The economic news of recent times has been marked by negotiations between the government and the political parties of the opposition on economic measures aimed at increasing the tax revenues of the State. For the opposition, the government wants to plug the holes it has created and must explain itself. In addition to this aspect, the National Anti-Corruption Network (REN-LAC) published its report on the state of corruption in Burkina in 2018, in which customs dethroned the municipal police in first place. In Bobo, SAP Olympic obtained a promise from traders for the removal of 71% of its unsold stock. In the African business world, Apple is giving way to Chinese brands like Tecno or Xiaomi. A look back at some of the economic news of the past few days.

In Burkina Faso, Prime Minister Christophe Dabiré announced on September 28, 2019, that from January 2020, the Single Tax on Salaries and Wages (IUTS) will extend to bonuses and allowances for civil servants. Following this announcement, the opposition declared, during its weekly press conference, that the affair of the IUTS deserves more light from the Prime Minister, because, it believes, it is an attempt, like many other measures, to lower the salaries of civil servants. And she wants proof of this in the tax on motor vehicles, the arrival of new license plates and the soaring prices of consumer products.

For her, this decision concerning the IUTS aims in fact to reduce the salaries of civil servants to "plug holes". However, denounces the opposition, the MPP has granted tax exemptions of up to 200 billion to its friends in the mining sector. The Prime Minister must therefore "clarify", cries the opposition. Does this decision mean that there will be a “lifting of the exemption on allowances and bonuses for civil servants? Will this tax affect the common fund which is also a bonus? And how much will this measure bring to the State? asked the speakers.

In Bobo-Dioulasso, the Union of cycle and moped spare parts sellers (UVPD2C) made a commitment, on Monday, September 30, 2019, to remove 71% of the stock of products from the African Tire Company (SAP Olympic) . An initiative that is part of the policy of promoting "Made in Burkina" products undertaken by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Handicrafts.

SAP Olympic has faced widespread slump for some time and the stock in store is around 1,200,000,000 CFA francs. Following this delicate situation for the company, the Ministry of Commerce began negotiations with traders, which resulted in the latter committing to consume 71% of the announced stock, i.e. a total of products approaching a value of 990,997,500 CFA francs including tax.

"If the situation were to continue, we fear that we will be forced to resort to resizing or stopping work", worried the general manager of the company. Taking such measures, he says, will cause job losses in this industry. From three teams of 600 workers, it has already grown to a team of 200 people. The company had also undertaken to substantially lower its selling prices by around 86 million CFA francs on the basis of removing products to the tune of 600 million CFA francs.

In an open letter to the CEO of Coris Bank International (CBI), Idrissa Nassa, a Burkinabè student in Tunis, named Ismaël Sawadogo, accused the businessman of wanting to put a spoke in the wheels of trading companies, particularly GLOBUMI. Let us first note that a trader is someone who buys, for example, the dollar (or other foreign currency) with the CFA franc, at a time when the value of the dollar has fallen, with a view to reselling it when its value will increase to make a profit. And this happens on the Internet which has platforms that indicate the course of currencies daily and through financial institutions.

According to Ismaël Sawadogo, since 2016, the first independent traders decided to organize themselves into a company with the name GLOBUMI and relations with banks worked well from 2016 to 2017. It was from 2018 that the relationship deteriorated and he accuses the CEO of Coris bank international of being at the origin of this situation because he saw his proposal to be the majority shareholder of the trading companies refused. It links the creation of Coris Bourse to this desire to act as a barrier to traders.

Following this letter, Coris bank international (CBI) and its CEO felt aggrieved. Thus, the Chairman and CEO of Coris Bank International, in a press release, denied any involvement in this difficult situation for trading companies. "Against a backdrop of purely false and incoherent allegations, these publications bring serious accusations against our Institution and its President which call for observations on our part", declared Coris Bank International. The company denies any involvement of itself or its president in the situation experienced by so-called trading companies in Burkina Faso and adds that none of these companies has its account blocked in its network.