BUJUMBURA April 19th (ABP) – As part of the implementation of the “Together” project, the Center for Development and Enterprise in the Great Lakes, hosted, on Thursday April 17, 2023, in Bujumbura a conference at during which, he proceeded to the presentation of the results of a research study on economic reforms in favor of the creation of jobs and opportunities.
In his introductory remarks, the Executive Director of the CDE, Mr. Aimable Manirakiza indicated that the conference was organized around the Burundian labor market.
Indeed, he added, despite the remarkable progress made by the new labor code of November 2020, it is clear that there are still restrictions and regulations imposed on companies, both to hire and to fire.
All of these impediments only undermine and weaken employment growth and the possibilities of escaping poverty for many Burundian families.
Consequently, that situation only encourages the informal sector and pushes Burundian entrepreneurs to operate in the informal sector, estimated at 76% of non-agricultural jobs; 94.5% of primary sector activities; 46.8% of secondary sector activities and 37.8% of tertiary sector activities. He also indicated that it is in this context that CDE has been developing a “Together” project since 2022, aimed at raising awareness of the benefits of the positive impact of free enterprise and showing political decision-makers that restrictions on recruitment and dismissal hurts workers, businesses and job creators called entrepreneurs.
Dr. Salomon Nsabimana, teacher at the University of Burundi (UB) and author of this study recalled that the State has a great responsibility because it is up to it alone to define the business landscape. He spoke in particular of the establishment of the laws and infrastructures necessary for a good business climate. In his presentation, he returned to the need for statistics to facilitate the monitoring of projects.
Called to speak on the government’s major programs to support employability, the economist, Dr Nsabimana, pointed out that these are good projects and which bring added value while emphasizing, however, that monitoring mechanisms are also needed to assess their progress.