's program last year.  However, when pressed, one elementary 
teacher admitted to PAO that often children share books in order to 
have enough for everyone.   In both regions, school administrators 
said they solicit private book donations to support libraries and 
foreign language courses. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) It is clear that local officials in Western Burkina Faso 
are pinning their hopes for future economic development on the 
successful implementation of the Ouagadougou peace accords.  Were the 
accords to fail, and Cote d'Ivoire experiences additional turmoil, 
instability could spill over into Burkina Faso and affect this 
region, which already suffers from rising food prices, lack of 
infrastructure, and limited accessibility of education. 
 
JACKSON