BUJUMBURA August 9th (ABP) – The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Audace Niyonzima, met on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, the provincial and communal administrative officials of the Bujumbura-Mairie, Bubanza and Cibitoke provinces, within the framework of popularizing the law establishing the general budget of the State, financial year 2023-2024.
On that occasion, Minister Niyonzima informed them about the content of the new law, insisting on the major changes that have been made for the migration from the average budget model to the budget-program model. He said that the new orientation of the program budget requires planning and transparency, the production of quarterly, annual reports based on qualification and results.
He also presented some projects for which a large part of the budget was allocated, which led to an increase in the budget compared to the previous year. These are the rehabilitation of the Melchior Ndadaye airport, the agro-pole project for the development of rabbit farming, the construction of the Kajeke dam, the release of the annual wages, the fertilizer subsidy at the rate of 200 billion BIF, the next academic year for two promotions.
For the proper implementation of the 2023-2024 budget, Minister Niyonzima invited those officials to contribute significantly to the fundraising (taxes, duties and non-tax revenue).
The administration has a big role to play, according to him, in assisting the tax administration, in order to mobilize revenue. To the latter, he asked them to contribute to the shift from the average budget model to the budget-program model, based on results, by preparing quarterly and annual reports that will be presented to parliament.
Minister Niyonzima winks at communal technicians to become familiar with the development of statistics, an essential planning tool that provides information on the comparison between the objectives assigned and the achievements. For him, it is difficult to draw up policies without having at hand the statistics for reference. As each has technicians, he believes that they have the necessary training to draft those statistics, calling for their capacity building so that they do so by following the rules of the art.