Withdrawal of plots for use other than residential: What if we did otherwise

The Ministry of Town Planning and Housing has decided to withdraw the plots of land for use other than residential whose development deadlines have expired and for which the related taxes have not been paid. Which is a good thing because not only will it make it possible to bail out the State coffers but also to bring all those who have acquired plots for more than five years and who have not yet developed them to regularize their situation.

However, the ministry could have proceeded differently if the objective is to bail out the coffers of the State. Indeed, if in addition to this operation the government facilitated the conditions of payment of the residence tax, the urban permit to live and even the land title, it is sure that it would make money. Thus, one could for example cancel all the penalties related to the late payment of the tax of enjoyment, to bring back the price of the Urban license to live and the Land title to fixed amounts over one period of one year. The Burkinabè would jostle in front of the one-stop shops to start playing. This would at the same time clean up the land file.

Land for use other than residential may not be developed within the time allowed. But, the owner has paid all the taxes. Certainly for lack of means, or for various reasons, he could not highlight it. What do we do ? Wouldn’t he have sold it if his concern was to speculate on land? In addition, there are many residential plots that have been transformed into shops, industrial units or even a place of commerce without change of destination and for which the owners have paid all the taxes. What do we do in this other scenario?

Land (we certainly do not learn this at the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Prospective) is such a sensitive area that everything related to it must be treated with great caution. The unpopularity of Blaise Compaoré’s regime was partly due to poor land management. The Roch Marc Christian Kaboré regime, which certainly did not understand this early on, fell into the same flaws. Which also, in part, contributed to its unpopularity and certainly to its downfall.

The Burkinabè live in fairly difficult conditions on almost all fronts. The new taxes and levies they will have to face in this year 2023 are not negligible. In addition, they must contribute to the war effort knowing that life has become expensive because even the prices of basic necessities have risen, sometimes unjustifiably. It will be necessary to loosen, if only a little bit, the fiscal pressure so as not to blow the cork.

Dabaoué Audrianne KANI