Ouagadougou:Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean-Emmanuel Ou©draogo has called on Burkinabe citizens to make every purchase an act of sovereignty. This appeal was made during the official launch of the second phase of the third edition of the National Days of Patriotic Engagement and Civic Participation (JEPPC) in Ouagadougou, which featured a government exhibition as a key innovation.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the Prime Minister, speaking on behalf of President Captain Ibrahim Traor©, launched the slogan for this phase: "All for Made in Burkina: Let's make every purchase an act of sovereignty." He emphasized that economic independence relies on the ability of the people to produce, process, and consume their own goods to avoid dependence on others.

Despite challenges such as the insufficient and delayed arrival of seeds and fertilizers, Burkina Faso has managed to produce over seven million tons of cereals and surpass the one million ton mark for rice. Ou©draogo stressed the importance of processing raw materials domestically, pointing out that too much of the country's resources, like cotton, are exported only to be re-imported as finished products.

The Prime Minister urged citizens to change their consumption habits by prioritizing Burkinabe products, lamenting the perception that local goods like Faso Dan Fani are too expensive compared to imported items. He called on various sectors, including farmers and industrialists, to contribute to the national effort to consume local products.

Ou©draogo also condemned fraudulent practices such as smuggling, price manipulation, and the denigration of local products. He assured that the government would continue to standardize processed products, protect the national label, and combat these issues.

Drawing inspiration from former President Thomas Sankara, Ou©draogo advocated for making the African market a market for Africans, emphasizing the need to eliminate barriers in production, processing, and consumption. The event concluded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the government exhibition, part of a campaign marking the fourth anniversary of the President's accession to power.