BUJUMBURA March 7th (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye held on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at the Ntare Rushatsi Palace, an awareness-raising meeting for officials of the Ministry of Hydraulics, of Energy and Mines, to discuss the strategies to be adopted so that the minerals, electricity and water sectors can contribute effectively to the development of the country, by bringing foreign currency into the public treasury.
The Minister in charge of Energy and Mines Ibrahim Uwizeye first briefly presented to the Head of State the inventory of all sectors of his ministry. He recalled that the absence of water and electricity negatively impacts the lives of citizens and in that way, no development is possible.
In the electricity sector, the minister indicated that many efforts are being made to have sufficient electricity. He cited the Kabu 16 and Rusumo Falls dams which are ready to provide a lot of electricity and that we are preparing to accommodate that electricity. He also cited the rehabilitation of the old network and the installation of transformers which are works aimed at improving the electricity sector.
For the water sector, Minister Uwizeye indicated that despite many challenges, we are in the process of seeing how to capture water from rural areas to be able to supply the city of Bujumbura. In the mining sector, he specified that Burundi has a lot of mining potential, the majority of which is not yet known or others known but not yet exploited. He deplored the fraud which manifests itself in the exploitation of certain minerals. He gave the example of cooperatives that exploit gold which declare less compared to what they exploit. Regarding the challenges, the minister also pointed out the difficulty in having foreign currency to import the materials we need such as pipes, wires, meters, transformers, and others. There is also insufficient staff.
The general director of Regideso Albert Manigomba, returned, during his speech, to the anarchic constructions in the town hall of Bujumbura which causes problems during the water and electricity connection, the sabotage at the place of Regideso which is explained by the theft of installed equipment, destruction of pipes, aging of networks and others. According to the CEO of Regideso, $102 million is needed for the project to build another drinking water treatment station in Kanyosha which will put an end to the water shortage in Bujumbura city.
In turn, the head of state asked them first to have a spirit of patriotism in everything they do. Afterwards, he urged executives in the water and electricity sector to serve the public. “The absence of water and electricity is not something to be taken lightly. You must develop projects going in the direction of increasing those two products which Burundian citizens very much need as a key to development,” insisted the Burundian number one.
Regarding the mining sector, the President of the Republic of Burundi also deplores the low production presented by the cooperatives which exploit gold. He asked the director general of the Burundian Office of Mines and Quarries to rigorously monitor those cooperatives to avoid fraud.
For the mining sector to generate the foreign exchange that the country needs, investors must be encouraged to invest in it but while making win-win contracts to prevent the State from continuing to record losses. Contracts will be terminated for investors who do not provide a better return. All the minerals contained in the Burundian subsoil must be exploited and sold to earn foreign currency. He gave the example of iron, peat and marble which can be exploited and transformed to generate money.
He invited the executives of the Ministry of Energy to manage the ministry like good fathers and be creators of wealth by producing a lot. The latter must be diligent at work, do good planning, hold evaluation meetings every month, to move towards a Burundi developed in 2040 and developed in 2060. All-natural potential must be exploited to export in order to have foreign currency. necessary in the importation of certain products that the country needs for the well-being of its citizens. “The energy and mining sectors must be the engine of economic growth,” insisted the Head of State.
For the question related to the insufficiency of personnel in that ministry, he asked the ministry to identify the profiles of the personnel it needs to see how to find them. Apart from the activities of the ministry, he invited them to return to the primary and secondary sectors (Agriculture and livestock) to increase production and so that every mouth has something to eat and every pocket has money.