BURKINA FASO Country Profile

Land Administration

Business Corruption

Legally, property rights and the acquisition of property are adequately defined, but weaknesses in the judicial system complicate or prevent their implementation. Companies should note that the management of land plots in major cities has been marked by numerous irregularities, such as land plots being sold illicitly. Land registries and titling are notoriously inefficient. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2008, a proposed revision of the Investment Code that would favour small and medium-sized companies would complete the process of issuing property titles to owners who applied for them years ago.

The World Bank & IFC Doing Business 2009 notes that Burkina Faso has made it easier to transfer property by eliminating the requirement for authorisation from the municipality, merging two taxes at the Land Registry and reducing the transfer tax. The changes have reduced the required time to transfer property by 46 days and the cost by 2% of the property value.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2009:
- It takes an average of 6 procedures and 136 days (much higher than the regional average) at a cost of 10.2% of the property value to register property and secure property rights.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009:
- Business leaders give property rights a score of 4.5 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'poorly defined and not protected by law' and 7 'clearly defined and well-protected by law').