BUJUMBURA October 4th (ABP) – The Cabinet met on Wednesday September 29, 2021 in Gitega (central Burundi) under the chairmanship of the Head of State Evariste Ndayishimiye with 8 items on the agenda including the draft decree relating to the Burundi Investment Code, according to the press release from the General Secretariat of the State.
Indeed, the draft decree on the missions, organization and functioning of the Burundi Development Agency was presented by the services of the Presidency of the Republic of Burundi. The press release indicates that, in order to put in place a legal framework on investments that is more competitive and aligned with international practices, the Burundi Investment Code has been amended. Among the innovations brought by this new Code, there is the creation of the Burundi Development Agency to replace the Investment Promotion Agency as well as the structuring of the Board of Directors. This Code also broadens the missions of the Burundi Development Agency to go beyond the simple promotion of investments. That draft decree is proposed to adapt to this new Code. As a structure of the Agency, it is proposed that it be headed by a Director General to allow it to interact with other institutions responsible for investments in the world. He will be assisted by four directors.
After discussion and debate, the project was adopted with, among other things, as recommendations, that at the level of compensation and other advantages to be granted to the directors of the Agency, it is necessary to refer to the existing texts, that the registration of cooperative societies should be will be made to the National Agency for the Promotion and Regulation of Cooperative Societies in Burundi (ANACOOP) and the related statistics will be provided to the Agency. It is necessary to determine the number of extraordinary meetings of the Board of Directors not to be exceeded, the Director General of ANACOOP will be part of the Board of Directors replacing the staff representative of the Agency, the mandate of the Director General is renewable once and the Board of Directors will be chaired by the representative of the private sector.
In the draft, it says that there should be provisions relating to the role of the internal auditor. 2/3 of the members of the Board of Directors, as well as the hierarchy, can request a meeting of the Board of Directors. The political authority should not be given deadlines to react to the decisions of the Governing Body. Directors are appointed for a term renewable once and are not recruited by competition, only Agency staff are recruited by competition and it is not necessary to specify that this is for an indefinite contract.