Burkina Faso and the Republic of Mali denounced on Saturday “fraudulent recruitment” of personnel which took place during the 55th session of the council of ministers and governments of the Organization for the harmonization in Africa of Business Law (OHADA), under the instigation according to them, of the French Development Agency (AFD).
The two countries notably condemned the shenanigans operated to prevent their representatives from expressing themselves fully during this meeting in Kinshasa which took place from August 28 to 30, 2023.
Ouagadougou and Bamako, among other things, demanded the suspension of fraudulently recruited personnel and asked the conference of OHADA Heads of State to take up the matter urgently.
In addition, Burkina Faso and the Republic of Mali warn that they will draw all the legal consequences, in the event of a forced passage.
As a reminder, OHADA has for three decades brought together Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, the Republic of Congo, the Comoros, Gabon, the Republic of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Chad and Togo.
The organization aims to harmonize and simplify business processes in these countries.
Burkina Faso Information Agency
Read the full press release from Burkina and Mali
“The Transitional Governments of Burkina Faso and Mali have read with deep
amazement the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the 55th
session of the Council of Ministers of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) held in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on August 29 and 30, 2023.
Indeed, contrary to the story mentioned in this report, the representatives of the
Burkina Faso and Mali, both Ministers in charge of Justice, spoke
several grievances and breaches violating the operating rules of OHADA,
as part of the recruitment process tainted with formal and substantive defects, in
to fill the post of Permanent Secretary and other international positions.
One of the root causes of these fraudulent recruitments is the blackmail carried out by the French Development Agency, which openly threatened to withdraw its funding, in the event that candidates favorable to it were not chosen.
This is how numerous illegal maneuvers, consisting of abusively withdrawing
to speak to the representatives of Burkina Faso and Mali or even to disconnect the video-conferencing system to other participants, were deployed during the work.
Exasperated by these unfair maneuvers and tired of not having been heard, the representatives of Burkina Faso and Mali withdrew from the room.
The Transitional Governments of Burkina Faso and Mali denounce, regret
the concealment of the press release of these serious facts and refuse to participate in a
masquerade which violates the sovereignty of African States and discredits OHADA.
Consequently, the Transitional Governments of Burkina Faso and Mali will
send a letter of protest to OHADA for:
1.denounce irregularities, violations of texts and conflicts of interest
manifestos, which marred the recruitment process, during the 55th
session of the Council of Ministers;
2. call for the suspension of the personnel installation process
irregularly and illegally recruited;
3.resume the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the
55th session of the Council of Ministers, with a view to faithfully mentioning the
progress of the work, including protests from Burkina Faso and the
Mali;
4. ask the Conference of Heads of State and Government of OHADA
to take urgent action on the situation.
The Transitional Governments of Burkina Faso and Mali warn that they will pull
the legal consequences, in the event of forced entry.
May God bless Africa and preserve Africans!
Done in Ouagadougou and Bamako, September 9, 2023.
Source: Burkina Information Agency