The progressive trade union movement in the towns is another encouraging feature nowadays. One positive result of this experience, however, is that the need for consultation and organization at the village level is beginning to be understood. But it is the local planners and peasant farmers who have suffered - for they are the ones who are blamed when the projects fail, as they often do. The Voltaics have become the guinea pigs for every and any kind of aid. The years since independence have seen a succession of weak military and civilian governments - with a laissez-faire attitude that has provided a haven for foreign trading companies as well as the international aid community which is here en masse. But a subsistence farmer hasn’t much hope of ever obtaining credit for a plough. Banks make loans to civil servants to build villas. And there is no easy escape from the vicious cycle of poverty in most peasant communities. And stagnating food production, poor health and underemployment all contribute to the tragic exodus of the youth to the plantations of the Ivory Coast.Ĭoncentrating scarce resources in the towns has meant that Upper Volta has one of the lowest levels of literacy and health care in the world. This semi-feudal world has hardly evolved in 20 years of independence. The superficial prosperity of Ouagadougou, however, cruelly masks the naked poverty of the rural areas. Along the tree lined boulevards that the French left behind, the mopeds and the Peugeots of civil servants and businessmen now outnumber the donkeys and the bicycles of the poor majority. And spacious air-conditioned supermarkets serve the ‘Voltaic’ and expatriate elites. Under the watchful eyes of countless vultures, the colourful central market stocks everything from sorghum to Sony tape recorders. Things have changed now though - thanks to the Sahel drought of the 1970s and the subsequent foreign aid programme.Īfter a decade of ‘development’ Ouagdougou is now a bustling cosmopolitan city where the traditional is rapidly giving way to commercial push. This anthem was replaced in 1984 by a new anthem, the Ditanyè.UNTIL very recently Ouagadougou, the capital of Upper Volta, was a distant and mysterious town where few Europeans had ever ventured. We will make you stronger and more beautiful Nous te ferons et plus forte, et plus belle Thomas Sankara (4 August 1983 to 14 October 1987).Gérard Kango Ouedraogo (13 February 1971 to 8 February 1974).Paul Masson (February 1959 to 5 August 1960).įrom 1971 to 1987, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a prime minister:.Max Berthet (11 December 1958 to February 1959),.Politics įrom 1958 to 1960, the Republic of Upper Volta was led by a high commissioner: Under the direction of Sankara, the country changed its name on 4 August 1984, from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, which means "Land of Incorruptible People". After the coup, he formed the National Council for the Revolution (CNR), with himself as president. Although multiparty democracy was nominally restored four years later, Lamizana dominated the country's politics until he was himself overthrown in 1980.Īfter a series of short-term presidencies, Thomas Sankara then came to power through a military coup d'état on 4 August 1983. On 3 January 1966, Yaméogo was overthrown in a coup d'état led by army chief of staff Sangoulé Lamizana. He had shown a deep authoritarian streak even before then, however between the time he became prime minister of Upper Volta while it was still a French colony and independence two years later, opposition parties were subjected to increased harassment. Shortly after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV-RDA. A constitution was ratified the same year, establishing presidential elections by direct universal suffrage and a National Assembly with five-year terms. Upper Volta obtained independence on 5 August 1960, with Maurice Yaméogo of the Voltaic Democratic Union-African Democratic Rally (UDV-RDA) becoming the country's first president. The name Upper Volta indicated that the country contains the upper part of the Volta River. Map showing the Volta River in Upper Volta
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |