BUJUMBURA August 17th (ABP) – Four months after the holding of the second economic forum, the national director of Word and Action for the Awakening of Consciousness and the Evolution of Mentalities (PARCEM), Faustin Ndikumana, hosted on Wednesday August 16, 2023 in Bujumbura, a press conference to inform the public that PARCEM has released a book entitled: “Burundi emerging country in 2040 and developed country in 2060, What prerequisites?”, to contribute to the building of a country which really tends towards emergence.
Mr. Ndikumana spoke of the need to restore order and harmony in the planning and reference documents to constitute a single document of vision. He explained that currently, Burundi has several reference documents. He cited the 2025 vision with its 8 pillars being evaluated, the PND 2018-2027, the SDGs, the recommendations of the two forums on the development of Burundi which took place in 2021 and 2023 and other documents such as that of the orientation of agricultural policies.
According to him, those documents must be integrated into the new vision 2040-2060 and like that, the document becomes unique and more encompassing. There is a need to set up a well-supported mechanism for the production of reliable and credible statistical data at the national, sectoral and local levels (Commune, zone and village), which regularly establishes the inventory of the indicators with a digitization that has become effective in public and private services.
He also suggests the need to redefine the role of actors. He cited the State and political institutions, the private sector and economic and social institutions (civil society, religious denominations and NGOs).
Each actor must know their place, their role to establish a synergy of actions between them supported by a permanent framework of collaboration and especially to avoid that each sector intervenes where it is effective, added the national director of PARCEM.
There is also a need for a strategy for raising financial resources (internal and external) in a context of good budgetary governance centered on the program budget, public participation, a coherent budgetary control mechanism adapted to international standards. This strategy will take into account the overall estimated cost of the vision.
Burundi also needs to choose a growth model that is based on the growth sectors already chosen (Agriculture, mining, tourism and services), linked to the geostrategic position of Burundi, as a hub in the region but knowing set the priorities and define the place that belongs to each sector, i.e., an operational plan to succeed in setting what are called flagship projects with supporting models.
Mr. Ndikumana clarified that developing a national population policy that defines the rate of population growth is the desired standard of living at the time of emergence. He cited food, housing, basic services, health, education, justice, social protection, quality infrastructure and others.
According to his opinion, there is a need to set up an institutional framework for monitoring and implementing the vision, supported by a research office and a technical steering secretariat to ensure that we are not going off the rails on a daily basis, especially at the end of legislatures or when appointments to positions change. We also need a strategy for mobilizing competent human resources, even those from outside.
He ended his remarks by saying that the book that PARCEM has just made public contains the prerequisites for Burundi to embrace the path of emergence in 2040 and of a developed country in 2060.