BUJUMBURA July 6th (ABP) – The Cabinet met in the Ntare Rushatsi House on Wednesday July 3, 2019 under the chairmanship of the Head of State, Mr. Pierre Nkurunziza, according to a statement from the General Secretary of the Government .
Among the items on the agenda is the equitable wage policy bill in the Burundi public administration. The statement indicates that the diagnosis made with regard to the remuneration of officials and civil servants of the State shows that it involves many disparities caused by a multiplicity of bonuses and allowances granted in a categorical way and which are not often in conformity with those envisaged in the statute of civil servants, the existence of index benefits granted to certain categories of officials from the time of recruitment and the case of personalized administrations of the State which, on behalf of their autonomy, are free to fix the remuneration of their agents.
The statement added that this situation has created frustrations that have led to repetitive claims to demand wage harmonization. Faced with this situation, an interim solution was found with the establishment of a wage adjustment compensation in 2016 with a budget of 20 billion per year for a period of 4 years and the 2020 deadline was set for a wage policy re-establishing the basis of equitable and sustainable remuneration to definitively solve the problem.
That policy is based performance management policy in the public sector approved by the government in 2014 as well as on the classification of jobs, positions and occupations in the public administration provided for by the National Program for the Reform of the Administration as the basis of the innovations that the policy proposes.
At the end of the discussions, the Cabinet noted that the bill needed to be reworked for a better understanding. A team was appointed for that purpose and the file will be brought back to the Cabinet meeting within one month.
The Cabinet then analyzed the bill on the reorganization of physical and sports activities in Burundi. The statement indicates that the present bill is based in particular on the affirmation of the general interest of physical and sports activities in their contribution to national development, a better definition of the fundamental missions of the State compared to those of sports management organizations and others.
The statement says that the Cabinet had analyzed that bill and returned it for a very thorough analysis and especially to establish the financial impact. After analysis, the Cabinet found it in conformity with the recommendations that had been made and approved it, but a team was designated to finalize the formal aspects.
The other file analyzed concerns the decree bill implementing the law revising the law of March 13, 2019 revising the law of December 31, 2013 on the mission, composition, organization and functioning of the National Commission for Land and other Property (CNTB). According to the statement, none of the old texts had specified that the Permanent Secretary of the Commission was part of the Commission Bureau. In addition, the Decree of January 10, 2014 implementing the Law of December 31, 2013 on the mission, composition, organization and functioning of the CNTB had failed to specify that a secondary occupant has the prerogative to refer to the Commission in the same way as a disaster victim. This bill fills that gap. Also, this bill comes to settle the issue of the allowance at end of term of the CNTB members because the existing texts were silent on the issue. The bill was approved with some corrections.
The Cabinet then examined the decree bill revising the Decree of May 30, 2012 on the publication of official acts. The statement says that the publication of official acts is currently governed by the Decree of May 30, 2012, the implementation of which is deficient. Indeed, despite the efforts made by the Legal Studies and Documentation Center in the dissemination of acts, their reading and knowledge are not at a sufficient level.
Given this observation, the present bill proposes an innovation by introducing the principle of compulsory subscription to the Burundi Official Bulletin (BOB) newspaper within the Burundi public administration, particularly the provincial and communal administrations. In order to make the reading of the BOB easier, the bill introduces a new provision according to which legislative and regulatory acts will be published in French and Kirundi.
A note on the progress of the Kajeke dam construction project was also analyzed by the Cabinet last Wednesday. That development project consists of a dam, a water supply canal and an irrigated perimeter. That project was planned to irrigate 1013 hectares in the first phase to eventually reach 2813 hectares. Following poor work observed on the field and irregularities that have characterized the implementation of that project, the ministries in charge of Environment and Agriculture conducted an evaluation study of the work performed.
The results of the evaluation showed that the dam built must be completely destroyed and that a new dam must be built in accordance with the norms and conditions required for the construction of the dams. It is the same for the water supply.
Regarding the irrigated perimeter, according to the statement, the observation is that the works carried out inside the perimeter require the recovery of certain components, in particular the lining of canals and the completion of the unrealized works. Three separate files related to the calls for application have been prepared and are available in the Ministry in charge of Agriculture, according to the statement. After an exchange, the Cabinet encouraged the Minister to continue the project and asked that those involved in the failure of the first project be brought to justice.
An information note on the bill for the viability of the Kinyinya-Ruhogo site in Mutimbuzi commune of Bujumbura province was also analyzed. Following the discussions and debates on that bill, the Cabinet noted that it needed to be further developed at the technical level and set up a team for that purpose. The bill will be brought back to the Cabinet meeting within one month.
In the miscellaneous, the Minister of National Defense and Veterans Affairs informed the Cabinet about the meeting of the East African Standby, currently chaired by Burundi, to be held in Bujumbura from July 8 to 12, 2019.
Before closing the meeting, the President of the Republic commended the smooth running of the festivities marking the 57th anniversary of the Independence of Burundi. He also congratulated the members of the government for their self-sacrificing spirit and asked them to remain vigilant and to take every measure that is necessary for anyone who wants to sabotage government action, especially in this period that is drawing towards the end of the term.
