BUJUMBURA November 27th (ABP) – The Minister of Human Rights, Social Affairs and Gender, Mr. Martin Nivyabandi, said that he is satisfied with the step already taken by the “Merankabandi” project supporting social components. This was revealed in Bujumbura on Tuesday during the mid-term assessment of the achievements from 2017 to 2021 made by the project stakeholders.

In fact, Minister Nivyabandi commended the valuable work done by that project, because other projects had tried to do such works, but to no avail. The Merankabandi project has benefited the people. The target has been reached by exceeding the target from a forecast of 48,000 beneficiaries to 50,090. He recommended that they should know how to manage susceptibility so as not to fail. In addition to poverty reduction, the results show the woman’s empowerment, because she is really able to move forward even with a small sum of 20,000 BIF per month. It is by investing in human capital that Burundi can promote the development of the citizens, said Mr. Nivyabandi, adding that they must work on the minds of beneficiaries to see the impact quickly.

On her part, World Bank resident representative Véronique Kabongo is also satisfied with the results already achieved and stressed that it is the assessments and suggestions of others that will push the project further.

Participants in that mid-term evaluation session paid particular attention to post-project preparation, so that beneficiaries should not fall back into extreme poverty. Regarding the fate of other provinces outside the Merankabandi project area, he was optimistic, especially as the first project to support social components was a great success.

Stakeholders have also recommended increasing the number of beneficiaries, increasing the amount given to each household and ensuring the sustainability of project impacts.