NGOZI December 27th (ABP) – Women entrepreneurs supervised by the Association of Businesswomen of Burundi (AFAB), are delighted with a visible improvement in good governance in business that is currently observed in the town of Ngozi.
This was said during the evaluation sessions of the activities of the Birandaba Project, a Citizen Participation and Conflict Prevention program carried out by a consortium made up of ACORD Burundi, AFAB and Association Women Artisans of Peace, with funding from Swiss Cooperation.
According to those women, after the training received from AFAB, consultation is observed between the women traders and the communal administration of Ngozi. The example given is that of the establishment of the new market of Rubuye, installed after the closing of that of Ruvumera. The commune had to engage in a dialogue with the women traders of the closed market, who were in the majority, before identifying a new location.
Those women also claim to have received enough experience in drawing up their business plans. In that way, they have been able to expand their business since they have access to bank loans with the presentation of bankable projects and mortgages acquired, as part of the land certification learned with the Birandaba program.
They also report having been sufficiently sensitized on tax citizenship and participation in various community development works. The businesswomen of Ngozi supervised by AFAB also indicate that they have improved social coexistence. The values of exclusivity and non-discrimination have now become theirs.
Their trade associations currently include traditionally disadvantaged groups such as the Batwa and people living with disabilities.
On the administration side, the Permanent Secretary of the Ngozi commune is very satisfied with the contribution of the women supervised by the AFAB in the National Development Program of Burundi, PND 2018-2027.
Alongside the tax base which has been considerably increased, the women supervised by that association have understood the importance of creating opportunities for themselves instead of sitting idly by all day long.
According to the coordinator of the Birandaba Citizen Participation and Conflict Prevention project, Mr. Patrice Nsabayezu, the Ngozi session aimed to evaluate the mid-term activities of AFAB, one of the partners of the consortium, to see the results already achieved and to rectify, if necessary, withdraw in time for more positive impacts.
Similar sessions will soon be organized in the communes of Mwumba, Nyamurenza, Marangara and Tangara. In those communes, they will thus proceed with the evaluation and methodological support of the activities carried out by ACORD Burundi and the Association of Women Artisans of Peace.