During the opening of the Parliament’s congress on October 30, 2023, the Speaker of the Senate proposed that the Parliament conduct visits throughout the country to assess the implementation of the Government’s action plan. The aim of these visits is to compare the report resulting from them with the one presented by the Prime Minister at the appropriate time, according to the Very Honorable Emmanuel Sinzohagera. The Parliament’s congress was led by the Speaker of the National Assembly.
The main objective of the congress was to take note of the Government’s main actions in the work plan and annual budget for the 2023-2024 exercise. According to Article 168 of the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi, the Prime Minister presents the report on the Government’s program execution every six months. However, the deadline has not yet arrived, so the Parliament has contented itself with taking note. This anticipation has raised some concerns among parliamentarians who wanted to ensure that the related works for the rehabilitation of the RN3 on the Rumonge-Gitaza section are still ongoing.
The Prime Minister’s priority is the construction of the road. If the budget turns out to be excessive, the related works will be sorted according to the size of the excess envelope. Otherwise, Lieutenant General of Police Gervais Ndirakobuca regretted that the type of related works to be carried out cannot be determined in advance. He defended the parliamentarians from disclosing in advance that such related work would be executed. The project adopted in 2018 on territorial planning is no longer relevant due to the new administrative division, according to the Prime Minister.
In order to achieve the 2040 vision of making Burundi an emerging country, a change in mindset is necessary. This was concluded by the plenary session, which condemned project managers who extend project durations for sectarian interests at the expense of national interests. Additionally, there needs to be clarity regarding the meaning of development aid. The term "development" is central, while most Burundians insist on the morpheme "aid". Aid implies personal effort on the part of the recipient.
