Mahamadou Bonkoungou, CEO of EBOMAF: "No one hides behind my company"

His company is well known. His person is less. Before meeting the CEO of EBOMAF, one fantasizes about his personality: one imagines dandy in suit-knit or amateur of rich basin barded with chains and gold gourmets. None of this. ..

...On Friday, August 28, 2009, it is very simply dressed, as usual, that the CEO of EBOMAF S.A., Mahamadou Bonkoungou, opens the doors of his office. Its gandoura in tiled fabric disappoints the discreet charm of the place, spacious and discreetly decorated. A flat screen TV is hung on one of the walls. Many documents are stacked in a library while others are piled on a piece of furniture placed behind the chair of the master of Céans. The table would not be complete without the honours and these heavy miniature machines such as the grader, hydraulic shovel and crusher that fill the main furniture of the "Boss". "I am at your disposal," he says. For how long? 30 minutes? An hour? More! No less than 2 hours 30 minutes of maintenance. A mark of attention that deserves to be emphasized for those who know the particularly busy schedule of a contractor of his temper.

Who is the CEO of Bonkoungou Mahamadou et fils (EBOMAF S.A.)?

• EBOMAF means Company Bonkoungou Mahamadou and son. I'm the CEO. I am Bonkoungou Mahamadou, born on 23 May 1966 in Dédougou. I'm married and monogamous. Son of the late Bonkoungou Mamoudou and of the late Ouedraogo Salimata, I am from the Passoré, specifically from Latodin. I completed almost all my primary and secondary studies between Dédougou, Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou. It was after I obtained Baccalaureate D that I decided to start trading.

But what prompted you to abruptly stop your studies, which were promising, though?

• My father was a great merchant in Dédougou where he emigrated. In the regions of the Mouhoun and Hauts-Basins, elders still remember "Zind-Naba", the pseudonym of my father. He died in 1983. The inheritance was managed by my brothers and half-brothers while I was still a student. After the Baccalaureate, the idea came to me to start my own business.

In addition to Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, the two major cities of Burkina Faso, EBOMAS has a large representation in Dédougou, a relatively small town. Does this presence in your hometown not obey more for emotional than economic reasons?

• The reason is simple: we are concerned about the development of the Mouhoun loop, specifically the province of Mouhoun [NDLR: of which Dédougou is the capital]. This presence is for us a means of contributing to the building work of this locality, which has seen us born and given us everything. In a word, we owe it to him and, as far as possible, we will continue to support him.

EBOMAF is therefore a family company but also a public limited company. Is that to say that she has shareholders outside the Bonkoungou fraternity?

• EBOMAF was born in 1989 in Dédougou as a Bonkoungou Mahamadou settlement and brothers. In 1999, he became a limited liability company (SARL) with a new name: Bonkoungou Mahamadou Company and son. His shareholders, to return to your question, are Mr Mahamadou Bonkoungou, i.e. myself, and two of my children, Bonkoungou Alizèta and Bonkoungou Aziz. From 1999 to 2006, we made significant progress with only five million CFA francs in capital. So we decided to increase capital and change legal form. This is why we moved from a limited liability company to a limited liability company with a capital of CFAF 300 million (300 million). But I say that there was no external financial contribution. The number of shareholders also remained the same: my two children and I. We have worked to make capital more consistent, because, like any company, we have ambitions.

Before you get into the building, what was the company's starting point?

• I've had many experiences in life. After the Baccalaureate, I opened a music cassette sales shop, which I imported from Lomé, Monrovia and Lagos. I also brought generators and music equipment from these cities. After that, I started trading gold with the Kalsaka mine [NDLR: in Yatenga province]. I bought the precious raw metal from the goldsmiths, which I then exported to Cotonou. I came back with motorcycle spare parts and appliances. The whole city of Yako knew me at the time for this activity, which I had been doing for several years.

One realizes that, since then, business has flourished to the point that today, some say that EBOMAF would actually be a noun society.

• Sometimes it happens to hear here that EBOMAF is a noun society. But, for me, all this means nothing. It is those who did not know us at the beginning who, in the light of what we have become, are inventing explanations of all kinds. And I wonder exactly what people want. Sometimes the CEO of EBOMAF was seriously injured by his staff and evacuated to Europe, sometimes EBOMAF is just a noun, etc. I say it and I repeat, my children and I are the only owners of the company EBOMAF S.A. Until today [NDLR: the interview took place on Friday, August 28, 2009], no one else has a contribution to the company, outside the banks from which we apply for loans, and French partners who support us with the provision of credit equipment. My only associates are my children. Moreover, I think that these discontents come from competition, which seeks to destroy our prestige through these false and shameful allegations.

To be precise, it is suggested, for example, that behind Mr.Bonkoungou would hide Mr.François Compaoré, the little brother of President Blaise Compaoré.

• François Compaoré is a man I know just as I know other men. I heard that version. You know, in competition, when one wants to destabilize you, one uses all sorts of strategies, such as, for example, spreading rumours in public opinion, even the most unlikely. The competing companies that are at the origin of these misdeeds also know Mr. François Compaoré. But I have never heard that the latter is behind a particular contractor or another. François Compaoré has no action at EBOMAF. He never made any mention of his intention to have it, neither have I ever thought of it. I have good relations with him.

Good relationships of what kinds?

• Governing relationships to rule. François Compaoré is part of the political-administrative elite that currently manages Burkina Faso. To this end, he is called upon to listen to every citizen of Burkina Faso who wishes, some day or another, to come into contact with him.

Any political relationship with the president's younger brother?

• None. Only friendly relations, relations that a citizen can have with a leader whom he or she considers well.

The rumours also indicate the presence behind you of Colonel-major Gilbert Diendienré, chief of staff of the President of Faso.

• (Laughter). Colonel Major Gilbert Diendéré is a great brother of mine, since he is from Saaba, a town a few kilometres from Latodin, my village. In tradition, the Diendéré are Bonkoungou. Diendéré, it's a name of war. The original name of the Diendéré is Bonkoungou. For this, we have reports of people coming from the same province. It's normal for him to be behind me.

Yes, but when they say he's behind you, that's to say he's a member of society.

- Ah! If that's it, it's not true and archaic. Gilbert Diendéré is my family, and my relationship with him is family. EBOMAF has no participation from Colonel Major Diendéré.

At the end of our tour of some of your achievements, we realized that your company has been awarded many large markets. Newcomer to the construction industry, does not taking so many public offers make you a little uncomfortable with the old ones?

• Not at all. We are in a world of competition, where only the best win. But, contrary to what you say, through our work sites that you have visited, you must have realized that we are not a newcomer: we have existed for 20 years, and this evolution follows the rules of a well-organized society that aspires to grow and, as a result, puts all the logistical, technical and human means to establish a solid base and execute in time any contract entrusted to it in accordance with the rules of art. Moreover, take the hydrocarbon sector. There was a time when Burkina was only spoken of SHELL and TOTAL. Today, there is PETROFA, which is also present throughout the country. We believe that if we got a lot of contracts, as you say, it's because we're doing good work and on time.

You highlight your technical skills. But it is also known that EBOMAF has obtained OTC contracts. This also leads us to think about arrangements based on corruption and other bribes.

• I don't know about bribes and corruption. But do you think that's enough to give a company a sizeable market? That's not possible. We saw construction sites entrusted to companies on the sole political consideration, and at the end of the day, the work was poorly done or not done at all. Those who are in the construction sector, so who know the reality of the ground, but who cause malicious rumours, are in bad faith. People have to stop drinking everything they're served as explanations. If EBOMAF collects calls for tender, as you have said, it is because it executes the works in time and in accordance with the rules of art. We obtained over-the-counter contracts, but it was in accordance with the applicable regulations and procedures.

But getting the execution of a project like the ZACA (area of commercial and administrative activities) on the basis of a simple will on the one hand, recognize that, necessarily, it raises questions.

• We obtained the ZACA project contract following a consultation. We have been entrusted with the execution of road works and sanitation. Technically, no other company had to come to do the oil coating, because it is we who guarantee the road works and sanitation. It was this technical clause that gave us the right to the coating market. At the same time as we were entering the road and sewerage market, we made an offer for bitumen. The latter was effectively retained after the earthworks and pipe works were carried out. But it was in competition with other local companies.

But, in the end, your ZACA project is not fully completed.

• I understand the public opinion on this issue because there are thousands of prefabricated cans that are still stored on the project site. This makes people say that EBOMAF has not finished its work. But that both are aware that the hoops and dallettes that are stored at ZACA are part of an amendment that the Ministry of Habitat has signed and that suspends the work called off-site. In the end, the market that was retained concerned only the intrasite part, which is now fully implemented. The off-site work, it should be pointed out, goes from Bassawarga Avenue passing the airport to the Independence Avenue. They also concern Houari- Boumediene Avenue. In the meantime, the construction of channels along all these tracks has been suspended by the competent authority. Now let's talk about the development of the roads of Patte-d'Oie, in this case of streets 15-236 and Bagem-Nini in Ouagadougou. A 4 km section cost 4 billion francs, or 1 billion per kilometre.

None of them felt a strong smell of overbilling.

• The market of streets 15-236 and Bagem-Nini has returned exactly to 3,922,290,112 (three billion nine hundred and twenty-two million two hundred and ninety thousand hundred and twelve) of our francs. On this development, I was questioned by the journalists, and I made them understand that there are even 100-metre sections that cost 2 to 3 billion. It all depends on what the ministry's technicians requested as earthworks, as support for the oil coating. Here, the support requested is not the same as the ZACA project. On streets 15-236 and Bagem-Nini, it was a special treatment with CBR [NDLR: California beach ratio, soil quality control method] between 95 and 100%, from the improvement of the base layer to the crushing. To all this it is necessary to add the lighting of the road, which is usually from the spring of the SONABEL, but this time was entrusted to the EBOMAF. With the development of the roundabout between Bagem Nini and 15-236 Street and all the additional and additional work, the cost costs necessarily increased, but remained in line with official prices.

Is EBOMAF present abroad?

• Since the creation of the company, we, like all others, have sought to evolve. But, at the time I'm talking to you, we haven't yet started construction outside Burkina Faso. Nevertheless, we have been contacted from Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Benin and Niger. We think we will soon be present outside our borders.

Among all your achievements, which one makes your pride the most?

• I am proud of all my works. But I recognize that the implementation of the ZACA project's earthworks and pipeline works has been particularly significant. Because we have gained a lot of experience and satisfaction. We are so pleased that, with the technical support of our French partners, we have completed the project on time.

The middle of the BTP is a medium of sharks, where the large eat the young. What are your relationships with other entrepreneurs in the sector?

• A shark medium, that's too much to say. We have good human relations with our competitors, if I can call them that. Until today, we have not had any fundamental differences with anyone.

But other entrepreneurs would blame you for debauchering their workers and technicians.

• I think people also debaucher EBOMAF workers. We have always focused on the qualification of the labour force. Thanks to the expertise of our French partners, our employees receive vocational training. But some clever little ones don't find anything better to do than to debaucher them.

What are your relationships with the staff?

• In Burkina Faso, and everywhere in Africa, it is difficult to know what the other person thinks of you. What is certain is that we are working to pay wages on time every end of the month. To the extent that we can, we are doing everything we can to ensure better living and working conditions for employees. Now, if you've learned other things, I'm ready to discuss it.

Above all, we have learned that you are a very generous man with regard to both your workers and those who seek your help. Is this Muslim charity or a way to redistribute wealth?

• It is the manifestation of parental education. I remember, as a child, I saw my father handing out money. So all I did was follow the example of my breeder. My conviction is that one must love one's neighbor as God loves us.

You also have a reputation for collecting luxury vehicles. By passion or exhibitionism?

• People talk about one thing and its opposite. Can anyone entrust their property to others and let them make sumptuous expenses, such as paying for luxury vehicles? If Mr. François Compaoré was an EBOMAF shareholder, as they say, would he kindly watch me ride in luxury cars or watch me invest in my hometown (Dédougou)? That's why I'm saying that the rumor is moving something forward and its opposite. These so-called large cylinders we are talking about are acquired through a partnership we have with an Alsatian company that is evolving in the field of TP equipment and high-end vehicles. If I have the opportunity to enjoy it, I'm not going to take it away!

Rich, you certainly are. But is the CEO of EBOMAF a happy man?

• No, I'm not a happy man. Not at all. Because they call me rich, and at the same time they tell all sorts of stories about my business. When the rumour, which is well-fed by the competitors, does not speak of a noun society, it distills, as close to the counting sessions of offers, intoxicates of the kind Mr Bonkoungou was evacuated in a comatose state to France. This unhealthy competition leaves me with no time for respite. How do you want me to be happy in these conditions? When you build a business, for several years, to the sweat of your forehead and to the strength of your wrist so that, finally, you come to say that you are only a figure, confess with me that it is painful to endure. Not to mention the constant stress caused by work, the continuous search for quality and the management of men. All this together, believe me, it gives you insomnia. As you recalled, money does not bring happiness. You're talking about big cars, but know that we're doing it despite the air conditioning. I'm a problem man.

Are you so saddened by rumors?

• More than you can imagine. I repeat again and again to public opinion, that some are trying clumsyly to manipulate, that EBOMAF SA only has three shareholders: Mr Bonkoungou and his two children. No one else has a share. Apart from the bank credits we use in the course of our activities, we do not receive any external financial contributions. It is a pity that in the world of entrepreneurship, some people come to use all sorts of rumours and dislike to harm others. All the material you see circulating here and there has been acquired from own funds and with credits from foreign partners and loans from banks in the square. All this is verifiable. I invite competitors who distill cancan poison on our reputation to change their shoulder rifle. We have several times been the target of Machiavellian montages with the sole aim of disqualifying ourselves from the race for public procurement.

It's unhealthy. All that EBOMAF is today, he owes it to his work and skills. Take the case of the production of schools commonly called "Japanese schools", where EBOMAF obtained the largest share of the prizes. Procurement and technical controls, draconian, were carried out by the land of the Sun-Levant. Do you think we bribed the Japanese? Even if you are the son of president or I do not know who, if you do not have the know-how, you will not continue to be awarded contracts which, certainly, you will not be able to perform well. Only work pays. Eventually.

Interview conducted by Alain Saint Robespierre