Accra:The People's Legislative Assembly (ALP) has passed a new law prohibiting the total or partial privatization of state-owned enterprises deemed strategic due to their importance for national sovereignty, state security, and the country's social and economic balance.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the law was adopted by 70 deputies, with one abstention. It defines several criteria to determine the strategic nature of a company, entity, or sector, including their impact on national sovereignty, state security, and the country's socio-economic stability.

Minister for Industry Serge Poda explained that the law strengthens the decision-making framework for public or majority-owned entities recognized as strategic. Certain operations will now require prior authorization from the Council of Ministers. The law also allows for reserving specific strategic economic activities for nationals, to be defined by regulation, and includes a clause protecting the assets and accounts of strategic public entities from seizure.

Minister Poda emphasized that the law aims to enhance the creation and protection of strategic tools for production, transformation, and economic development, supporting national sovereignty. The State now has the authority to regulate, control, and monitor public entities of a strategic nature and can take or increase shares in private entities considered strategic.

This new legislation updates a 1993 law that protected strategic economic and commercial enterprises from privatization during the 1990s. The updates were necessary due to the law's shortcomings and changes in the economic and political landscape, as well as the country's new directions regarding economic and industrial sovereignty.