Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Coup could affect US trade pact
THE removal of Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore last week marks the fourth military coup in West and Central Africa over the past 17 months.
After the group of soldiers, known as the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration (MPSR), led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, detained Kabore and seized control of the country, hundreds of people took to the streets in the capital city of Ouagadougou to celebrate following two days of unrest.
Similarly to the military coup in Mali last year, the people lost faith in their leader’s ability to protect them and deal with the Islamist insurgency.
Later that day, after detaining Kabore, a spokesperson for the MPSR group declared on state television that the takeover had been done “without any physical violence against those arrested, who are being held in a safe place, with respect for their dignity”.
The spokesperson said that the country’s borders were closed and that the MPSR would “re-establish constitutional order”.
The international community as well as the Economic Community for West African States (Ecowas) and the AU condemned the coup, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying he had been following the developments in Burkina Faso. He urged coup leaders to lay down their arms to ensure the safety of its president.
“The role of the military must be to defend a country and its people – not to attack its government and fight for power,” Guterres said in a social media post. “I call on the army of Burkina Faso to assume its professional role, protect its country and re-establish the democratic institutions.”
In the US, State Department spokesperson Ned Price called on “those responsible to de-escalate the situation” to prevent harm to Kabore and any other officials who have been detained.
“The US is closely monitoring this fluid situation, and we call for restraint by all actors as we carefully review the events on the ground for any potential impact on our assistance,” Price said in a statement.
While the MPSR looks to execute its next move after seizing control of the country, it will also need to think about the country’s US trade pact and
possible suspensions similar to what Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea suffered due to coups and human rights violations in their countries.
In November last year, US President Joe Biden responded to the conflict in Tigray, which has caused mass displacement and famine, by cutting off Ethiopia from duty-free access to the US. In his statement, Biden also issued suspensions to Mali and Guinea, who all form part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), the trade programme used to boost access to the US markets.
Agoa is a US Trade Act, enacted
in May 2000 as Public Law 106 of the 200th Congress, to enhance the Sub-Saharan region. According to Agoa’s official website, for countries to qualify and remain eligible to receive preferential access to the US markets, “each country must be working to improve its rule of law, human rights, and respect for core labour standards”.
What comes with the preferential treatment by the US is improved access to US technical expertise – an opportunity to boost trade relations by establishing a close communication on trade and investment with key US firms.
Looking back, Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea are not the first to be suspended from the programme, as previous examples include Madagascar (2010), the Central African Republic (2013), Niger (2010) and The Gambia (2015), for various political and human rights violations.
Trade suspension for Burkina Faso could hamper its key exports in cotton and gold, where gold has accounted for roughly three-quarters of the nation’s total export revenues.
Burkina Faso has seen growth in gold exploration, production and exports in recent years. However, the current situation could potentially put its gains at risk.
In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, analyst at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, Daniel Eizenga, said there was no doubt that Kabore lost the confidence of Burkinabe citizens.
He added that this “is an opportunity for armed insurgency groups to further build on their operations”, but that it remained to be seen whether it could deliver on the demand for better security and protection.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Department of International Relations spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, called on Burkina Faso’s military to return to their barracks and restore democracy.
In a statement released on Thursday, Monyela said the South African government agreed with the views of the Ecowas that soldiers should return to barracks and for leaders to exercise dialogue to resolve all problems.
“Dialogue and negotiation are the only means of resolving conflict and arriving at lasting resolutions,” said Monyela.
“Loss of lives must be avoided at all costs and all stakeholders should commit to dialogue.”