Kayanza : the mineral wealth is close to the poverty of the inhabitants

Residents of Kabarore and Muruta districts in Kayanza province (north of the country) say they live in poverty. They claim that their localities are full of rare earths and minerals that are very rich and expensive on the international market. The operators, for their part, claim to pay the tax. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The residents complain that they do not understand how their communities remain underdeveloped. They say they had promises from the authorities, but which never came to fruition.

“We exploit the minerals here. The administration had promised to do everything for development. But nothing has changed. We don’t understand,” lament the inhabitants of Muruta.

And in Kabarore, residents who make the same complaints accuse cooperatives and individuals that exploit minerals of not contributing to development. The latter reject the allegations.

“We have certificates that allow us to exploit the minerals. We pay the tax to the administration as agreed. It is therefore up to the administration to respond to the concerns of the population,” they say.

According to our sources, the roads leading to the sites where minerals are exploited are deteriorating every day due to the heavy machinery passing through them.

“Not only are the roads deteriorating, but we lack almost everything. Imagine that we don’t even have drinking water. It’s shameful in a town so rich in minerals. However, we think that the administration is there for something”, residents say indignantly.

It has been almost more than 10 years since these minerals have been officially exploited in different localities in the province of Kayanza.

The Kayanza provincial administration has not yet reacted.