CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CURRENT CHALLENGES _____________________________________________________________________ Faso, with sacrifices required by all and not only by the lowest levels of society. 106. A second challenge relates to the country’s ability to achieve a high growth rate that is, at the same time, sustainable, inclusive, participatory and distributive. A recent analysis of economic performance shows – and this is recognised by the authorities – that the high growth to date has failed to bridge the ‘great social deficit’, with the result that the high degree of poverty has persisted and social and geographic inequalities have continued. 107. The third challenge looming over SHD development and the course towards an emerging economy is control of ‘Sahelian nature’ by way of an appropriate environmental policy aimed at transforming Burkina Faso Sahel into fertile land that can be used for agriculture and for livestock breeding. Today, a policy relying on natural assets has few benefits, because real benefits are based on the knowledge and know-how of society. Burkina Faso should also face up to this challenge. 108. The fourth challenge is to transform and upgrade the SHD as an instrument of public management or public administration. The latter will be expected to emerge from its traditional role of state management – in which it acts as a political, economic or fiscal policeman or gendarme working against the people – and be transformed into an instrument of SHD public service that is at the service of the population. 109. Finally, there is also the matter of cultural constraints that may hinder or thwart SHD efforts and progress. These are reflected in the relationship between society and nature, in the relationship between men and women and in their sharing of tasks, in the relationship between youths and adults, etc. These kinds of constraints may complicate the changes that the authorities want to introduce in order to make strides towards developing an emerging country. 2.7 Historical and cultural constraints and stakes 110. These kinds of challenges are bound to the people and civilisations that have comprised the society. First, there is the matter of mastering population diversity. The challenge internally is one that is linked to the very history of the colonised country. It is a challenge that requires a nation to be built from the multitude of nationalities gathered together by the former colonial administration in the same territorial entity, in a brutal way and on the basis of foreign societal values and projects. What is an important issue for Burkina Faso is to maintain and strengthen the harmony of its diverse population groups and traditions, thereby producing an example of promising synthesis that is driven by Burkina Faso’s strong tradition of integration and cultural innovation, and to forge a nation. 59