CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION: THE APRM PROCESS AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN BURKINA FASO _____________________________________________________________________ Banfora, Gaoua, Ouahigouya, Koudougou, Dedougou, Tenkodogo, Fada, Manga and Ouagadougou. Each time, it met with all stakeholders, first in a plenary session and then in thematic workshops. Finally, all concerned returned to the plenary session to undertake the validation of the outcomes of workshop proceedings. Everywhere it went, the mission noted with great satisfaction that not only had the people responded massively to the invitation of the APRM, but they had also met the expectations of reviewers by analysing the situation with great control and in an articulate manner. During its tour of the regions, the mission also visited Bagré Dam in the region of Tenkodogo, a dam known for its huge water retention and its tourist assets, as well as for its ability to produce fish in the open Sahel. 44. Back in Ouagadougou, the CRM had the opportunity to talk for six-and-a-half hours with the prime minister and members of the government, who were meeting in ‘full house’. This was an opportunity for the CRM to hear members of the government on thorny and complex issues such as economic policy, economic growth and the persistence of poverty, the riots against the increasing cost of living, the multiparty system, the expansion of political space, corruption, institutional functioning and separation of powers, as well as on crosscutting issues such as gender equality, support for youth employment, and so on. The mission met again with development partners and with political parties to discuss issues in more detail. During this phase, the mission was also able to meet with the Women Entrepreneurs Association and other promoters of women’s welfare in Burkina Faso, and with the permanent secretariat. 45. Finally, a wrap-up meeting was held at the end of the mission during a working session chaired by the president of the republic and attended by the prime minister, and by the president of the NC-APRM and its permanent secretary. During the meeting, the assessment team presented the main results of the consultations, focusing both on the major achievements of Burkina Faso and on the challenges identified by the evaluation. In his speech, the head of state of Burkina Faso took note of and reacted to certain findings and analysis of the mission. He also reaffirmed his commitment to transforming the APRM into an instrument of good governance in his country and for himself, so that he might thereby play a major role in the promotion of the APRM in the subregion. He stressed that the people of Burkina Faso undertook to develop a dynamic programme of action in order to implement the recommendations deriving from the APRM assessment. 46. The report prepared at the end of the mission is organised in the following way. The present introductory chapter is followed by Chapter Two in which some historical landmarks are indicated. In Chapters Three to Six of the report, the findings of the CRM in the four APRM focus areas (democracy and political governance, economic governance and management, corporate governance, and socioeconomic development) are set out. Each of the four thematic chapters is introduced by indicating the challenges faced by the country and what is at stake. This is followed by the current situation with regard to the signing and ratification of standards and codes retained in APRM 46