RUTANA November 11th (ABP) – A sum of forty-eight million two hundred and seventy-eight thousand francs (48,278,000 BIF), was collected on Sunday November 8, 2020 by the natives of the province of Rutana (south- east of Burundi) working outside that province, during a collection organized at the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) to begin construction works on a 4-storey building that will house the offices of the province, a check on the site by the ABP has revealed.
That work, which resulted in a fundraising action involving 123 people who paid that amount, some by paying cash and others by signing an undertaking to make a payment on Monday into an account opened for the occasion at BCB Rutana, took place during a meeting organized by the governor of the province, Mr. Olivier Nibitanga, for nationals of the province working in Bujumbura and elsewhere. It was attended by the Minister of Infrastructure, Equipment and Social Housing, Mr. Déo Nsanganiyumwami, deputies and senators elected in the constituency of Rutana and several other senior officials from the province.
That building, the cost of which is estimated at one billion, eight hundred and forty-six million, nine hundred and fifty-four thousand Burundian francs (1,846,945,000 BIF) will have 4 levels with a built area of 590 square meters each with a fifth level plus small which will serve as an archive, according to the engineer designing the plan and the estimate of the cost of that infrastructure.
For Governor Olivier Nibitanga, rain or snow, construction will begin on November 23. That is why he launched a vibrant appeal to all nationals and friends of the province to take ownership of this project and contribute to its realization. The rural people are called upon to give 1,000 BIF per month for 3 months, small civil servants such as orderlies will give 1,500 BIF per month for a year, officials at D4 and D6 level will give 2000 BIF per month for a year, those at A2 level and D7 will contribute 3000 BIF per month throughout the year, while those at bachelor’s level and others will contribute 5,000 BIF per month for one year. As for traders and other senior executives such as general directors and other public officials, the governor said he cannot determine how much they will contribute, at the risk of inhibiting people’s initiatives, specifying that each of them can contribute as he sees fit.
Long before those funds were collected, Governor Nibitanga first informed the participants of the priority projects that will be carried out with the support of partners. He cited, among other things, the rehabilitation of the urban road in Rutana by asphalting or paving, a project financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of the work related to the rehabilitation of the Gitaza-Rumonge road and the opening up of the province by the creation of two other roads that enter the city. He also cited the creation of rubbish dump-dump areas, sanitation by building latrines in schools and in all public areas, erosion control by drawing contour lines and planting bamboo on the banks of the Musasa and Muyovozi rivers, as well as the maintenance of a civil servants’ model fields.