BUJUMBURA August 13th (ABP) – The National Land and Other Property Commission (CNTB) in Bujumbura City Council, carried out a trip in Ngagara Q6 and Q7 zone to officially hand over to the State two plots, one of five hectares located in Q6 housing the Lycée de l’Amitié, formerly Saint Albert and the other of 2.6 hectares located in Q7 housing the Lycée Saint-Gabriel.
On that occasion, the chairman of the sub-commission of State lands at the CNTB, Godefroid Ntahondi, in his introduction, indicated that from this day, the activities which are carried out on these plots will stop and will be able to continue. after having received permission from the Minister in charge of infrastructures, who on behalf of the State received the identification documents for these plots.
The legal representative of the Lycée Saint Gabriel, Nsavyimana Salvator thanked the Burundian State for the decision taken in 2014 to let the officials of that school continue to operate that land as a school because on July 31, 2014, the courts had taken the decision to close that school.
Since 2018, the ministry in charge of infrastructure at that time called them to sign the lease contract and complied because they knew the space belonged to the State.
However, the rent was very high and they were not able to pay this demanded amount. For the moment, they are asking for negotiations with the Minister in charge of infrastructures, which Minister Déogratias Nsanganiyumwami has accepted.
Things look different at the Lycée de l’Amitié because Lambert Nicitegetse who represented the Diocese of Ngozi pointed out that this space belongs to that diocese because there was a concession contract with the Burundian State in 1971. Minister Deo Nsanganiyumwami invited him to come and see him to study this file together. He warned those who would hijack the primary mission of those lands and use them for other purposes.
He recalled that the CNTB had come to hand over these two sites to the State, which will exploit them as needed.
He said now was not the time to take action on the spot. He appreciated the fact that all groups of people who have been farming these lands since 2014 and 2018 recognize that these plots belong to the state.
Regarding the activities on those lands, he indicated that the doors are open, that the current operators will start discussions with the ministry to see what the law says in order to make a fair and equitable decision.