Ouagadougou: The Burkinabe government has taken a significant step in local governance by adopting a new draft law that categorizes municipalities into three distinct types based on their annual budgetary resources. This move aims to enhance the operational efficiency and governance of local authorities across the nation.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the Council of Ministers approved the draft law concerning the General Code of Local Authorities on Thursday, October 30, 2025. The law delineates municipalities into medium-functioning, full-functioning, and special status categories. Medium-functioning municipalities are defined as those with annual own budgetary resources of less than 50 million FCFA. In contrast, full-functioning municipalities have budgets exceeding 50 million FCFA but falling short of 5 billion FCFA. The special status municipalities boast an annual budget equal to or greater than 5 billion FCFA.
Emile Zerbo, the Minister of State and Minister in charge of Territorial Administration, highlighted some key features of the new code. It introduces the direct election of local government presidents and reduces the number of municipal and regional councilors. Furthermore, medium-sized municipalities will now be placed under special delegation with appointed presidents, a shift from previous practices.
The bill also aims to bolster collaboration between local authorities and decentralized services. This is to be achieved under the coordination of administrative district heads, with a goal of restoring state authority. Additionally, the criteria for establishing municipalities will now be directly linked to their budgetary resource volumes.
The new legal framework is expected to bring about a more organized and efficient operation of local authorities in Burkina Faso, addressing previous challenges and aligning with the government’s vision for improved local governance.