BUJUMBURA September 23rd (ABP) – Burundian parliamentarians met on Tuesday September 21 in plenary session to analyze and adopt the draft organic law revising the organic law of February 20, 2017 on the mission, organization, composition and functioning of the Burundi National Police (PNB).
One of the innovations of that law is that the police will now have three general police stations, while the special anti-corruption brigade will be relocated to the general police station of the judicial police, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
In his explanatory memorandum, the Minister of the Interior, Community Development and Public Security, Mr. Gervais Ndirakobuca, indicated that in the old law of February 20, 2017, certain omissions and errors of substance and form were observed in the body of the text, as well as confusion in the name of certain services having the same equivalence. In addition, he stressed, some police structures were not located in the right place, given their missions. It is more than necessary, he continued, to correct “all these imperfections” for a better restructuring and a fulfillment of the PNB’s missions without overlap and without ambiguity.
To do that, three general police stations were selected, namely the general police station for internal security, the general police station for the judicial police and the general police station in charge of migration. Still according to Minister Ndirakobuca, it was proposed that there be a high structure called the High Hierarchy of the PNB, parallel to the General Staff of the FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) and composed of the cabinet of the Inspector general of the national police, technical offices and general police stations. Thus, the anti-corruption brigade will be incorporated into the general police station of the judicial police.
In relation to that innovation, the MPs wanted to know if the remuneration will be the same as before for the outsourced staff. “The salary issue is in the hands of the competent authorities, especially since the latter is the business of the government who is undoubtedly aware of it,” retorted the Minister in charge of the Interior. Other questions were also raised by parliamentarians, including that related to some police officers interfering in civilian judgments. To that, Minister Ndirakobuca clarified that “the police only deal with criminal matters”.
During the same session, the MPs spoke of the people’s grumbling at certain police officers who behave badly. In relation to that, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Gélase Daniel Ndabirabe, pointed out that it is necessary to always stay on the sidelines of the topic of the day, while reassuring that a session of oral questions will be organized so that all the concerns of each other be lifted.
Note that after some substantive and technical amendments, that law was adopted unanimously.