Dédougou-Groupe EBOMAF Civil Society: The face-to-face that sweeps supputations and allegations

In a festive hall of the town hall of Dédougou, archicomble, the President and Chief Executive Officer (PDG) of the EBOMAF Group, Mahamadou Bonkougou, publicly proved that the recriminations against his person, his company and his methods of work on the site of the RN 14 are only based on allegations and unfounded assumptions. In the face of a long-time accuser youth gathered in civil society, the entrepreneur showed a great frankness to his critics who had no word to overturn his remarks.

For some time, individuals ambushed in the organizations of civil society (OSC) in Dédougou have not made disparaging remarks towards EBOMAF in order to undermine the good work and the dynamism of the workers on the Koudougou-Dédougou road. Their strategy has long been to accuse the successful company "of not giving enough jobs to the young people of the locality, of subjecting them to humiliating treatment, of not compensating the peasants whose crops were invaded by the grip of the section". Young people have made it their business and are repeatedly complained to local authorities and even to Prime Minister Luc Adolphe Tiao.

Far from a request, their attitude has sometimes curled up to some kind of harassment. Exacerbated by the resurgence of these groundless complaints, the CEO went to the niche to end an abhorrent run. At the initiative of the governor of the Boucle du Mouhoun, Victor Dabiré, a meeting was held in Dédougou on Tuesday 29 May 2012 with representatives of the local youth, the company EBOMAF and the Cincat International control office. "It was in the light of these recurring complaints that, together with the CEO of the company in charge of the work on this road, we organized this meeting so that together we could examine these problems in depth and avoid speculation," he justified.

At the beginning, the initiator of this direct dialogue camped the decor in these terms: "Since taking office at the head of this region, I have registered numerous complaints about the construction of the Dédougou-Koudougou road. They are of two kinds: the problem of the employability of young people in the region and the question of compensation for the deflatees of the work on this path. Thus, together with the CEO of the company in charge of the work on this road, we organized this meeting so that together we would examine these problems and avoid speculation".

Breaking his habits as a man refusing polemic, Mahamadou Bonkoungou joined this sort of wisdom in order to bridge the differences. The confrontation did not take place: "there were more fables developed within the youth of Dédougou than worrying realities of their socio-economic situation". The CEO of EBOMAF challenged all participants to prove that he was wrongly accused. After its illumination, some were filled with their lack of information; the others were mocked in their bad faith.

Mahamadou Bonkoungou thus broke a long silence and cut short persistent rumours about the reputation of his society. "At no time has the implementation of the National Road 14 project suffered from the ills that I am wrongly accused of. My company has always taken into account all the technical, financial and social requirements of the contract. So far, no one has been able to prove what is happening on my back in this city. No worker has also ever complained of any ill-treatment to law enforcement or to human rights movements or the judiciary. The work of the bad languages is carried out on purpose either to discourage or to harm", explained the first manager of the site of RN 14. No participant in the direct and frank dialogue was able to argue the opposite. The truth had just made up for the lie.

Open heart to information deficit

At the perch, the CEO of EBOMAF appeared on the main joints of the road project for which he is responsible. While welcoming the governor of the Boucle du Mouhoun's approach to reconciling views in his region, he went back to the genesis, the methodology of work on the site and the relationships between the various stakeholders on this work. The contract was awarded solely on the basis of compliance with the specification based on relevant technical and financial offers. Resolved to grant a favor to the young people of his homeland, Mahamadou Bonkoungou even took on him to apply a sprain to the yard by starting him by Dédougou in order to offer opportunities for employability to this population. "80 % of the workforce in unskilled hiring is now occupied by the youth of the Boucle du Mouhoun. All permanent employees are registered with the National Social Security Fund. My company has ensured its share of all compensation for persons directly or indirectly affected by the project. Moreover, it still stands out with regard to the fulfilment of its social obligations. This can be verified with the relevant structures," revealed Mahamadou Bonkoungou. He explained that his company combines "professionalism and humanism" in the execution of the works.

The entrepreneur said that he remains grateful to the youth of Dédougou, who remains his main support and has always carried him since the start of his business. That's why he doesn't make any effort to open up employment opportunities in Burkina Faso and other construction sites in the sub-region. He invited potential landowners whose fields had been damaged to seek compensation from the State. "It should be noted that the project involves other actors, including subcontractors and even the state. In the face of any situation, we must know how to do the part," says the businessman.

Aware that no human work is perfect, Mahamadou Bonkoungou considered that the various recriminations against him may be due to the fact that his support for the youth of the Bankuy is considered insufficient. Hence its ambition to explore in a concerted way the ways and means of its revitalization. He also called on the youth of the City of Bankuy to maintain a fruitful partnership with his company, with mutual respect and frankness. On his own free will, the businessman chose the local branch of the Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights (MBDHP) to act as an intermediary in order to curb in wisdom any misunderstanding.

During three hours of the clock, surrounded by its construction director, the monitoring mission and CNSS officials, CEO EBOMAF lent himself to the interventions of the participants to shed light on the multiple accusations he was unnecessarily subjected to. The lights put water in the wine of many detractors at the exit of this face-to-face.

SB/JE