Johannesburg: AfricUpdate – News Desk
The Ministry of Digital Transition, Postal and Electronic Communications (MTDPCE) of Burkina Faso held its first extraordinary Ministerial Sector Administrative Council (CASEM) session of the year on Thursday, August 14. Chaired by Minister Dr. Aminata ZERBO/SABANE, the meeting brought together statutory members to review and adopt key strategic documents essential for the nation’s digital, postal, and telecommunications development. The primary focus of the session was an in-depth review of the performance report for the Annual Work Plan (PTA) as of June 30, 2025, and the subsequent adoption of the revised PTA for the year.
The Minister highlighted the session’s importance, stating that it “provides an opportunity to review progress made, assess ongoing challenges, and most importantly, guide strategic decisions necessary to achieve our objectives.” The report revealed that as of the end of the first half of 2025, the ministry had achieved a physical execution rate of 43.61% for its activities, though the financial execution rate stood at 10.80%. Significant progress was noted across various sectors.
In digital infrastructure, the ministry has commenced technical studies for the construction of 302 km of new fiber optic links and finalized the tender for a large-scale project to cover 750 new locations with fiber optics. Proactive maintenance efforts have also been successful, with 258 out of 262 reported incidents on the fiber optic network being resolved. Additionally, the ministry has adopted crucial legislative texts on unique electronic identification, information systems security, and frequency management, and has initiated the recruitment of over 200 agents to expedite dematerialization efforts.
The postal sector saw notable advancements as well, including the dematerialization of national savings accounts. Despite these achievements, the council identified several key challenges, including the inaccessibility of certain areas due to insecurity, a lack of contract execution from some service providers, and insufficient human resources in specific technical roles. To address these issues, the session concluded by setting a clear list of priority actions. These include the recovery and deployment of electronic communication networks in conflict-affected and rural areas, strengthening public administration network infrastructure, and expanding data storage capacities.
The ministry also plans to accelerate the implementation of a national identification system, deploy cross-platforms to digitize administrative procedures, and establish a public key infrastructure (PKI) for electronic signatures. In her closing remarks, Minister ZERBO/SABANE commended the participants for their commitment and urged them to work diligently towards the effective implementation of the newly adopted plan. The successful execution of these activities is seen as crucial for the continued economic and social development of Burkina Faso.
