BUJUMBURA November 29th (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye opened, Monday, November 27, 2023, in Bujumbura, the 2nd edition of the national private sector forum in Burundi, called “Umuzinga day 2”, organized under the theme “Public-private dialogue, a lever for inclusive economic growth”.
That meeting was attended by the Prime Minister, members of the government, parliamentarians, executives of the Presidency of the Republic and the Prime Minister, representatives of the diplomatic and consular corps accredited in Bujumbura, the representative of the World Bank in Burundi, industry representatives and foreign investors.
The President of the Republic of Burundi, in his speech, indicated that this forum is the implementation of the recommendation resulting from the national forum on the development of Burundi held in 2022. According to the Head of State, the forum of that year is an opportunity for the government to revitalize public-private dialogue and promote sectoral dialogue processes, particularly in terms of the reforms necessary for the growth of strategic sectors such as infrastructure, agro-industry, energy, the financial sector, information and communication technologies.
Minister Marie Chantal Nijimbere
The Head of State indicated that that second edition of the national private sector forum will also encourage private sector companies to participate more actively in the economic development of Burundi because they have the resources and the necessary potential to provide solutions to the problems that affect millions of Burundians.
In fact, President Ndayishimiye took the opportunity to point out that that forum comes at a time when Burundi has taken the first step towards the year 2040 for Burundi, emerging and developed in 2060. For that, he invited to work together by supporting small and medium- sized traders so that all the Burundian people are developed.
The President of the Republic of Burundi did not forget to deplore the behavior of certain investors who commit fraud and who do not pay taxes correctly, calling on them to break with that bad behavior and work for the interest of the country. He encouraged investors who operate in transparency because working in transparency is one of the pillars of development.
What’s more, he called on Burundians who have the means to create projects or jobs instead of storing their money in banks. That will reduce unemployment among young people and support the sustainable development of the country, recalling that the private sector is the main provider of jobs.
The President of the Republic of Burundi took that opportunity to thank all development partners who supported that forum.
He also encouraged domestic and foreign investors, calling on them to move forward
The Head of State ended his speech by specifying that that national forum of the private sector called “Umuzinga day”, will be organized every year.
For her part, the Minister of Commerce, Transport, Industry and Tourism, Mrs. Marie Chantal Nijimbere recalled that that forum is part of the commitment of the Government of Burundi to initiate a public-private dialogue which will support the growth of the private sector in Burundi, by removing all blockages to the development of the private sector.
She recalled that the national private sector forum “Umuzinga day 1, held in November 2022, was part of that logic. Organized under the theme “Leveraging private sector investments for economic transformation, job creation and inclusive growth”, several recommendations were formulated including the reform of the agro-industrial sector to stimulate private investors, the improvement of maritime transport services on Lake Tanganyika, the operationalization of the electronic governance strategy, the sanitation of the business climate within the legal framework, by setting up a national competition commission available and revitalizing the one-stop shop of the Burundian Development Agency (ADB), the diversification of the exportable offer as well as the mobilization of investments foreign direct.
According to Minister Nijimbere, that year’s forum is the implementation of those recommendations.
Note that that second edition of the national private sector forum was organized by the Burundian government, the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burundi, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.