BUJUMBURA, November 23rd (ABP) – The assistant to the Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Isidora Ntakiyiruta, proceeded, on Friday, November 17, 2023, to the opening of the ceremonies marking the 12th month of statistics in Burundi, 2023 edition.
The theme of that day was “Strengthening the production of official statistics by mobilizing statistical data ecosystems to teach the indicators of the vision of Burundi, “emerging country in 2040 and developed country in 2060”.
Mrs. Ntakiyiruta indicated that the National Council for Statistical Information (CNIS) wanted to take into account the dates of celebration of World Statistics Day which takes place on October 20 each year since 2010 and African Day of Statistics which takes place on November 18 of each year, since 1993. That council also wanted to highlight the importance that the government of Burundi attaches to the improvement of official statistics in the service of its socio-economic development.
She noted that the themes of the 12th Statistics Month in Burundi and that of the African Statistics Day of this year 2023 are in tandem with that of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, namely: ‘ Silencing the guns: Creating conditions conducive to Africa’s development’.
She further explained that this vision of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union finds its essence in the collective vision of the African Union defined in its Development Agenda 2063, namely: an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, led by its own citizens and constituting a dynamic force in the international arena. It is therefore by truly establishing peace and security that the people of Burundi will use reliable official statistics to achieve their sustainable development, she said.
Mrs. Ntakiyiruta stressed that everything will therefore have to be done to have reliable statistics to effectively support the implementation of all development agendas and programs at the global, continental, regional, national, sectoral and community levels. For its part, the Government of Burundi will spare no effort to support its statistical system, so that it is able to produce reliable and quality statistical data, as a guarantee of good governance, peace and sustainable development, she declared.
The Director General of the National Institute of Statistics in Burundi (INSBU), Mr. Nicolas Ndayishimiye noted that the existence of statistics in Burundi testifies to the interest given to the national statistical system coordinated by the lNSBU, with a view to supporting human development via the essential path of statistics. Moreover, he added, statistical and non-statistical services must jointly fight the common enemies of laziness and hunger.
On that occasion, expert Alain Désiré Mugisha made a presentation on the “Problem of the production of official statistics in Burundi”. He indicated that the national statistical system (SSN) suffers from weaknesses which reduce its capacity to respond effectively to demand with a view to monitoring and evaluating progress made within the framework of Burundi’s vision “emerging country in 2040 and developed country in 2060”. These weaknesses are observed in particular in terms of the organization of sectoral coordination, the balance and coherence of the SSN, the coverage of emerging statistical areas and the dissemination of data. Mr. Mugisha also revealed that to enable the SSN to respond effectively to the various requests for statistical data and evaluate the progress made, it is essential to make the national statistical authority more operational in order to enable it to correctly fulfill its missions, to respect methodologies and timing of production and publication of statistics and to promote collaboration between all stakeholders in statistical production.