BUJUMBURA March 23rd (ABP) – The chairman of the Observatory for the fight against corruption and economic embezzlement (OLUCOME) Mr. Gabriel Rufyiri hosted on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 in Bujumbura, a press conference aimed at recommending the government of Burundi to take urgent measures to mitigate the general increase in the prices of basic necessities in Burundi.
According to Mr. Rufyiri, the issue of inflation in Burundi has become very worrying. It can be seen on all imported and local products, especially food products such as beans, rice, maize flour, to name but a few. Mr. Rufyiri indicated that inflation has risen exponentially in recent months since the year 2022. “A large part of the civil servants can no longer make meet the monthly needs,” he said.
He also underlined that alongside that problem of food inflation there is the repetitive shortage of fuel, which causes enormous financial losses for the country, more particularly public revenues, without forgetting in particular the rise in the price of transport tickets to upcountry.
He said that low production could be the main endogenous cause of the said inflation. To get out of that situation, Mr. Rufyiri recommends that the government of Burundi build up strategic stocks of fuel and initiate a policy of regrouping Burundians in villages to free up arable land, plan urbanization to avoid natural disasters and also to irrigate so that all the cultivable space of the country is exploitable during all seasons.