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Testimonial - Burkina Faso Land Registration

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Reduction in time to transfer property - From 182 days to 21

Reduction in cost to transfer property - 50% less for businesses in trade sector; 64% less for businesses in industrial sector

Reduction in number of procedures needed to transfer property - From eight to five

The ability to register land efficiently and cost-effectively has important consequences for a country’s investment climate, improving security for investors, limiting boundary disputes and opening up access to credit.

Having ranked 170 out of 178 countries in the World Bank’s 2008 Doing Business Report, Burkina Faso identified inefficient land registration procedures as a barrier to economic growth. Complex procedures and lengthy delays were discouraging investment and stifling an already fragmented property market. Acting upon this realisation, the government approached ICF for help.

Traore Kassoum, Director, Ouagadougou Land Registry One Stop Shop in Burkina Faso said: “We recognised the need for an experienced partner that could simplify complex processes, address challenges as they arose, and provide ongoing support to an internal team that would implement new procedures. We also needed a partner that could unlock rapid financing to accommodate our specific needs. In ICF we found all this and more.

“Time was of the essence so the project was implemented in December 2008, just three months after we approached ICF. The project was successfully concluded just 17 months later, in May 2010.”

Allowing the government to access the technical equipment and expertise needed to operate a land registration one-stop-shop, ICF ensured best practice procedures were adopted throughout the project’s implementation. Guided by an overarching operations manual that ensures consistency across operations, staff were also fully trained to build internal capacity.

The speed of property transfer procedures has increased by 88%, now taking just 21 days, compared to the 182 days it took in 2008 and the process of transferring property now takes just five procedures rather than eight. A cost saving of 64% was achieved for businesses operating in the industrial sector and 50% for businesses operating in the trading sector.

Traore Kassoum comments: “I would recommend that all institutions across Africa explore how their services and processes can be enhanced by calling on the support of ICF. The private sector, which is the engine of our continent’s economic growth, will only expand if a country’s investment climate is improved and business owners are made aware of, and are willing to take advantage of, the improvements made.”