BUJUMBURA September 12th (ABP) – The 15 members of the government appointed under Decree No. 100/06 of September 8, 2022, were sworn in on Friday, September 9, 2022, at the Kigobe hemicycle, before the Head of State, Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye and the parliament meeting in congress, in accordance with article 138 of the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi.
With the right hand up, holding the national flag and that of national unity with the left hand, each member of the government has sworn allegiance to the Charter of National Unity, to the Constitution and to the law. They pledged to devote all their forces to defending the higher interests of the nation, to promoting the unity and cohesion of the Burundian people, peace and social justice in the performance of the functions entrusted to them.
The 15 members of the government are also committed to combating any ideology and practice of genocide and exclusion, and to promoting and defending the rights and freedoms of individuals and citizens.
Among these 15 members of the Government, appointed by the Head of State on the proposal of the Prime Minister, in consultation with the Vice-President of the Republic, five ministers are new, while ten others have been renewed.
As for the gender dimension, five ministers are women. They are the Minister of Justice, Mrs. Domine Banyankimbona, the Minister of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS, Dr. Sylvie Nzeyimana, the Minister of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism, Mrs. Marie Chantal Nijimbere, the Minister of National Solidarity, Social Affairs, Human Rights and Gender, Mrs. Imelde Sabushimike as well as the Minister of Communication, Information Technologies and Media, Mrs. Léocadie Ndacayisaba.
As far as they are concerned, article 139 of the Burundian constitution promulgated on June 7, 2018 specifies that the members of the government take, by ordinances, all measures to implement the decrees of the President of the Republic and the orders of the Prime Minister.
In the same vein, article 141 of the constitution in force stipulates those members of the government make or propose appointments in public administration and diplomatic posts taking into account the need to maintain an ethnic balance, regional, political and between genders.
According to article 142 of this constitution, members of the government are criminally responsible for offenses committed in the exercise of their functions. They are justifiable before the Supreme Court, specifies the same article.
The functions of member of the government are incompatible with the exercise of any public function, professional activity and the exercise of a parliamentary mandate, specifies article 143 of the Burundian constitution in force.
Note that the swearing-in ceremonies for members of the government saw the participation of the Vice-President of the Republic, former Heads of State, the Prime Minister, the Burundian Ombudsman, the Presidents of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts, the mayor of the city, members of the diplomatic and consular corps, senior executives of the defense and security corps, representatives of religious denominations and civil society and many others.