BUJUMBURA March 10th (ABP) – The President of the Republic, Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye, met on Thursday March 7 with all administrative officials and security officials at Bujumbura city to take stock of the hygiene situation and sanitation in that constituency where a dark picture has been painted.
President Ndayishimiye immediately indicated that administrative officials are partly responsible for that precariousness and recalled that they are “the fathers” in their respective constituencies. He pointed out that the unsanitary conditions in Bujumbura city are caused by the lack of patriotism of some of those officials and called on them to take the lead in raising awareness among the entire population to work for healthy hygiene. According to the President of the Republic, with a serious commitment from everyone, one week would be enough to make the city of Bujumbura clean.
The President of the Republic mentioned certain challenges to be met. He mentioned the responsibility of garbage collection companies in the city of Bujumbura for the preponderance of unsanitary conditions in Bujumbura city. According to him, alongside the collection appointments which are not respected, the latter do not have the equipment required for that work. The vehicles used are in poor condition and have holes, dropping garbage on public roads. At a time when the latter collect money from the population but do not offer the necessary quality services, the President of the Republic recommended to the authorities of the Bujumbura city to revisit the contracts signed with them, to terminate them and enter into new contracts with companies that are capable of doing so. In that regard, the President of the Republic indicated that in other countries, it is those same companies which take care of hygiene on public roads (cleanliness of spaces, planting trees along public roads), which is not the case in Burundi.
On the same chapter, the Head of State urged district leaders to monitor construction sites, ensuring that rubble and other construction materials are not spread on public roads. They will therefore have to take measures to evacuate those materials outside the city, if there is reluctance to dump them inside the construction sites. Likewise, the President of the Republic invited neighborhood leaders to visit the plots to reassure themselves whether they have toilets and, if not, to force the owners to build them.
The President of the Republic, on that occasion, decreed a 100-day campaign period for a clean city of Bujumbura, with the assistance of the entire population who must be involved. Administrative leaders, from the bottom to the top, will have to take the lead in achieving that objective. After that period, an evaluation will be made on the step taken, declared President Ndayishimiye.
The start of that 100-day campaign to make the city of Bujumbura clean was officially opened by the Head of State at the Buyenzi market known as “Mu Ruvumera”.