Burkina Faso Tells NGOs: Spend 80 Per Cent on the Ground, or Else

On 24 September, Burkina Faso's Council of Ministers, chaired by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, adopted two decrees on the status of non-governmental organisations. The main rule requires every NGO operating in the country to devote at least 80 per cent of its overall budget to direct investment in the field.

Local associations must also sign a framework agreement with the state, and foreign organisations a headquarters agreement.

The government's case
Officials say the aim is to make sure money raised in the name of vulnerable people actually reaches them, rather than being absorbed by running costs, salaries and administrative charges.

Government spokesperson Gilbert Ouédraogo presented the reform as a matter of sovereignty and accountability. Supporters of the junta's approach argue that foreign-funded NGOs have long spent too much on overheads and too little on communities, a concern that many donors and aid critics share.

Open questions
Several details are unclear. Reports differ on how long existing NGOs have to comply, with some saying one year and others two.The published texts do not yet define precisely what counts as "direct investment," so it is unclear how salaries of field staff, local logistics or security costs would be classified.

The rule leaves at most 20 per cent for everything else, which many NGOs, especially those working in insecure areas where operating costs are high, may find hard to meet. Authorities may also carry out administrative, financial and technical audits during the grace period.

A tightening pattern
Critics see the decrees as the latest step in a longer squeeze. Amnesty International says a November 2025 presidential decree forced all NGOs to move their bank accounts from commercial banks to a state-controlled bank, raising the risk of arbitrary freezes and financial surveillance.

On 15 April 2026, the government dissolved 118 NGOs and associations, many of them human rights groups, without giving individual reasons. Amnesty called it part of a broader effort to silence civil society, and said the move breached the country's international obligations.

Al Jazeera reported that after a July 2025 law restricting rights groups, the government revoked authorisation for 21 rights groups within a month.

What to watch
The test will be in implementation: how "direct investment" is defined, whether audits are applied fairly, and whether humanitarian groups working with displaced people can meet the threshold without cutting essential support.

If applied rigidly, the rule could push some organisations out at a time when many Burkinabè depend on aid. If applied transparently, it could tighten financial discipline. The answer depends on the definitions and the state's willingness to apply them evenhandedly.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

References
Tchadinfos, "Burkina Faso : les ONG sommées d'investir 80% de leurs ressources sur le terrain," 27 Sep 2026. https://tchadinfos.com/2026/09/27/burkina-faso-les-ong-sommees-dinvestir-80-de-leurs-ressources-sur-le-terrain/

Yeclo, "Burkina Faso : les ONG sommées de consacrer 80 % de leur budget au terrain." https://www.yeclo.com/burkina-faso-les-ong-sommees-de-consacrer-80-de-leur-budget-au-terrain/

Bénin Web via Shango, "Burkina Faso : les ONG devront investir 80 % de leur budget sur le terrain," 25 Sep 2026. https://www.shango.media/benin-web-burkina-faso-les-ong-devront-investir-80-de-leur-budget-sur-le-terrain-11880047

West Africa Weekly, "Burkina Faso Orders NGOs to Spend 80% of Budgets Locally." https://westafricaweekly.com/burkina-faso-orders-ngos-to-spend-80-of-budgets-locally-as-russia-fills-void-left-by-west/

Amnesty International, "Burkina Faso: Dissolution of more than a hundred NGOs and associations shows intensifying crackdown on civil society," Apr 2026. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/04/burkina-faso-dissolution-ngos/

Al Jazeera, "Burkina Faso dissolves more than 100 NGOs and civil society groups," 17 Apr 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/burkina-faso-dissolves-more-than-100-ngos-and-civil-society-groups