Burundi: from now on all field visits by administration staff will be financed by NGOs

Technical and financial partners working in each locality will now provide a budget to finance trips of administration authorities. This is for the latter to go to the ground to see the progress of projects. The decision was taken during a meeting on Monday between Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca and provincial governors. Representatives of NGOs believe that this is a form of corruption that has just been legalized. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

In some provinces, governors have started informing those concerned. This is the case of the province of Rumonge in the south-west of the country.

The provincial governor brought together technical and financial partners working in this province after the meeting in Gitega (political capital).

Consolateur Nitunga announced to them that they will henceforth finance all his field trips as well as those of district administrators.

The aim of visits by administration authorities is to inquire about the progress of projects and their implementation by non-governmental organizations.

In order not to avoid it, these technical and financial partners have the obligation to clearly specify the amount or the budget allocated to each activity carried out in a locality. This is to facilitate the allocation of financial resources to various field visits by the administration authorities.

NGOs should also clearly show all the projects they are running in each district or province.

These decisions were criticized by representatives of NGOs on site in Rumonge. Some have indicated that this is a corrupt practice that has just been legalized.

They claim that some governors allowed themselves to demand money without any justification from project managers. Others demanded large quantities of fuel, although this fuel, once given, ended up on the black market.

Technical and financial partners claim that this procedure will have serious consequences on the implementation of development projects insofar as no donor can plan to finance the authorities’ field visits.

They believe that it is absurd to finance a development project and its beneficiary.

It should be noted that four areas of intervention were determined during the meeting of the Prime Minister with the heads of provinces on October 17.

The sector of health, water and sanitation, the sector
of agriculture, livestock and the environment as well as those of education and culture, good governance and human rights were determined.