Kayanza: a urban center has just spent more than two months without electricity

The residents of Gasenyi zone in the commune of Rango in the province of Kayanza (northern Burundi) have just spent more than two months without power. Traders say they are working at a loss as inhabitants are forced to travel long distances to get services.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The most affected are those running and clients of electric mills, owners of hairdressing salons, cafeterias, public secretariats and the local administration and welders. Residents say since a breakdown which occurred two months ago, the in charges are struggling to fix causing big losses to many.

“Before this outage, I could earn at least 30,000 francs per day. I cannot work without electricity and can no longer feed my children and pay the rent”, laments a welder from the area, father of four children.

A young girl who had just found a job in a cafeteria in Gasenyi is in despair.

“I fear that my boss will throw me out because there is nothing to do here. Without electricity, life stops,” she says indignantly.

School principals also say that activities are paralyzed, as is the local administration. Residents are forced to travel long distances to get services far from their area.

The head of Regideso, the state company in charge of supplying water and electricity in Kayanza province, simply said it knows the case, vowing a solution as soon as possible.

According to Regideso-Kayanza, the outage was triggered by a damaged transformer.

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Illustrative photo: a Regideso electrical booth in Burundi’s financial capital Bujumbura (SOS Médias Burundi)