BUJUMBURA August 16th (ABP) – The Cabinet Members met on Wednesday August 9, 2023 in Gitega, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye.
Among the files analyzed are the draft law amending decree-law No. 1/024 of July 13, 1989 on the organic framework of personalized State administrations and the draft law amending decree-law No. 1/023 of July 26, 1989 on the organic framework of Burundian public institutions.
According to the government secretary general and spokesman, Prosper Ntahorwamiye, there are laws that date back a long time and no longer respond to the realities of the moment.
He specified that the legislator of the time did not take into consideration the governance of certain institutions in terms of efficiency, which means that, at present, there are boards of directors that have been put in place and which require a lot of funds to be spent, while those structures do not generate income. This is the case of decree-law No. 1/024 of July 13, 1989 on the organic framework of personalized State administrations and decree-law No. 1/023 of July 26, 1989 on the organic framework of Burundian public institutions.
In order to comply with the constitution in force, it was decided to review the legal framework governing Burundian public institutions and personalized State administrations to adapt it to the current environment, by eliminating the board of directors because those structures do not generate revenue. With that abolition of the boards of directors, the missions which fell to them will be entrusted to the general inspectorates of the ministries.
After the analysis, the Cabinet members made certain observations. If the boards of directors are abolished for certain institutions, it will be difficult for some of them to take relevant decisions. It would be better to think of setting up another body that could replace the board of directors. For personalized administrations governed by specific laws, it is proposed to insert a provision stipulating that the name of the governing bodies refers to the laws that set them up.
The concepts “personalized administration” and “public institution” must be well defined to avoid confusion and facilitate understanding. Thus, the following elements are taken into account: A personalized administration is a decentralized entity of the State while a public institution is a decentralized entity. A personalized administration is placed under the direct authority of a minister while a public institution is placed under the supervision of a minister. A personalized administration has an operating budget each year and the revenue collected is paid directly into the public treasury and it also has a Board of Directors. A public institution, on the other hand, receives a starting fund allowing it to produce and make profits, and in this case a Board of Directors is necessary.
Personalized administrations, by nature, provide public services which may or may not be remunerated. These two situations must be handled differently. These structures must be led by directors general assisted by directors. Still according to the Secretary General of the State, the Minister of Justice, in collaboration with the team of ministers who had previously worked on the two texts during the pre-Cabinet meeting, was appointed to work on those texts according to those orientations. They will be brought back to the Cabinet meeting for adoption.