RUTANA March 13th (ABP) – The Prime Minister of Burundi, Mr. Gervais Ndirakobuca, went on Friday, March 10, 2023, to Bukemba commune of Rutana province to get informed on the progress of the rehabilitation works of an irrigation dam built on the Musasa River.
The rehabilitation work is being carried out by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), supported by the European Union.
In his speech, Mr. Ndirakobuca thanked IOM and the European Union for the rehabilitation of the dam which will irrigate more than 200 hectares of rice fields in the Musasa Valley, which will improve the lives of more than 800 beneficiary households. He also commended the initiative of those organizations which have greatly supported Burundi in development programs, especially in the health sector.
The Prime Minister called on the people of Bukemba and Rutana communes with arable areas in that valley, to grow trees on the banks of that river while respecting the no man’s land.
With the same aim of valuing that aid from the European Union and the IOM, Mr. Ndirakobuca invited the administrative authorities to take the lead and help people in the protection of the said valley and the aforementioned river.
The people of the locality thanked the European Union and the IOM as well as the administration for that commendable work. Mrs. Odile Tuyisabe, a farmer from the Bugiga zone, indicated that for three years since the demolition of that dam, rice cultivation had ceased in that valley, expressing the satisfaction of the people who will resume activities.
After that visit, Prime Minister Ndirakobuca received in audience the Ambassador of the European Union, Mr. Claude Bochu, at the headquarters of Rutana province.
Their exchanges focused on the projects of the Burundian government supported by the European Union, in particular that of the Jiji-Murembwe dam and that of expanding rehabilitation of the port of Bujumbura, the spokesman for the Prime Minister, Mr. Moïse Nkurunziza, told the press. The two authorities were delighted with the state of progress of the two projects and the cooperation between Burundi and the European Union, he continued to say, before adding that “they will continue hand in hand to advance cooperative ties in the interest of the well-being of the people of Burundi”.
Note that the Musasa dam under rehabilitation was built in 1974 and was destroyed in 2019, by wear.