CANKUZO, February 22nd (ABP) – The health centers of Cankuzo, Rusigabangazi and many others in the health province of Cankuzo (eastern Burundi) are among the targets of theft of nutritional inputs, as revealed during an extended security meeting that the provincial governor, Mr. Boniface Banyiyezako, held last week, in Mishiha commune, for administrators and heads of decentralized services.
During the meeting, the participants raised the concern of the people who requested a review of the decision to suspend tontines and Saving internal loaning community (SILC), explaining that the latter helped them to overcome family problems.
In the field of health, at a time when the government is committed to fighting against diseases linked to malnutrition, participants deplored cases of theft of nutritional inputs orchestrated in various health centers.
Indeed, at the Rusigabangazi health center, there was recently a theft of 8 boxes of biscuits, reported the administrator of the Gisagara commune, Mr. Gratien Nitunga, specifying that 10 people are in the hands of the police for investigation reasons.
For the same case, the head of the health district of Cankuzo, Dr. Sylvestre Kansuraheba, mentioned that supervisions have proven that certain health center managers have assumed the right to distribute nutritional inputs once a month to malnourished children who should benefit from them twice a month. This revealed that a certain quantity of this aid had been stolen, he regretted.
In Rusigabangazi, similar cases of theft were also noted at the Minyare, Humure, Nyarurambi and CDS Cankuzo health centers, he stressed, indicating that the alleged perpetrators were arrested.
Governor Banyiyezako deplored this behavior and recommended that the competent authorities continue investigations in order to punish the perpetrators of those offenses. He took the opportunity to call on the participants to work together to raise awareness among the people to keep peace and tighten security without mentioning to safeguard the harvest.