BUJUMBURA December 14th (ABP) – The natives of Bujumbura province (western Burundi), the heads of the provincial services and those of the projects met last week at the Miami Beach hotel to discuss on the challenges that undermine the development of that province and propose solutions within the framework of accountability, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
In his introductory speech, the governor of that province, Mr. Désiré Nsengiyumva, recalled that this is the second time that such a meeting has been organized to discuss development, noting that it is an opportunity for self-evaluation in order to be able to improve. He also informed the participants of the major projects underway in the province and in the communes.
He cited in particular the construction of a football pitch juxtaposed with a hotel for visitors at the provincial level, specifying that the earthworks of the field and the construction of the hotel have already started.
Mr. Nsengiyumva also spoke about social infrastructure projects such as the maintenance of the roads that connect the communes of that province and the construction of storey basic and technical schools.
The provincial governor called on the natives to contribute in the implementation of those communal projects by providing resources and / or by seeking financial technical partners.
Three presentations made by those in charge of the education, health and environment, agriculture and livestock departments caught the attention of the participants.
The challenges facing those sectors were highlighted by those officials and proposed actions to be taken to address them.
From those presentations, it was noted that the excessive numbers in schools, school dropouts, unwanted pregnancies, malnutrition, low agricultural production and insufficient staff and the means at their disposal are the major challenges undermining the development of that province.
However, participants pointed out that those challenges can be met because Bujumbura province has potentials, provided they exploit them. Their interventions focused on two major challenges, namely the low success rate in schools and malnutrition.
For Mr. Pontien Bikebako, the fight against malnutrition is simple. He explained that the people of that province produce a diverse range of crops, what is just needed is to teach them what to eat and how to prepare them.
For the Honorable Zénon Ndaruvukanye, they must invest in education because, what has brought success in Karusi can be done in Bujumbura with rigorous supervision of teachers, stressing that there are those who do not perform their tasks properly.
Senate President Emmanuel Sinzohagera, who took part in that meeting as a native, places the great challenge in the non-commitment of natives to the development of their commune and their province. He wonders why the natives of Bujumbura who have the means would not invest in micro crop processing factories to give jobs to the unemployed.
Regarding the challenge linked to the low success rate, he promised that the Senate will propose to the government that there be a decentralization of the public service, so that the administrator can have a stranglehold on the services of the commune and that the teachers be paid by the commune.
In this case, according to Mr. Sinzohagera, the administrator could be entitled to supervising the communal services and take the necessary measures for its proper functioning.
He proposed that the natives set themselves an action plan and that each evaluation be made on the basis of the concrete actions implemented.