By unanimous vote of the 68 voters present at the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT), Thursday, June 5, 2025, the deputies examined, during a plenary session, the draft laws on the profession of architect in Burkina Faso and the regulation of the profession of tax consultant. Thus, they unanimously adopted, in a first part, the draft law on the profession of architect in Burkina Faso, under the chairmanship of the President of the ALT, Dr. Ousmane Bougouma.
The adoption of the 108-article bill follows the need to transpose in Burkina Faso Directive No. 01/2013/CM/UEMOA of September 26, 2013 relating to the harmonization of rules governing the profession of architect within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
The Minister of Urban Planning, Land Affairs, and Housing, Mikailou Sidibé, indicated that this new law will clean up the field of architecture, promote access to architectural services for ordinary citizens, and professionalize the practice of the profession. He further explained that this regulation ratifies the architectural assistance to be provided by architects in cases of force majeure, in addition to regulating fees for architectural services.
This, according to Mikailou Sidibé, is the moment when public authorities are contacted to support the implementation of public utility projects for the benefit of vulnerable populations. Before the adoption of the law by the ALT, the architectural profession had been governed since March 28, 1991 by the Zatu (specific laws or legislative texts that regulate the architectural profession or field) No. AN VIII.
A legal vacuum filled
During this session, the national representation also unanimously adopted the new law regulating the tax consulting profession in Burkina Faso. It fills a legal void and creates an environment conducive to the practice of the tax consulting profession.
This new legislation addresses, among other things, access to and practice of the tax consultancy profession, the obligations, prohibitions and incompatibilities relating thereto, and the creation of the National Order of Tax Consultants of Burkina Faso (ONCF-BF). This law contributes to the government’s desire, through the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to modernize and improve the efficiency of the tax administration and to optimize the mobilization of tax resources.
It will also promote tax compliance, improve tax justice, combat tax fraud and evasion, and ensure the quality of services provided to users by both the public administration and private actors responsible for providing assistance and advice. This requires qualified professionals, practicing their profession in accordance with legal provisions and through an organized body of practitioners.
“We believe that if the profession’s stakeholders are better supervised and organized through the Order, they can better support the private sector and ultimately enable the State to ensure better mobilization of its own resources. Because we must support the stakeholders from whom we want to mobilize resources for the State’s coffers,” emphasized the Minister Delegate for the Budget, Fatoumata Bako.
For a technical, multidisciplinary profession, which therefore calls upon diverse skills, particularly in law, accounting, and taxation, its legal framework was more than necessary, thus making well-trained and recognized experts available to both the private and public sectors. “For those involved in the profession, the law establishes an autonomous framework responsible for defending the ethics and interests of the members of the National Order of Tax Advisors,” stated Minister Delegate Bako.
The adoption of this law, in an environment marked by a stated political will to strengthen the mobilization of endogenous resources, highlights the importance of the contribution of tax advisors in supporting taxpayers, particularly private companies, in meeting their tax obligations. With this law, Burkina Faso joins the West African countries with regulations governing the tax advisory profession, namely Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, and Senegal.
