EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _____________________________________________________________________ achievements of Burkina Faso and the challenges identified by the team. In his statement, the Burkinabe head of state reaffirmed his desire to make the APRM an instrument of good governance in his country and to play a major role in the promotion of the APRM in the subregion. He emphasised that the Burkinabe were undertaking to develop a dynamic action programme in order to implement the recommendations to emerge from the APRM assessment. 1.15 The report, prepared at the end of the assessment mission, is organised as follows. The introductory chapter is followed by some historical facts in Chapter Two. Chapters Three to Six contain the findings of the assessment mission in the four focus areas of the APRM: democratic and political governance, economic governance and management, corporate governance, and socioeconomic development. Each of these four chapters is introduced by presenting the challenges to be met by the country. This is followed by an analysis of the situation of Burkina Faso with regard to the signing and ratification of the standards and codes contained in the methodology of the APRM. The analysis of each objective begins with a brief summary of the CSAR. This is followed by the CRM findings and ends with recommendations. Since one of the objectives of the APRM is to disseminate good practices on the continent, the good practices of Burkina Faso are also mentioned. Boxes emphasise the specific aspects of governance in Burkina Faso that deserve to be highlighted. 1.16 Chapter Seven is an analysis of the overarching issues that occur in two or more themes and which require a global analysis. Chapter Eight, or the general conclusion, is devoted to constraints and prospects. 1.17 It is essential to acknowledge two significant facts about the APRM process in Burkina Faso. The first is the personal commitment of the head of state, who reaffirmed his faith in the exercise and in its potential for the future of the country and Africa. In that regard, he expressed the same faith in other institutions of the republic, particularly the government, which is highly mobilised to contribute to the efficient conduct of the CRM. The second is the anticipation shown by stakeholders, in all the regions, that something new was happening with the assessment of the governance system in their country. They indicated their determination to participate fully in the new methods of dialogue, work, and co-assessment, which they expected to result after the recommendations of the mission had been implemented. The CRM wished to highlight these two facts about the APRM process in Burkina Faso. 2. HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND CURRENT CHALLENGES 2.1 Historical context 2.1 The colonial history of Upper Volta cannot be separated from that of other countries that suffered during the colonial period. However, there are certain specific issues that still weigh heavily on the country. These include the 4