With the major security challenges facing the country, CARES Burkina emphasizes the need to mobilize sufficient resources to deal with the situation while ensuring an equitable distribution of funds for the social well-being of all citizens.

The position paper has four parts which address the priorities of the 2023 budget, a comparison of the major budgetary masses compared to the previous year, an analysis of the convergence criteria and finally, the position of CARES Burkina and its recommendations.
The priority highlighted by CARES Burkina is the mobilization of adequate financial resources to deal with the security challenges facing Burkina Faso. To achieve this, CARES Burkina encourages increased mobilization of mineral resources as well as the introduction of new taxes and levies but ensuring that their implementation is equitable and does not weigh too heavily on the most vulnerable populations.

Regarding expenditure, the position paper highlights the need to reduce the standard of living in general and to combat fraud and corruption in order to control public expenditure. However, CARES Burkina also stresses the importance of preserving investments in crucial sectors such as health, education and rural development, which are essential for the social well-being of the country.

Despite the security emergency, CARES Burkina expresses its concern about the decrease in the share of the budget allocated to certain crucial sectors, in particular health and education. The position paper calls for the effective implementation of universal health insurance, a measure that should guarantee equitable access to health care for all citizens of Burkina Faso.
The relatively low rate of fiscal pressure in Burkina Faso also draws the attention of CARES Burkina. The position paper indicates that this fiscal pressure rests mainly on a minority of workers in the formal private sector and the public service, which degrades the purchasing power of the populations. CARES Burkina therefore recommends broadening the tax base so that the tax burden is distributed more equitably.

Faced with these challenges, CARES Burkina presents clear recommendations for equitable budget governance focused on social development. Among the main recommendations are the commitment to respect the WAEMU convergence criteria, the establishment of an effective mechanism to recover misappropriated resources, the implementation of universal health insurance and the facilitation of participation. unions in the budgetary process to take workers’ demands into account.

As a reminder, ITUC-Africa implements several programs and projects, including the one called "Supporting trade union action in economic and social matters to make decent work a reality in Africa" supported by the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT).
This project involves 28 trade union organizations affiliated with ITUC-Africa in 8 West African countries, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

In each country, the project is operational through an inter-union structure of stakeholder organizations called CARES. The CARES-NATIONAUX, represent the Technical Support of trade union organizations on economic and social issues.