BUJUMBURA February 24th (ABP) – The Head of Government, Mr. Gervais Ndirakobuca, presented, on Thursday, February 23, 2022-2023, before the members of the two Houses of Parliament, the achievements of the government during the first half of the 2022-2023 financial year (from July to December 2022). Mr. Ndirakobuca informed the senators and MPs gathered in the hemicycle of Kigobe that in general, the rate of implementation of the actions planned by the government, was 85.56%, while the rate of budgetary consumption reached 88.07%. However, achievement rates differ from sector to sector, he said.
With regard to the community development axis, it was planned to modernize public services. Thus, 11 pilot public civil status services have been digitized as planned. In the same section, the government had planned the construction of 15 public infrastructures, a project that was 73.3% completed. 11 basic schools, 2 health care facilities and 2 sheds have been built. Some 727 communal cooperatives were supervised out of the 1,455 planned, representing an achievement rate of 50%. The Prime Minister added that the budget was not used during the first semester, because it was a question of providing technical support, the financial support will intervene during the 2nd half of the year 2022-2023. The government has taken steps to improve maternal, newborn, child, adolescent, youth and elderly health care services.
In that regard, the Prime Minister indicated that it was planned as an action to equip 3 health care facilities for people living with disabilities (the INSP, the hospital of Muyinga and Ijenda), which have been 75% completed, he said. While the operationalization of the project to provide 3 regional hospitals (Gitega, Bururi and Ngozi), with means of local oxygen production, is at 60% of the achievements.
The Prime Minister also presented the state of implementation of the actions of the axis in relation to the consolidation and development of the sub-regional, regional and international partnership. One of the phased actions was to follow up on the financing of construction projects for the building that will house the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the rehabilitation of Melchior Ndadaye airport, the port of Bujumbura and the deviation of the RN1 at the level of the President’s Office. The Prime Minister informed that the activities planned, for that purpose, were carried out at 100% during the first half of 2022-2023.
To attract investors and tourists, the Prime Minister announced that 600 booklets were produced and delivered to the ministry in charge of tourism, making it known that this tool is very important to encourage them to come to the country. At the level of the same axis, 8 cooperation protocols have been signed with investors and other partners. Mr. Ndirakobuca mentioned that it was planned, at the level of the same axis, to negotiate 150 scholarships with bilateral partners. The achievements far exceeded forecasts, as 495 scholarships and 85 internships were obtained, said the Prime Minister. He also mentioned that the government has achieved its goals in terms of monitoring Burundi’s integration process at the level of the East African Community.
With regard to the axis of good governance, the Prime Minister presented the actions carried out in the field of justice. The village councils have been set up and operationalized in the 2910 villages in the country, as planned. Mr. Ndirakobuca said that the challenges are noticeable in that sector (materials, incentive costs), adding that the government is working to remedy them. To strengthen criminal justice, the government had planned to provisionally release 750 prisoners, with the aim of implementing sentence reduction measures. The Prime Minister informed that the objective was largely achieved with the provisional release of 1332 inmates. Still in relation to the good governance axis, 3,593 title deeds were registered out of the 3,667 title deeds that the Government had planned to register, i.e., an achievement rate of 97.98%.
A mid-term evaluation of the PND 2018-2027 was carried out and a document of its priority action plan was drawn up in accordance with the forecasts. In that regard, the Prime Minister explained that this plan fits well with the vision of the President of the Republic, who wants Burundi to be an emerging country in 2040 and a developed country in 2060. Still on the chapter of good governance, the government had planned to support the OBR in the direction of revenue collection to eradicate tax evasion which is causing the country to lose a lot of money. The project aimed to install billing systems connected to the OBR at 128 taxpayers. According to Mr. Ndirakobuca, at the end of the first half of the year, that figure had been exceeded: the OBR had installed those billing systems connected to its network to 198 taxpayers.