BUJUMBURA December 18th (ABP) – The 1st Deputy President of the Republic of Burundi, Mr. Gaston Sindimwo, was in the Kigobe Congress House on Monday December 16, 2019, where he presented the report to the two Houses of Parliament of the evaluation of the implementation of the 2018-2019 Government Action Plan (PAA) for the ten ministries under his coordination for the 2nd semester (from January to June 2019) of the 2018-2019 budget year, in accordance with Article 168 of the constitution.
For the Ministry of the Interior, Patriotic Education and Local Development, Mr. Sindimwo indicated that this ministry was involved in the massive support of the citizens for the implementation of the “Ewe Burundi urambaye” project. Also, quarterly meetings with provincial governors, communal administrators, representatives of political parties, NGOs and religious denominations were held. The patriotic education and training program have been implemented, communal finances have been inspected, and refugees have been sensitized in their countries of asylum to voluntary return, said Mr. Sindimwo, adding that people have been sensitized to create associations and cooperatives.
At the level of the Ministry of Public Security and Disaster Management, there was the recruitment and training of 120 officer candidates, 420 brigadier candidates and 1,050 agent candidates. The disarmament of illegal firearms holders is also part of this ministry, which is delighted with the signing of a contract to build the hospital with the contractor and the start of works. Police have been mobilized to plant at least three million tree seedlings as part of the national project “Ewe Burundi urambaye”.
For the Ministry of National Defense and Veterans Affairs, there was the recruitment of military candidates, all categories combined; training and raising awareness among members of the National Defense Force (FDNB) in the prevention of GBV, support for veterans in socio-economic reintegration, as well as the construction of the imaging and surgery building.
Regarding the Ministry of Justice, Civil Protection and Seals Control, the 1st Deputy President announced that an amendment of the law governing the Special Court for Land and Other Property had been made, and that a bill on the functioning of the Superior Council of the Magistracy and the establishment of the Superior Council of Courts has been drawn up. The files of the victims were treated with speed, while the prisons were decongested within the framework of the implementation of the measures of the presidential pardon.
In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there was the promotion of the recruitment of Burundi executives within regional and international organizations, the search for new potential partners for Burundi and the organization of a diaspora week.
For the Ministry in the Presidency in charge of EAC Affairs, they monitored the implementation of the decisions and directives of the various sectoral councils of EAC and other community projects and programs, the finalization and validation of the Burundi Regional Integration Strategy (SIR) in accordance with the Burundi National Development Plan.
In the Ministry in the Presidency in charge of Good Governance, trips on public administration services have been made to ascertain the state of governance. There was the fight against corruption and the state of the management of funds allocated to the implementation of Communal Community Development Plans (PCDC) in the 12 communes of six targeted provinces.
As for the Ministry of Decentralization and Institutional Reform, they trained members of communal planning teams on the guide to gender mainstreaming in communal planning, and supported communes in drawing up PCDCs. They initiated the culture of self-evaluation of communes in relation to the services offered to citizens.
At the level of the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Employment, there was a verification of the authenticity of the diplomas of civil servants recruited from 2013 to 2018 in certain ministries, and it turned out that 22 diplomas were defrauded. There was also an amount equivalent to 189,542,022 BIF which was transmitted to the technical services for recovery.
For the Ministry of Communication and Media, there was the production of programs focused on increasing production as well as raising public awareness of the fundamental values of peace, truth, democratic tolerance, reconciliation and peaceful cohabitation. Articles on actions to be taken in favor of environmental protection for the prevention of malaria, malnutrition and the fight against fraud were produced.
After the presentation, the 1st Deputy President of the Republic indicated that the President of the Republic of Burundi, Mr. Pierre Nkurunziza, has already granted a score to each of those ministries.
The parliamentarians, in turn, wanted to know why the Ministry of the Interior delayed in transmitting to Parliament the law that will govern political parties in the 2020 elections. The 1st Deputy President promised to speak with the minister concerned so that this work should be done as quickly as possible. The parliamentarians then urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take charge of the issue of Burundian women who go looking for labor in Arab countries where they are often ill-treated. Mr. Sindimwo said that the government has already proposed to that ministry to create a center which will be responsible for helping people wishing to go and seek employment in other countries.
In addition, parliamentarians have argued that there should be a law in the Department of National Defense and Veterans Affairs that governs only veterans because, they said, veterans complain about their treatment.
