BUJUMBURA August 5th (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi, Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye, opened on Wednesday August 4, 2021 in the Kigobe Congress House the work of the 58th edition of the African Caucus under the theme “digitization for inclusive recovery and sustained growth”.
The President of Burundi said that this activity fits well with the times the world is going through in the era of technological development. He added that this meeting constitutes a privileged framework of exchange and dialogue between the African governors of the Bretton Woods institutions and the leaders of the latter on the issues of development and the implementation of appropriate policies and strategies in accordance with the stakes, challenges and opportunities presented by African countries in relation to their respective specificities with a view to finding appropriate solutions in a synergistic and coherent manner.
Mr. Ndayishimiye said that Burundi remains focused on the implementation of all strategies and policies aimed at ensuring the profound transformation and modernization of the national economy in terms of growth and sustainable development in order to guarantee prosperity for everyone. He also disclosed the establishment of a program to capitalize on peace, social stability and the promotion of economic growth in Burundi by 2027, with a view to achieving a sustained economic growth rate and the reduction of unemployment among young graduates.
Regarding the challenges in the country’s economic growth, the President of the Republic cited the unfair sanctions from certain important partners since 2015 as the country was emerging from repetitive crises, the global health crisis and the effects linked to climate change. Faced with those challenges, the government has set up a program aimed at preventing and combating the spread of Covid-19 and the Ewe Burundi Urambaye program for environmental protection.
Mr. Ndayishimiye also specified that despite the instability of the macroeconomic framework caused by a painful past, opportunities are not lacking, in particular the industrial exploitation of the mines where the country intends to make a nickel and iron refinery on site, farming mechanization, industrialization, ICT, to name but a few. To make these ambitions possible, Mr. Ndayishimiye indicated that the priority is oriented towards the development of human capital, socio-economic infrastructure such as the construction of the railway, the highway joining two capitals Gitega and Bujumbura, the modernization of the port of Bujumbura, the expansion of the Melchior Ndadaye international airport and the construction to international standards of the special economic zone which are put on line in the program.
The President of the Republic of Burundi also announced that the country has opportunities including natural resources which, once exploited and managed rationally, will allow the country to cross the gap, but the keys to start are lacking.
Thus, given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on all productive and social sectors and that the response system must continue to be strengthened, he asked the World Bank to deploy through its various instruments and more particularly the IDA20, a substantial financial support and undoubtedly more important than in previous years.
Aware of the contribution of the digital economy to socio-economic development, the government intends to make visible efforts on the development of that sector and especially the digitization of government action and civil status through the lead of the ministry in in charge of Finance and Economic Planning and the one in charge of ICT.
He ended his speech by thanking the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund for its debt relief initiatives in favor of Burundi in order to free up a fiscal space that makes it possible to fight effectively against the Covid-19 pandemic.