Burundi : over a billion francs in revenue, but broken machines and citizens forced to wait months

SOS Médias Burundi

Burundi, September 7, 2026— At the Makamba One-Stop Shop, the town center of Burunga province in southern Burundi, citizens are denouncing months-long waits to obtain certain administrative documents. Insufficient or poorly maintained machines, repeated power outages, and the lack of a backup power supply are further complicating the operation of services. This situation is more incomprehensible to users given that the center reportedly generates over one billion Burundian francs in revenue per month.

Months of waiting to obtain a document

Citizens who have come to apply for passports, travel documents, and other administrative paperwork say they have to wait several months before receiving the requested documents.

These extended delays result in additional expenses, particularly for transportation, food, and accommodation. For those coming from remote towns or villages, the situation is particularly difficult.

Some spend long hours in queues and are sometimes forced to make multiple trips between their homes and the provincial town center, with no guarantee of quickly obtaining the required document.

Unmaintained machines since 2017?

Beyond the long queues, the condition of the equipment is a major concern.

According to information gathered on site, the passport processing service currently has only two working machines.

Even more worrying, sources on site claim that since these machines were put into service in 2017, no significant maintenance has been carried out on them.

This lack of maintenance is said to be one of the reasons given for the breakdowns and operational difficulties.

The situation is reportedly even more concerning in other departments of the One-Stop Shop. The offices responsible for issuing travel permits, documents from the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL), documents from the East African Community (EAC), criminal record extracts, and other administrative documents reportedly lack the necessary equipment for certain operations.

This lack of equipment not only slows down the processing of files but also directly contributes to the increased waiting times faced by citizens.

A solar system that raises questions

The equipment problems aren’t limited to the machines used for processing documents.

The One-Stop Shop was also equipped with a system designed to provide an alternative energy source using solar power.

However, according to information gathered on site, the batteries included in this system were not accompanied by solar panels to power them properly.

This situation is raising questions among users : why install a system meant to serve as a backup energy solution without providing it with the necessary equipment to function?

These questions are particularly important in a context where power outages are frequent and regularly disrupt the operation of various services.

When users offer to finance their own electricity

The repeated power outages significantly exacerbate the difficulties.

When the power is interrupted, certain operations are paralyzed, forcing applicants to wait longer, even though they have sometimes traveled long distances to access the service.

Faced with this situation, some citizens are even offering to rent a generator and buy fuel themselves so that services can continue to operate and they can finally obtain their documents.

For users, this situation reflects the extent of their distress : citizens who pay for a public service are now considering financing some of the necessary equipment themselves.

Beyond the case of the Makamba One-Stop Shop, electricity-related difficulties have been affecting several cities and sectors of activity in this small East African nation for several years. The situation is exacerbated by the chronic fuel shortage, which also affects organizations and individuals with generators. Without fuel, these generators, meant to provide backup power during outages, cannot always be used, thus prolonging service disruptions.

More than one billion francs in revenue : where are the investments?

The situation also raises questions about the resources generated by the One-Stop Shop.

According to information gathered on site, the center generates over one billion Burundian francs in revenue per month.

If this figure is confirmed, many users are questioning why sufficient resources are not being allocated to ensure the regular maintenance of the machines, replace defective equipment, and implement a reliable backup power supply.

They are also questioning how equipment installed several years ago can operate without proper maintenance, while citizens continue to pay for requested documents.

Users are calling for urgent intervention.

For citizens facing these difficulties, the problem is no longer simply a matter of administrative delays.

It now concerns the availability of equipment, its maintenance, the power supply, and, more broadly, the public service’s ability to meet the population’s needs.

Users are calling on the relevant authorities to conduct an inventory of the equipment at the Makamba One-Stop Shop, to maintain or replace defective machines, and to make the solar power system fully operational.

They also want sustainable solutions to be found for the power outages so that citizens are not forced to bear the costs of running the service themselves.

In Makamba, the paradox is becoming increasingly apparent : citizens are offering to pay to obtain administrative documents, sometimes waiting for months, and even going so far as to offer to finance the fuel for a generator, while the equipment intended to ensure the service’s operation remains insufficient or poorly maintained.

This situation now demands explanations, but above all, concrete measures. The relevant authorities had not yet responded to these concerns at the time of publication.