The Government of Burundi is committed to each project funded by the World Bank in the form of project support and grants. This is in substance what the Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning said on the sidelines of the analysis of the bill N°1/...of.../.../2023 on the increase of the capital of the Republic of Burundi in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and in the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which was finally adopted unanimously by the MPs present at the plenary sitting of Tuesday, April 4, 2023.

Mr. Audace Niyonzima was reacting to an intervention that pointed out the low rate of consumption of the World Bank’s support. For the Government envoy, some agents are delaying the execution of these projects in order to extend their duration. He promised to rectify this by scrutinizing those who engage in this practice.
Regarding the bill under analysis, he informed, Burundi has chosen to subscribe to 106 additional shares in the share capital of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development which were allocated by the Board of Governors Resolution No. 663 entitled "General Capital Increase 2018" (the "GCI Resolution") and 123 additional shares in the share capital of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development which were allocated by the Board of Governors Resolution No. 664 entitled "Selective Capital Increase 2018" (the "SCA Resolution").

IBRD Resolutions No. 663 and 664 distinguish between the total cost of the shares to be subscribed and the amount to be paid up (payable).
The amount to be payable is 20% before the fifth anniversary of adoption (October 1st, 2023). The other amount representing 80% is payable through other subsequent resolutions.

The amount to be subscribed, he explained, is USD 12,787,310 for the GCI while for the CSA the amount to be subscribed is USD 14,838,105; but the amount to be paid up for the IBRD is USD 2,557,462.20 and for the CSA is USD 890,286.30.
For the IFC, Resolution No. 271 requires the subscription and payment of 1,030 shares corresponding to USD 1,030,000 while Resolution No. 272 requires the subscription and payment of 508 shares corresponding to USD 508,000.
The amounts to be paid up, he said, will not be paid in one instalment. They will be paid in instalments until 2025. The amount foreseen for the first instalment is USD 1,030,000 to be paid by April 15, 2023 at the latest. The related budget line, he insisted, was not foreseen, and the amount will be paid, once authorized, by combining the balances of the budget lines that are not in deficit.

While the GCI, he differentiated, distributes the capital increase proportionally according to the last subscription for each shareholder, the CSA is reserved for specific shareholders or groups of shareholders.
One important feature of the bill under consideration is that it is not a grant or loan agreement signed between a Government representative and a development partner in the country. Rather, it is an act of commitment for the country to release shares under the GCI and CSA in the IBRD and IFC.