On Sunday, 1st June, 2025, the Fourth Estate Newspaper, revealed some truth behind various viral achievements of Burkina Faso President, Ibrahim Traoré. Many of these achievements have been verified as false.
Over the past few months, many social media users across Africa have been praising Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the military leader of Burkina Faso, for what they call “amazing achievements.” Posts online claim he has built a Central Bank, given free houses to citizens, paid students monthly salaries, and introduced free basic education. But are these stories really true?
A team from Fourth Estate and Fact-Check Ghana looked into these viral claims. Here’s what they found:
First, the story that Traoré has built a Central Bank is false. Burkina Faso has been part of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) since 1962. What Traoré actually opened was a Treasury Deposit Bank, where people can save money and earn interest—not a national Central Bank.
Next, people say he has built free houses for the people. That’s misleading. Photos used to support this claim were actually from a housing project in Algeria, not Burkina Faso. Traoré’s government is working on a big building project called the Burkindi Business Centre, but it’s a public-private partnership and not confirmed to be free.
There’s also a claim that university students now receive 10,000 CFA monthly until they get jobs. This is false. There was a short scholarship window in March 2024, but there are no monthly payments. Burkina Faso still runs a student loan scheme called FONER, which students must repay.
Another popular story is that Traoré introduced free basic education and even robotics and coding in schools. Both claims are false. Children still pay school fees, and the robotics photos shared online were from a private school in the capital, not a government initiative.
Some claims do have some truth. For example, Traoré gave the health ministry 15 mobile clinics in July 2024. This is a real effort to bring healthcare closer to rural communities.
Also, reports that Traoré cut ministers’ salaries are partly true. He cancelled a pay raise given by the previous leader, which reduced minister salaries by over 50%. However, there’s no proof he increased civil servants’ wages.
Finally, the laptop giveaway program did not start under Traoré. It began in 2020 under a different government. Traoré is only continuing it with support from vendors.
