CIBITOKE October 18th (ABP) – The governor of Cibitoke province, OPC1 Carème Bizoza and his Rwandan counterpart from the western province, Mr. François Habitegeko, held a security meeting on Friday, October 15, in Ruhwa in Rugombo commune, province Cibitoke (north-western Burundi) on the border between Burundi and Rwanda.
That meeting, which was held behind closed doors, brought together two delegations from those provinces, made up respectively of the governor of the province, the administrators of the municipalities located on the border, the military and police chiefs, and the public prosecutor in Cibitoke.
The purpose of this meeting was to get to know each other, to talk about border security and especially people who try to divert the Ruhwa river to take another bed. According to the governor of Cibitoke, such illegal actions were observed on both sides of the Ruhwa river bordering the two provinces. Governor Bizoza indicated that such acts can generate conflicts between the two countries, which justifies the need to stop and protect the banks of this river by planting bamboo or other fixing grasses.
On this, they met in order to prevent conflicts among their populations, linked to the change of the bed of the river, according to the same official. They also revealed that with the aim of a good cohabitation, the administrators of the border communes will meet quarterly and semi-annually for the governors for evaluation.
As for the governor of the western province of Rwanda, Mr. François Habitegeko, he revealed that they have agreed to sensitize their people on the respect of the laws concerning the buffer zone at the common border which is not to be cultivated. He said that they also agreed to protect that river which serves as the border between the two countries.
Concretely, he said, they will mobilize their populations against activities in the buffer zones, protect the river and immediately destroy the barriers built in the river and which prevent water from flowing in its natural bed.