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Presentation of the achievements of the Ministry of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism for the first half of 2021-2022

ByWebmaster

Jan 20, 2022

BUJUMBURA January 19th (ABP) – The Minister of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism Mrs. Marie Chantal Nijimbere proceeded on Monday, January 17, 2022, to the presentation of the achievements of that ministry for the first half of the budget year 2021-2022.

In the trade sector, Mrs. Nijimbere indicated that a draft strategy for the development of cross-border trade has been prepared and validated by the stakeholders. She also added that a draft text governing games of chance has been drawn up and sent for programming and adoption by the Cabinet meeting.

                      View of the participants at the presentation of the report on achievements

According to Mrs. Nijimbere, several visits to the field were carried out as part of monitoring the evolution of prices and stocks of strategic and essential products in certain markets of the country. There was also a workshop to validate the strategy for implementing the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECAF).

In the transport sector, she reported that 44,741 secure technical control certificates were issued at OTRACO headquarters and in the agencies of Gitega, Ngozi and Bururi, activities of the Bujumbura port modernization project were officially launched. and 9 draft regulations to strengthen the regulatory framework for civil aviation safety and security were amended.

In the industrial sector, the Minister specified that 221 industrial property titles with additional classes were issued and protected generating 61,470 USD and 3,370,000 Fbu were paid into the account of the public treasury as registration fees.

In the field of crafts, Mrs. Nijimbere said that 85 Burundian artisans participated in the JUA KALI NGUVU KAZI regional fair in Mwanza, Tanzania, in December, and they won first place in innovation.

For the tourism sector, it has meant that all tourist sites have been identified in all the provinces of the country, and the pre-classification work of 88 tourist accommodation establishments has been carried out.

In the area of ​​standardization and quality control, 68 standards were harmonized and adopted as national standards, adding that 32 certificates and 21 licenses were granted to local products meeting quality standards for application of the BBN mark, generating 23,500,000 BIF of receipts paid to the public treasury.

Regarding the shortage of certain products including sugar produced by SOSUMO, cement from BUCECO, and drinks from BRARUDI, the Minister responsible for trade explains that this shortage is due to the production monopoly of these companies, arguing that there is a lack of many industries producing these basic necessities, which creates a handicap in terms of supply and demand where we end up with an increased growth of consumers, while companies like SOSUMO, BUCECO and BRARUDI are no longer able to satisfy the domestic market. She also explained that the Burundian population increases at the same time as the infrastructures which need cement, specifying that the door is open for imports but at a low level so as not to use a lot of foreign currency, she hammered.

For that reason, Mrs. Nijimbere pointed out that there are Burundian economic operators who are requesting authorization to set up factories for the production of these basic necessities such as sugar and cement, adding also that the ministry is delighted, because the more there will be many production companies, the problem of shortage of certain products will find a solution. She took this opportunity to ask all the people of Burundi to denounce to the authorized services, the traders who speculate on the prices of these products, so that they are punished in accordance with the law.

Regarding the preparations for the integration of Burundi into the ZLECAF, Mrs. Nijimbere said that at the level of the ministry for which she is responsible, they are in the process of updating the legal framework governing the trade sector, to protect the Burundian market, Burundian traders and industries from being dominated by foreign products.

She further indicated that the ministry is also putting in place strategies for mobilizing all stakeholders, including the public and private sectors, to begin preparing for that vast market.