NIGERIAN exploration interests this month moved into Central Africa’s Great Lakes play, underscoring a recent trend for Nigerian-backed independents to acquire acreage positions beyond traditional plays and expand into East Africa.
The Burundi Ministry of Energy & Mines told Upstream that Nigerian company Minergy is now close to finalising a production sharing agreement for Block C on Lake Tanganyika, and that a signature is expected soon. Signet Petroleum, a subsidiary of British Virgin Islands-registered Polo Resources, in turn took an 87% shareholding in Minergy RE, which began talks in May this year. Signet already has upstream positions in nearby Tanzania, Namibia and Benin. Meanwhile, fellow Burundi explorer Surestream Petroleum is seeking partners to offset costs on upcoming seismic and potential drilling on its own Burundi blocks B and D on Lake Tanganyika, ideally snaring one company for a non-operating stake of 40% for each licence, according to chief executive Chris Pitman. AIM-listed Surestream aims to retain 60% of the both licences and is negotiating with other operators to get participation in a wider data acquisition programme using the MV Tanganyika Explorer, currently undergoing conversion into a seismic vessel. Surestream aims to have conversion complete by mid-March ready for a 5000 line-kilometre 2D seismic job. Talks to secure participation for a lake-wide survey include Minergy and Democratic Republic of Congo oil company Cohydro. Also in the frame is France’s Total, which operates Tanzania’s Lake Tanganyika Block 1 and is now ready to fulfil its own data acquisition obligations on the lake’s eastern shores. In neighbouring DR Congo, Surestream appears to be waiting for the post-election turmoil to calm down before announcing the success of negotiations with Arginetina’s Pluspetrol to transfer operating equity on its Yema-Matamba-Makanzi licence towards DR Congo’s western coast, where oil was struck earlier this year with partner Glencore. Once the deal goes through Pluspetrol, which also operates acreage in Angola’s Cabinda South block, will carry out 3D seismic with Surestream which aims to retain 33% of Yema-Matamba-Makanzi.
Rwanda Currency Stable Kigali — Rwanda's Central Bank says the country's national currency Franc Rwandais (FRW) has appreciated by 0.9% against US Dollar and depreciated by 4.1% against the EUR and 2.1% against British Pound between December 2010 and September 2011. Against East African currencies, FRW appreciated considerably by 14.0%, 15.1% and 9.5% versus Kenyan, Uganda and Tanzania shillings respectively, while depreciating by 2.4% vis-à-vis Burundi franc.
Click on the picture
Burundi import bill nearly doubles in 9 months to Sept
BUJUMBURA- Nov (Reuters) - 11-10-2011, Burundi's import bill widened 89 percent in the nine months to September compared with the same period in 2010, driven higher by fuel import costs, far outstripping the increase in export revenues, the central bank said on Thursday. The import-dependent central African country said petroleum and cement products accounted for more than half of total imports by volume. Burundi's imports totalled 805.6 billion francs ($621.4 million) in the period, up from 425.8 billion francs a year earlier. The landlocked country's economy relies heavily on the export of coffee and tea, commodities which represent 85 percent of overall exports. Export revenues rose 27 percent year-on-year during the period to $49 million. Other exports include beer, soap and leather. (Reporting by Patrick Nduwimana; editing by Richard Lough)
Burundi: Scramble for Local Airspace On 9 November 2011, Last week, Air Uganda started direct flights to Bujumbura from Entebbe. In the same week, South African Airways (SAA) announced that it would start flights to Bujumbura via Kigali. Then in the same week, Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) has resumed flights and Burundi fliers are part of their target market. More
Tanzania: Sh578 Billion Power Project to Affect 32 Village
9 november, 2011 - Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi are expected to compensate 125 households from 32 villages in Ngara District, Kagera Region, to pave way for an electricity project. The $340 million (about Sh578 billion) Rusumo waterfalls project, which is expected to take off next year, would supply electricity to the three countries. The project is jointly funded by the central banks of the three countries. A researcher on the Nile Basin, Mr Naftali Omesa, said 82 households in Ngara District, which are within 30 meters from the project area, would be removed while other 13 households in Biharamuro District would also be affected. A total of 4.41 acres would be used for electricity polls while another 2.39 acres would be used for a substation at Nyakanazi Ward. According the Mr Omesa, a total of 17.9 acres of various plantations would also be destroyed during the surveying for the project. Mr Omesa said the project would provide employment to 4,500 people from the district and with at least 60 people on permanent basis. He expressed his optimism that the project would open up various economic opportunities to farmers and business community in the area. "We hope that once the project is completed, the people in the area, including farmers and business people, would be able to increase their produce, processes them, expand their activities especially in small scale industries," he said. By Sheilla Sezzy, The Citizen
Burundi's Top Leadership Pledges Decisive Action to Combat Corruption, Accelerate Reforms
DRC:MysteriousdisappearanceofMrs.BeaKayitesi,while thefamilyLukibibedetained in asecret location.Source VIRUNGA NEWS
ThefamilyofMrs.BeaKayitasican not believeanymore sinceitdisappearedFebruary 21, 2011after shefell fromher apartmenttoanswerthecallof apersonwhowas waitingin thecar from the parking areaof the buildingand appearedto be in phone contact with her.Business woman,BeaKayitesiisverywell knowninthebusinessof Kinshasa, whereshehas livedformany years.Shetravels extensively andhas connectionsinNairobi(Kenya),andnaturallyRwanda,her nativecountry. Informationfromorganizationsofhumanrights, reportthatLukibi Ngabo and her wife (Masisi) wouldalsothreatened with death anddetained in alocationnotyet identified.Read more at Virunganews.
Your secret African travel destinations: Riches of Lake TanganyikaEnter here
Obiageli Ezekwesili addresses the press upon her arrival in Bujumbura. HB
Burundi's July inflation up slightly to 9.8 pct yr/yr - BUJUMBURA Aug 30 (Reuters) - Burundi's year-on-year inflation rate inched up to 9.8 percent in July from 9.7 percent in June, boosted by housing, water and energy costs, the national statistics board said on Monday. Prices of housing, water and energy increased by 19.9 percent over the past 12 months to July, from 18.7 percent in June, the Institute of Economic Studies and Statistics said. The annual inflation rate in the landlocked country of 8 million dropped to 10.5 percent in 2009, from 24.5 percent in 2008, helped by a fall in prices of essential commodities such as fuel and food. The International Monetary Fund forecasts Burundi's economy to grow by 3.9 percent this year, from 3.5 percent in 2009, due to an expected improvement in coffee production. (Reporting by Patrick Nduwimana; editing by George Obulutsa and Ruth Pitchford)
Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has named a new government following legislative elections that his ruling party swept amid an opposition boycott, his spokesperson said on Monday. Out of 21 ministers in the new line-up, 10 are retained from the previous government. Fourteen ministers are from Nkurunziza's CNDD-FDD, three from the main Tutsi party UPRONA and one from a party allied to the ruling regime. Two military officers also made it to the cabinet alongside the former supreme court head. The government make-up reflects the constitutional requirement of a 60-40 share between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis, said government spokesman Leonidas Hatungimana. Nkurunziza also at the weekend appointed two vice presidents after they were approved by parliament.
Burundi 2010/11 production forecast cut 19% Monday August 30 2010 - The 2010/11 (Apr/Mar) production forecast was reduced to 25,000 tonnes, down 19% from the 31,000 tonnes forecast earlier by the state coffee regulator ARFIC due to drought. The dry conditions were exacerbated due to the high share of older trees in the nation, with over 50% more than 40 years old.
Pierre Nkurunziza sworn in as Burundi’s President.
Pierre Nkurunziza is sworn in as Burundi's President in Bujumbura, Burundi, Aug. 26, 2010. Nkurunziza was re-elected in the Burundian presidential elections in June winning an overwhelming votes of more than 91 percent.
China donates $6.5 mln to Burundi to support socio-economic development projects China on Wednesday evening granted two donations to Burundi totalling 6.5 million U.S. dollars to support the country's development projects. One donation was directed to the government's program of constructing schools and health structures and the other one was directed to socio-economic development projects in Burundi for the next five years. The two financial agreements were signed between Burundian Foreign Minister Augustin Nsanze and Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhai Jun. Speaking to the press after the signing ceremony, Nsanze said that the first package amounts to 4,000,000 yuan (597,015 U.S. dollars) will be used to "buy iron sheets and nails for the construction of schools and clinics." The second package amounts to 40,000,000 yuan (5,970,149 U.S. dollars) and will serve to support "socio-economic development projects during the next five years of the legislature." "We are grateful towards the government of China for this support and all the support they have been giving us for many years", Nsanze said.
Top Rwandan politician is found dead Published Date: 15 July 2010 By Staff
Rwandan police yesterday said an opposition leader who has been missing for a day has been found dead near the border with Burundi.
Police spokesman Eric Kayiranga said Andre Kagwa Rwisereka's body was found yesterday on the banks of the River Mukula in the Southern Province. Mr Rwisereka's car was recovered in the area on Tuesday. Mr Rwisereka's death comes in the wake of increased violence ahead of Rwanda's presidential elections in August. President Paul Kagame has been accused of clamping down on dissent. Mr Rwisereka was the first vice president of the unregistered Democratic Green Party of Rwanda. The party's president, Frank Habineza, said Mr Rwisereka's head was almost detached from his body.
Security Council urges all parties in Burundi to participate in elections
Burundi: supporting the electoral process By UNDP-Burundi
After more than a decade of warfare, Burundi has entrusted the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI in French) with the delicate task of organizing the country’s second peacetime general.
Following on progress achieved in the domain of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants (including men and women from the National Liberation Front), the major challenge now faced by the country this year is the organization of at least five different elections within a five-month period.
Indeed, the period between May and September 2010 will see presidential, parliamentary, senatorial, municipal, and at the local level, community elections. Read more
BAN KI-MOON ARRIVED IN BURUNDI 06-09-2010 - BURUNDI NEWS, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in the Burundi capital Wednesday for a visit of a few hours in which he will discuss the ongoing electoral process. Ban was met at the airport by Burundi's first vice president Yves Sahinguvu as two Burundi army helicopters circled overhead. A heavy military and police presence was visible in the streets of the capital and along the road leading to the airport. During his visit Ban will meet with President Pierre Nkurunziza as well as representatives of the two houses of parliament, the electoral commission, heads of political parties and civil society, according to the foreign ministry. His programme is expected to focus on "the ongoing electoral process" and "Burundi's participation in Amisom", the African Union's peacekeeping force in Somalia, the ministry said. The visit comes as the electoral commission has confirmed that it had only one candidate, the outgoing Nkurunziza, for the June 28 presidential election, after all his six rivals pulled out, contending that fraud will mar the presidential poll in the same way as they say it did the local elections. Ban is expected to leave Bujumbura around 9:00 pm (1900 GMT).
Emergency Grant Aid for the Electoral Process in the Republic of Burundi BURUNDI ACTUALITE - On January 8 (Fri), the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency grant aid amounting to approximately 1.7 million USD (approximately 175 million JPY) to support the implementation of the presidential, parliamentary, and local elections in the Republic of Burundi to be held between May and September 2010. This assistance will be provided through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). By Japhet Legentil Ndayishimiye
SUDAN - NORWAY: The President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, has challenged Norway to become a special strategic partner, says Norway's Minister for International Development, Erik Solheim.
Loo link helps African school 01-08-2010 BURUNDI ACTUALITE - THE Ricoh Arena and Coventry City have launched a twinning partnership of a very different kind with a school in Africa. The club’s boardroom toilets at the multi-purpose venue have been twinned with a school toilet block in Burundi. It is part of the World’s First Toilet Twinning project which is being run by Leamington-based charity CORD to transform the lives of people who have returned to Burundi after their country’s civil war. A framed photo of School Latrine Number Six in Giharo, Rutana Province, has been placed in the boardroom. Wendy Nelson, from CORD, said the toilet twinning was an initiative to wipe away disease and flush away poverty. “This project was launched to improve water and sanitation in Burundi which has been badly affected by war over the last 15 years,” she said. “Basic, clean, safe sanitation is something we take for granted in this country but without it it leads to disease and death and stops children going to school and people going to work. “Since we started the project we have twinned 750 toilets throughout the world and raised £50,000. “We would like to thank the Ricoh Arena and Coventry City for agreeing to sponsor this toilet block in Giharo which will benefit over 500 children.”
Study on Dar es Salaam-Kigali-Bujumbura railway line starts Monday, 21 December 2009 Written by JAMES MWAKISYALA DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA -- The African Development Bank will fund a study for a multinational railway project involving the East African Community (EAC) member states of Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. The US$8.15 million sturdy will look at the viability of the Dar es Salaam-Isaka-Kigali-Keza-Musongati Railway project. On completion by 2014, Rwanda and Burundi traders will have ...More
Kampala — FOUR Star Beverages, a local spirit processing company, has undertaken a multimillion investment to increase production with plans to launch a footprint into the Great Lakes regional market next year. The products are already in Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda through people buying from the company outlets near borders. "We are embarking on a massive formal exportation strategy. The market survey is concluded and this new investment will see us opening up depots in the region's capital cities," said Zachary Bishagenda, the managing director. The company also plans to introduce two more differently flavoured brands onto the market in addition to the AFANDE and ZEBRA gins packed in bottles and sachets. Four Star is importing a new automated bottling line valued at $0.3m from India. It is also setting up a $0.1m laboratory. "Our technical human resource also comprise of wine, vodka and gin processing experts from India. "This will help us double our local market share as well as penetrate the regional market," Bishagenda added. Four Star is one the 22 companies vetted and certified by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards to produce spirits.
V-Flex funding to African and Caribbean countries EUROPOLITICS / Development policyImprimer l'article | Tuesday 16 December 2009 Ghana, Haiti and Zambia are to gain the most from an EU aid package worth €230 million, approved on 15 December by the European Commission. The money is the first donation from the Union's new €500 million Vulnerability Flex (V-Flex) instrument, set up in August to help African and Caribbean countries deal with the economic downturn. Haiti and Zambia are to receive €30 million each, while Ghana will get €35 million. Malawi and Benin will each receive €25 million. Most of the money will be paid out before the end of this year. The other countries benefitting from the fund are Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Comoros, Grenada, Guinea Bissau, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Sierra Leone.
Murumba Melansi Memorial - A memorial fund has been set up to help pay for funeral expenses and other family needs for Murumba Melansi, a refugee from the central African country Burundi, who died after being hit by a car Dec. 5. He lived in Lansing with his wife and nine of his children. Checks should be made out to the Murumba Melansi Fund. They can be sent to or dropped off at Gabriels Community Credit Union, 190 E. Michigan Ave., 48912.
Caterpillar 14M motor graders equipped with AccuGrade dual GPS systems with cross-slope capability are being trialled on road building projects in the Republic of Burundi. Caterpillar 14M motor graders equipped with AccuGrade dual GPS systems with cross-slope capability are being used for road construction and refurbishment in the Republic of Burundi. The two graders are working with an AccuGrade-ready D7R Series II track-type tractor (dozer) meaning performance and productivity is boosted on the road projects by sharing the machine control systems, Caterpillar stated...More
At the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, the Norwegian Minister for the Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim, will chair a committee which will deal with questions involving shipping, air travel and trade. Solheim was appointed head of the committee at Monday's meeting of the Copenhagen Summit, and will lead the work together with Singapore. - The work will mean consulting all countries which have an interest in integrating these fields in a Climate Agreement, Solheim says. - Both shipping and air travel are major contributors to the emission of greenhouse gases, and we must try to find ways to cut these emissions, Solheim says. (NRK) Rolleiv Solholm - From the Norway post
Diaspora meet opens in KigaliMonday, 14th December 2009 BY JAMES KARUHANGA Former Miss France vows to be country’s Ambassador KIGALI - The fourth Diaspora Global Convention started Sunday morning at the Kigali Serena Hotel, with the presentation of the final report of a survey on the Rwandan community in Belgium carried out by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). During the event, the long awaited Rwanda Diaspora website was also officially launched. More
2009 Children's Peace Prize: 16-Year-Old's Radio Show Brings Hope to Refugee Children
Student Voice - Baruani Ndume, 16, is the 2009 winner of the International Children's Peace Prize, presented to a child who works to further the interests of children around the world.Baruani received the prize for his work with children in a Tanzanian refugee camp where he lives after fleeing violence in his native country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. More
Lake Kivu, picture from NASA
Burundi Seeks to Join Methane Gas Project , Robert Mugabe, 2 December 2009
Kigali — The government of Burundi has expressed interest in joining the joint DRC-Rwanda exploitation of methane gas on Lake Kivu. The project was announced soon after Presidents Paul Kagame and Joseph Kabila agreed on the joint venture at a recent summit. More
BurundiIT Election Warning Project.It was set up to support the initiation and specification of the project proposal, and in the future the coordination of efforts around it. Here you can find
Burundi denies being Rwandan rebel 'rear base'
AFP/File – Rwandan Hutu rebels of the FDLR (Democratic Force for the Liberation of Rwanda) stand guard in a dense … Thu Nov 26, 2:13 pm ET BUJUMBURA (AFP) – Burundi's secret services on Thursday denied the country was serving as a rear base for Rwandan Hutu rebels operating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. "Burundi does not serve as the rear base for FDLR rebels or whoever else wants to destabilise Rwanda. Burundi is not helping and will never help a group that wants to destabilise our sub-region," secret services spokesman Telesphore Bigirimana told AFP. More
Full_Report (pdf* format - 196,8 Kbytes) MAG and CWMD – MAG uses the term Conventional Weapons Management and Disposal (CWMD) to more accurately reflect the approach that MAG takes with regard to dealing with the range of munitions it encounters in support of stockpile management, as in many of its projects items outside of the SALW definition are dealt....More
Kenya’s IT company invests $3.9 millionWritten by CEDRIC LUMITI Sunday, 22 November 2009 NAIROBI, Kenya: Impact Distribution East Africa, the leading African information technology distributor has opened an office in Nairobi, Kenya and is investing Ksh280 in building the company's operational capacity, accounting and logistics systems, capacity building initiatives and human resource development in the East African operations....More
Regional CEOs see growth in protocolEast African Heads of State from left Presidents Pierre Nkurunziza (Burundi), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Mwai KIbaki (Kenya), Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Abeid Karume (Zanzibar) after unveiling the foundation stone plaque at the EAC headquarters site in Arusha, Tanzania. PHOTO/ PPS Regional CEOs believe a crucial window of opportunity has opened with the signing of the East Africa Community (EAC) Protocol in Arusha on Friday. The move is widely expected to spur economic growth. President Kibaki of Kenya, with presidents Jakaya ....Read More
Kampala — THE five leaders of the East African Community (EAC) have signed a landmark agreement for a common market which allows free movement of people, goods, labour and capital across the member countries.The ceremony, that took place in Arusha, Tanzania, coincided with the 10th anniversary of the ....More
Norway provides NOK 60 million to promote women’s rights The Norway Post - The Norwegian government will provide NOK 40 million (USD 7 million) to UN efforts to combat female genital mutilation and violence against women in developing countries. (Photo: Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim)At the same time, Norway will contribute NOK 20 million (USD 3.5 million) to the new UN Fund ....More
Norway to spend NOK 1.2 billion on new satellite
The Norwegian Defence plans to buy a share of a new satellite, with the aim to improve communications with Norwegian forces deployed in countries like Afghanistan and Chad, and with naval units on international missions. Norway to spend NOK 1.2 billion on new satellite. Norway has entered into cooperation with Spain to acquire such a satellite, and the Government will put a proposal before the Parliament (Storting) sometime this fall. The share in the Spanish satellite is estimated to cost NOK 1.2 billion, plus operating costs, according to Aftenposten. - In order to achieve a stabile and effective monitoring of Norwegian inerests, and be able to handle incidents quickly and in a credible way, good communications are a must, the Defence Department states in a press release. - The joint project will ensure secure and robust broadband communications via satellite until 2027, the statement says. At present the Norwegian Defence is leasing satellite capacity. (NRK/Aftenposten)
Rolleiv Solholm
Population increase still high The population of Norway increased by 17,100 persons in the quarter and has now reached 4,843,000. A little more than 60 per cent of the increase is due to immigration. The rest is due to new births. The number of newborn is today at the highest level since the middle of the 1970s, according to fresh figures from Statistics Norway.(NRK) Rolleiv Solholm
Burundi's inflation falls to 7.0 pct in October
Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:38am GMT BUJUMBURA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Burundi's annual inflation rate fell to 7.0 percent in October from 11.9 percent in September thanks to lower costs of housing, water and energy, the country's statistics board said on Monday....More
New Foreign Office emergency center
The Norwegian Department of Foreign Affairs is in the process of setting up a new emergency operations center. It will give assistance to Norwegian embassies when these are asked to help Norwegian citizens abroad. - Every year, around 80,000 Norwegian citizens end up in trouble while travelling abroad, says Foreign Minister Jons Gahr Stoere to NRK. He points to the Norwegian journalist who was taken hostage in Afghanistan, and the two men under death sentence in Congo as only two cases which his department has handled this year, but ads that there are countless other cases. - Norwegians travel more, further, more daring and dangerous than before, Stoere says by way of explanation of the need for the emergency center. (NRK)Rolleiv Solholm
Show leadership: Reject Copenhagen
Kevin Gaudet and Maureen Bader, Special to the National Post, Friday, November 20, 2009 What do Uganda, Burundi, Sudan and Djibouti have in common? They are on the list of 49 countries that would receive billions of dollars every year from Canadian families as part of a new global-warming agreement proposed by the United Nations. The UN also wants to impose new taxes on industry that would increase energy ....More
Lake Victoria project to cover Rwanda, Burundi Friday, 20th November 2009 - Business Times correspondent The World Bank supported Lake Victoria Environment Management Programme (LVEMP), launched in the mid-1990s, will now be extended to Burundi and Rwanda.Its second phase, initially confined to Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya because they share the vast water body, will now cover the two states which became ...More
East African states see both hopes, new challenges at dawn of Common Market China View - 2009-11-19 14:27:31 - By Dan Ran
NAIROBI, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Heads of East African Community (EAC) member states will wrap up their 18-month-long negotiations and ink a protocol this Friday to establish the EAC Common Market, another crucial step forward in East Africa's integration process after the establishment of the Customs Union in 2005. The EAC consists of five member states: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi ... More
Pope meets Burundi's President Nkurunziza
Pope Benedict XVI met on the evening of November 17 with President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi. Their discussion touched on concerns about human rights, "the creation of a stable society oriented towards the good of all its members, the role of the Church in Burundi's development, and the prospects for an accord establishing the juridical status of the Catholic Church in the African nation. As it the custom for a foreign leader visiting the Vatican, after speaking with the Pontiff, President Nkurunziza met separately with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, along with Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Secretary for Relations with States.Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
BURUNDI – End of negociations
Date: 18 Nov 2009 - Pretoria, 18 November 2009 - Former Minister of Defence, Mr. Charles Nqakula, Facilitator of the Burundi Peace Process, will present South Africa's Final Report on the Burundi Peace Process to the leaders of the Regional Initiative, President Yoweri Museveni and President Jakaya Kwikwete, at the Summit of the East African Community to be held in Arusha, Tanzania, on 20 November 2009.
The presentation of the Final Facilitation Report marks the successful end of nearly ten years involvement by South Africa in the Burundi Peace Process starting with former President Nelson Mandela and including President Jacob Zuma, who negotiated the first comprehensive ceasefire agreement among the warring Burundi movements. South Africa's role as Facilitator in the Burundi Process was mandated by the Regional Initiative and comes to an end on 31 December 2009. As a result of South Africa's engagement in Burundi, the Forces National de Liberation (FNL), the last armed rebel group in Burundi has returned home. Over 21,000 FNL combatants have been disarmed, demobilised and reintegrated into Burundi society. They include more than 1,000 women combatants and over 500 child soldiers who have been reunited with their families. Another 4000 FNL combatants have been integrated into the Burundi security services.
The FNL has registered as a political party and is participating in the election scheduled for 2010. Several hundred South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers, who were deployed in Burundi as part of the African Union Special Task Force (AU-STF), have returned to South Africa after conducting the Joint Verification Mechanism of the DDR process. More than 100 SANDF soldiers remain in Burundi to provide close protection for Mr. Agathon Rwasa, Chairman of FNL, his deputy and the FNL national office. These remaining SANDF officers will also depart from Burundi on 31 December 2009.
For more information, please call Ambassador Dumisani S. Kumalo, Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region
East Africa: Huge Business Opportunities Expected in Common Markets
The East African Community marks its 10th anniversary on Friday in Tanzania, where the heads of partner states are expected to sign the Common Market Protocol. It will open the borders of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi to allow free movement of people, goods, services and capital... read more here
AGIPNEWS7807
18/11/2009 06:47 GMT ag-IP-news Burundi & Rwanda to Implement New IP Laws
BUJUMBURA, KIGALI - A new Industrial Property (IP) law has recently been enacted in Burundi, following its endorsement by the President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, and its publication on July 28, 2009, according to Lysaght & Co. However, the Implementing Regulations, required in order for the new law to be promulgated, remain outstanding. Meanwhile, the previous IP legal framework remains effective, pending the finalization and activation of the new Implementing Regulations. The new law introduces a renewable ten-year term for trademarks, and there is a requirement for absolute novelty in respect of patent applications. On the other hand, a new Rwandan IP law will shortly be implemented, which will come into force upon its publication. According to this law, patents of importation will no longer be provided for. Lysaght & Co. is an Intellectual Property registration agency, specializing in the formalities required for registering, maintaining and renewing trademarks, patents and designs in the developing countries of the world.
Erik Solheim, Dev. minister
BUSINES - Privately financed Norwegian power plant in Africa By Rolleiv Solholm BURUNDI NEWS - Norwegian Minister of International Development, Erik Solheim is this week opening the first Norwegian hydro power plant in Africa financed by private industry. It is located in Kasese, Western Uganda. The plant is built using modern Norwegian technology and expertice. It will increase Uganda's total el-production by seven per cent. More
Burundi coffee prices up in Oct on global rally
Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:13am GMT BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi coffee prices rose in October from the previous month due to a firmer world market ahead of the winter season, the coffee board said on Tuesday. The state-run coffee board (OCIBU) said the average price in October was $3.35 per kg, up from $3.19 in September and $3 in August. "Because of the winter, which has already started in most Western countries, the demand is high and this has boosted world coffee prices," said OCIBU in its monthly report. Coffee is Burundi's top hard currency earner and employs some 800,000 smallholder farmers in a nation of 8 million people. The coffee board said prices would continue to improve in the coming months. It said the central African nation sold 425 tonnes of beans in October, down from 480 tonnes in September and 612 tonnes in August. OCIBU fears coffee output in the 2009/10 crop could fall by 55 percent to some 11,000 tonnes due to the cyclical nature of harvests. Burundi collected $58.9 million in 2008/9 season from the sale of 24,015 tonnes. The country forecasts 2009/10 earnings at $21.8 million.
Linda Bihire, Rwanda
Railway to cost over US$3.5bn BY EDWIN MUSONI NEW TIMES - 11-16-2009 New A new study on the Dar-Kigali-Bujumbura railway line has released the final cost of the project saying that it will take a whopping $3.5bn. Ministers of Infrastructure from Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania are scheduled to meet in Kigali on December 08, to approve the study. According to the Minister of Infrastructure Eng. Linda Bihire, during the regional meeting, a final study on the Isaka-Kigali-Musongoti railway construction will be ... More
East Africa: EAC, Refugee Children to Grace National Summit
Charles Kwizera, 11 November 2009Kigali — For the first time in the history of the annual National Children's Summit, children from several refugee camps in the country will be represented. Each refugee camp will be represented by one refugee child at the summit that starts ...More
Who’s afraid of Blue Band? Uganda bid to delay Customs Union flops
Sign right here: East Africa Community Labour Ministers Dr Milton Mahanga (deputy Minister Tanzania), Jean Nyeninigabo (Burundi), John Munyes (Kenya), and Gabriel Opio (Uganda) assisted by rapporteur Eliabi Chodota during the signing of Free Movement of Labour protocol in Nairobi ahead of its ratification by Heads of State. Photo/ANTHONY KAMAU - By CATHERINE RIUNGUread more
East Africa: Health Sector Goes Digital, With Next Epidemic Alert a Click Away by Mohammed Issa Nairobi, 9 November 2009- East African Community member states are closer to having an integrated e-health regional information network to identify, confirm and respond rapidly to outbreaks of international ramifications. Following the Bujumbura Ministerial discussion in September to discuss the establishment of the network, the use of ICT in the health sector has been intensified to .... more
EDITORIAL : EAC and broadband internet connectivity Written by EABW EDITOR Saturday, 07 November 2009 - Burundi has one of the lowest internet usage in the world with only 0.7% of the total population of 8million people connected. This ranks Burundi 11th from bottom, the worst being East Timor, an island nation in the East Indies with 0.1% and a population of 1.1 million people. In the western world, the usage in some countries goes as high as 82% in the Netherlands and 74% in the USA and Japan. Needless to say, these countries are very highly developed ...more
Burundi Revenue body set for January Written by BOSCO HITIMANA , Busness week Monday, 09 November 2009 The long awaited Burundi Revenue Authority (BRA) is set to start operations in January next year.
The newly appointed Commissioner General for BRA, Mr. Emile Sinzumusi said that in July this year, the government published an act paving way for establishment of the revenue body. "From then, technical people have been working towards putting in place the organisational structure which will manage the ...read more
Rwanda: Government launches digital public information kiosks
BY EUGENE KWIBUKA
KICUKIRO - People seeking service from public servants in different institutions in Rwanda will be able to check basic information online using booths that government is installing at several sites. The plan’s kick off was marked by the installation of the first public information kiosk at Kigali International Airport on Friday. The programme will equip major government institutions with public information kiosks as part of its e-government project, a plan that aims to develop using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in public service delivery. “This is the first step for e-government. Soon you will see the websites of districts, every month there will be services that could be uploaded,” said Nkubito Bakuramutsa. Bakuramutsa is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Rwanda Development Board that manages Rwanda’s Information Technology Authority (RITA). He said that RITA will help public institutions to load the kiosks with information that citizens need everyday in order to help them get quicker services. The kiosks are composed of touch screens and printers that are connected to the internet to help service seekers check public information they need online, check their e-mails or surf internet normally, and eventually print information they need to keep. “We have a situation where many people looking for information line up at our service desks. This will help them to get information that they were seeking from people,” said the Director of Airports at the Civil Aviation Authority, Silas Udahemuka, as he received the new equipment. He said the new kit will be used to display flight information and all the details usually handled by the airport. The government has already spent Rwf 50 millions to purchase only ten of the equipments but it plans to make more available in more outlets in villages, cities and municipalities. RITA officials said the next institutions to equip after the airport include the Rwanda Revenue Authority, Kigali City Council, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, Office of Immigration, and the National University of Rwanda. RITA’s Director of Rural and Community Access, Alphonse Zigira, said that the phase of extending the technology to communities in villages will be accompanied by trainings and raising awareness of the ordinary people on how to use the equipment managed private kiosks.
Burundi:
SA hopeful on Burundi
South Africa was hopeful that the conflict in Burundi would be resolved, Defence Minister Charles Nqakula said on Friday. Briefing media in Pretoria on Friday, Nqakula said he was hopeful that all sides involved in that country would work together to finalise a cease-fire treaty agreed to in 2006. "We are hoping that all sides are going to be contributing towards the finalisation of this programme," said Nqakula. South Africa's facilitation role in Burundi comes to an end this month. "So we are now trying to complete this programme by December 31... the SA National Defence Force.... has to leave Burundu by the end of January. That is the time frame we have been given as the South African government," said Nqakula. This was due to a decision taken by the Regional Initiative earlier in the year. On Thursday, a summit was held to discuss developments in Burundi. A report on developments was to be presented before the Security Council in December.
Director of Prisons, ACP Balinda Steven (L) and head of Burundi delegation Gabriel Nizigama at Ministry of Internal Affairs conference room.
BY JAMES KARUHANGA
THE NEW TIMES - Rwanda and Burundi have shored up cooperation on security issues along their common border after concluding a high-level security meeting at the Ministry of Internal Security (MININTER) yesterday.
The two-day meeting was a follow up of what is called the Grande Commission Mixte de Cooperation Rwando-Burundaise which was launched in Burundi in 2006.“This is the sub-committee on security between the two countries and we had been obliged to postpone the meeting because we had other tasks,” explained Ambassador Joseph Mutaboba, the MININTER Secretary General, who presided over its opening and closing sessions.“We have been able to tackle various security problems, especially crime, at our common border,” he said. He cited the problem of infiltrators or abacengezi and drug dealers as among the other problems the two have dealt with together.“We also looked at the issue of refugees and we encouraged them to come back home especially since their security is guaranteed,” he said, emphasizing what Gabriel Nizigama, head of the Burundi delegation had earlier said.“In this meeting, we agreed that all should return home especially since the security situation in these countries is satisfying,” Nizigama said.
Apart from enforcing border security and the refugee issue, the meeting also resolved to check on illegal immigrants, among others. Fraud, theft and drugs, among many others, were thoroughly tackled in the session which recommended reinforcing border controls, information exchange by security services, regular and joint security operations and the identification and repatriation of illegal immigrants, among others. “For example, we have had a number of Rwandans in the rebel group FNL Palipehutu. The Burundians are the ones able to effectively identify who is Rwandan and who is Burundian, and can thus help their repatriation,” Mutaboba explained, adding that the next step involves putting in place proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to make sure results are achieved.
The Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People (also known as PALIPEHUTU, the acronym of its French name Parti pour la liberation du peuple Hutu) is a rebel group in Burundi. Its armed wing is the National Forces of Liberation (FNL or Forces nationales de liberation). “The next step is to see how much we all can do in each area of concern to make sure that we get an evaluation and monitoring scheme,” he said, emphasizing the importance of having proper “indicators to show how far we have reached.”
In an earlier exclusive interview, Nizigama, however, could not put a figure to the exact number of illegal immigrants, saying it was not easy since they were not registered. “These people are not registered anywhere and thus it is difficult,” he said.
Cassava infection expected to decline under the funding (File photo)
Thursday, October 2008
Rwanda could benefit from $80m boost to regional agriculture sector
THE NEW TIMES - BY EDDIE MUKAAYA AND AGENCIES
Ten countries in East and Central Africa will receive $80 million (Frw44 billion) from various donors to improve agricultural production over the next five years, a regional research association said.
Vice Chairman of Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), Ephraim Mukisira, said that food security was an issue in the region and that their target was to improve drought resistant crops, combat diseases and the impact of climate change.There is need to improve agriculture to enhance food security in the region since food crisis is looming in most parts of Africa and the world. Quoted by Reuters, an online news agency earlier this week, Mukisira said that food security is an issue here in the region and all efforts are being done to curb it.
Adding: “We want technologies that can tap into our resources including the arid and semi-arid areas.” The group is made up of scientists, farmers` organisations and other agricultural workers from the member states that include Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan.
By press time, a comment from Institute of Science and Agricultural Research (ISAR) a member of the regional research association had not been obtained.However, Agnes Kalilbata, the State Minister for Agriculture said this was good news for Rwanda that is making significant developments in the sector.“If we happen to be part of the beneficiaries, our efforts towards agricultural development will gain a boost and we welcome this with open hand,” she explained.
Rwanda’s agricultural sector is tremendously growing contributing about 40 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs the biggest part of the population.The sector also contributes significantly to national food security, as more than 90 percent of the food consumed in the country is domestically produced.
Despite tremendous potential for agricultural production, the region is one of the poorest in the world and is often the subject of international food aid appeals.The region is reported to have rich soils for agricultural production but has failed to move out of poverty and is one of the poorest in the world. Many of the countries in the east and central Africa depend on agriculture for their economic development; however problems among them climate change has failed to bring results.
The appeal came two days after the UN refugee agency said an average of 100 people from neighbouring Burundi flee to western Tanzania everyday to escape a punishing drought that has left 2.2 million people in need of food aid in the small central African country. The United Nations is appealing for $460 million to feed some 10 million Ethiopians affected by drought and high food prices.
East Africa Community - October 2008
Doing business: Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda plan one-stop border
BY KABONA ESIARA AND BERNA NAMATA
Easing cross border trade in East Africa Community (EAC) is gaining momentum. The construction of a one-stop border post at Katuna-Uganda and Gatuna-Rwanda is to start soon. Governments of Rwanda and Uganda are seeking experts to carry out feasibility studies, a move that will ascertain the cost and the viability of the project. The project meant to ease international trade comes shortly after the 2009 World Bank Doing Business report ranks the EAC countries as not all that business friendly, when it comes to trade. The report released 10th September in Washington DC, rates Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi in three digits.
Cross border trade
According to the report, Rwanda slipped two positions from 166 in 2007 to 168 in 2008 in the trading across borders indicator. Kenya did not improve either. The country remained stagnant at the 148th position, like last year. Burundi dropped 3 places from 167 in 2007 to 170 while Uganda slid from the 141st position to 145th.Tanzania did not score good marks. The country dropped—three positions from 100 to 103. Frank Twagira, head of doing business unit at Rwanda Investment and Export Promotions Agency (Riepa)—the government agency coordinating doing business reforms attributes the poor ranking partly to the many non tariff barriers in the East African region. While addressing the recently concluded East African Investment Conference, in Kigali, President Paul Kagame cited some of the hindrances in doing business in the EAC region as congested and ineffective ports, a lot of bureaucracy at border crossings and dilapidated railway lines. Until July, this year, importers and exporters shipping through the northern corridor were being subjected to 37 roadblocks and multiple weighbridges.
Much as these stops were wasting the importer’s time, the business community also says they had been turned into bribery centres. But after several warnings that if these non tariff barrier are not checked the EAC would remain un attractive to investors, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya heed the cry.
He directed that all unnecessary police roadblocks in his country be removed. He also ordered the reduction of the number of weighbridges. Because of these trade barriers, in Uganda, it takes 36 days, costs the importer $3,090 to transport a container of goods from the cost. For Rwandan, the World Bank report says it costs a businessman $5,070 to transport one container.
The Rwandan businessman will have to wait for 42 days before the consignment is delivered.
Move applauded
Against that backdrop, traders have applauded the move the governments of Rwanda and Uganda have taken to build a one stop border post saying it will partly ease the cross border trade and improve the two countries’ doing business rankings.
“The World Bank report is timely,” a Rwandan informal importer of used clothes from Uganda said, adding, “We waste a whole two hours at Gatuna and Katuna borders before we are cleared. Eugene Torero, Deputy Commissioner General Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) said, as revenue authorities, they have to facilitate trade in line with the objective of the EAC.
According to Paul Kyeyune, the Uganda Revenue Authority’s Public and Corporate Affairs Manager, joint operations will now save time. “For a businessman time is money,” he said. Kyeyune said Uganda plans to construct a control centre, a customs building, immigration building, approach roads, commercial service provider’s facilities, vehicle parking yard and installation of a weigh bridge. When the one- stop border post becomes functional, Kyeyune is optimistic that the volume of trade will also increase and more revenue will be collected as more goods will be cleared in a short time.
EAC will also become an attractive investment destination as most developed countries are using one-stop border, Kyeyune said.
Sunday, 12th October 2008
36 Burundian refugees repatriated
BY MOSES GAHIGI
Rwanda - Sunday Times - October 2008I - n the last eight months, 36 Burundian refugees living in Rwanda have been repatriated. The refugees have been living in Kigeme refugee camp in Nyamagabe District, explained Senior Protection Officer, Honorine Sommet Lange at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kimihurura on Wednesday. Lange stressed that repatriation is voluntary. “We even give them a chance to visit home before they make the decision.”
Before the refugees are repatriated, they first make a trip home to see by themselves how things have changed.
“We also had a delegation of Burundian leaders who came and talked to the refugees and informed them about the positive steps that have taken place home,” said Lange.
The Executive Secretary of National Council for Refugees, Innocent Ngango, confirmed the repatriation in a telephone interview yesterday. “We did an intensive survey before repatriation, and we made sure the process is purely voluntary,” stressed Ngango. Burundian refugees in Rwanda are either hosted at Kigeme Refugee Camp or live in Kigali as urban refugees.
The statistics indicate that 11 refugees were repatriated to Burundi in the month of February, 10 in July, 7 in august and 8 in the month of September. Insecurity and food shortages were the major factors that led to these refugees fleeing their mother country.
BURUNDI: Fighting for land BUJUMBURA, October 2008 (IRIN) - Thousands of Burundians have returned home after years of refugee life in Tanzania, but finding shelter and enough land to farm remains a challenge."Fifteen percent of long-term returnees repatriated this year are landless," said Léon Ndikunkiko, spokesman for the Ministry of National Solidarity, National Reconstruction, Human Rights and Gender.In mid-August, some 1,200 returnees were stranded in Makamba Province, waiting to be resettled. By October, only 200 had been resettled in Gitara by the government, while the others were still waiting in temporary sites, according to Ndikunkiko. About 450,000 Burundians have been repatriated from Tanzania with the help of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), since 2002. This year, the numbers increased after the Tanzanian government decided to close the camps by December. By mid-September, some 75,000 had returned to Burundi, including 17,392 long-term refugees. While some had been away since 1972, others had never seen their homeland, having been born in exile or left as children.Many, however, have come back to find their houses destroyed or occupied by other people."Local administration officials have been instructed to allocate [returnees] a 50m x 50m space to build a house regardless of the availability of his [or her] land," Ndikunkiko. "However, this is not always the case since those who stayed on the land sometimes refuse."Finding land to resettle the returnees is a big concern for the government.
"The Ministry of Land Management has to identify the land and puts it at the disposal of the Ministry of National Solidarity," he explained. "It is a long process which takes time and this delays the resettlement of returnees."A survey conducted by the National Land Commission in December to identify available land or land belonging to the state in the hands of individuals, found that just 4,500 people, mostly returnees, had been resettled.In situations where they have somewhere to go, the returnees are being offered building materials - although there are often delays depending on the period of repatriation. For example, returnees arriving in October have to wait until June to benefit from the shelter project. As they wait, the returnees rely on relatives. Others are supported by UNHCR, which constructs temporary shelters for them. Land disputesWhile efforts are being made to address the problem of shelter, land remains a crucial challenge. "Even those who have their land are not resettled immediately," Ndikunkiko said. Land, he added, had become too scarce to accommodate Burundi's increasing population. Frequent land disputes were now the reason for crime. Local radio stations reported on 23 August that a man blasted a grenade at a wedding ceremony, killing 15 people and injuring more than 60. On 29 September, a grenade was thrown through a window of a house in the northern Ngozi Province, killing a man and his wife, leaving a baby. Preliminary investigations blamed land disputes.Michel Nintije, a sociologist who was part of a team that conducted a study on land tenure and alternative solutions in September, has suggested that Burundi prepare a nationwide programme of sensitisation on the land issue.Nestor Niyonkuru, information officer at the national commission on land and other properties (CNTB), said many of the disputes involved returnees and current occupants of the land.
CNTB was set up in 2006 to assist returnees and other landless people recover their land or other lost properties. As at 4 October, it had registered 11,200 land disputes and solved 2,279.The government, in an attempt to cater for landless returnees, internally displaced persons and other vulnerable people, has also embarked on building villages in some provinces, each housing 250 families.However, much more needs to be done. According to UNHCR, 80 percent of returnees have no access to land. Worse still, most of them come from the provinces of Makamba, Rutana and Bururi where pressure on land is high. For its part, the government pleads inadequate resources for full resettlement and reintegration of the returnees. "If you resettle the returnees and they have no water, no health-centre nearby, it is not viable," Ndikunkiko said. jb/eo/mw[END]
China hopes to enhance co-op with Burundi
Jia Qinglin (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza
BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese chief political advisor Jia Qinglin said here Monday that China hopes to enhance cooperation with Burundi so as to upgrade China-Burundi ties to a higher level.
"Burundi is a trustworthy and sincere friend of China. The traditional friendly cooperative ties between China and Burundi are showing new vitality in the new ear," Jia told Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, who is in China for the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held on Nov. 4-5.
Jia said China will continue to support Burundi's efforts in seeking national reconciliation and promoting peace process.
"China is also ready to further cooperation with Burundi in the areas of education, health and personnel training," said Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body. He also expressed China's appreciation for Burundi for its firm adherence to the one-China policy.
Nkurunziza said Burundi is satisfied with the smooth development of bilateral ties. He thanked China for its long-term support and help, saying that China's assistance has had important impact on the improvement of Burundi people's life. He also reiterated that Burundi is firmly committed to the one-China policy. Nkurunziza arrived in China last Friday. He and other 47 leaders and representatives of African countries attended the two-day Beijing summit, which is believed to be the largest diplomatic event between China and Africa since 1949. Before coming to the Chinese capital, the Burundian president had visited the economically booming province of Guangdong in south China and the rather underdeveloped province of Guizhou in the southwest. China and Burundi restored diplomatic relations on Oct. 13, 1971. Bilateral trade hit 12.22 million U.S. dollars in 2005.
Burundi / The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Approves US$75.6 Million PRGF Arrangement for Burundi
BUJUMBURA, Burundi, July 8, 2008/African Press Organization (APO)/ –
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a three-year SDR 46.2 million (about US$75.6 million) arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) for Burundi, to support the implementation of the country’s poverty reduction program and its efforts to consolidate macroeconomic stability. It takes into account the financial impact of rising world food and oil prices in 2008.
The Executive Board’s approval enables Burundi to draw an amount equivalent to SDR 6.6 million (about US$10.8 million) under the PRGF arrangement.
Following the Executive Board’s discussion, Mr. Murilo Portugal, Managing Director and Acting Chair, said: “The Burundian authorities are to be commended for the progress they have made in implementing Burundi’s first PRGF-supported program in a difficult post-conflict environment. Though structural reforms have been slow, most monetary and fiscal reforms have progressed well. However, despite the progress made, poverty remains widespread, and the challenges for Burundi in meeting the MDGs continue to be significant.
“The new three-year PRGF-supported program, anchored in Burundi’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, is designed to reduce inflation to single digits; ensure fiscal sustainability in the face of heavy debt; improve the composition of spending; strengthen public financial management and enhance governance; and accelerate structural reforms to stimulate growth and reduce poverty.
“The authorities’ fiscal program for 2008 targets a substantial increase in capital spending, while accommodating additional spending to boost agricultural output and help alleviate the impact of increasing food and fuel prices on the poor.
“The success of the authorities’ PRGF-supported program will depend, in part, on strong and coordinated assistance from the international community. Accelerating structural reforms, most notably on governance issues, will also be critical,” Mr. Portugal said.
The approved PRGF arrangement for Burundi succeeds an arrangement that expired earlier this year. The PRGF is the IMF’s concessional facility for low-income countries. PRGF loans carry an annual interest rate of 0.5 percent and are repayable over 10 years with a 5½-year grace period on principal payments.
ANNEX
Recent Economic Developments
Economic growth decelerated in 2007, while inflation increased, mostly driven by rising food and energy prices. Higher grants disbursement from international donors contributed to an improved fiscal position and helped build international reserves.
After an upturn in 2006, real GDP growth decelerated from 5 percent to 3.6 percent in 2007, mainly because of a poor coffee harvest. End-period inflation increased to 14.7 percent, from 9.3 percent in 2006, owing to higher international commodity prices and exchange rate depreciation. In the first four months of 2008, domestic prices of fuel and basic staples rose on average by 23 percent, pushing the overall inflation rate to 11.7 percent during the same period. Excluding food and oil, the inflation rate would be about 3.5 percent.
The overall fiscal position improved in 2007. The overall fiscal balance (on a commitment basis and after grants) shifted to a surplus of 0.5 percent of GDP from a deficit of 1.8 percent in 2006. Social spending was estimated to have increased from 8.7 percent of GDP in 2006 to 9.2 percent in 2007. The authorities have implemented a number of measures with a view to ensuring fiscal discipline and improving transparency in public finances.
Program Summary
The purpose of the new PRGF arrangement will be to consolidate macroeconomic stability, further reduce the heavy debt burden, and help the government of Burundi pursue implementation of its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. It will also support the government’s efforts to obtain debt relief under the enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI).
The main objectives of the new three-year PRGF program will therefore be to:
Return to single-digit inflation. An independent central bank with price stability as its principal mission will be essential for this purpose. Better budget and monetary policy coordination will also be essential, especially during this period of increasing inflationary pressures.
Improve the composition of public spending to the benefit of the priority sectors, while preserving fiscal sustainability. To that end, the wage bill will have to be controlled. It will also be important to rely mainly on grants and highly concessional loans to avoid unsustainable debt.
Strengthen public financial management (PFM). The program will seek to stabilize the existing PFM system, with particular attention to two ongoing initiatives: (1) the passing and gradual implementation of the new budget organic law; and (2) consolidation of a single Treasury account and an effective cash flow management plan; and
Strengthen the internal control systems of the central bank. Emphasis will be placed on parliamentary passing of the draft central bank law and on the implementation of a number of financial safeguard measures to strengthen internal controls and risk management systems.
Provided that the public security situation continues to improve, the macroeconomic objectives are as follows for the period of the PRGF program: (1) GDP growth should average 5 percent over the medium term, up from the average of 3.6 percent in 2004–07; and (2) inflation would slow to about 6 percent by 2011.
The projected growth pattern, which resembles those observed in other post-conflict countries, is predicated on three factors: (1) continued removal of major economic distortions, especially in the coffee sector, which will boost total factor productivity; (2) a substantial increase in investment, driven by international aid and largely consisting of infrastructure renovation, which will help relieve major supply bottlenecks; and (3) further advances in trade liberalization with accession to the East African Community, which will help diversify the economy, stimulate competition, and attract more investment.
SOURCE : International Monetary Fund (IMF)
DRC-RWANDA: Rwandan combatants in voluntary cantonment
KINSHASA, 5 August 2008 (IRIN) - The voluntary disarmament of 67 Rwandan Hutu combatants along with their dependants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) should encourage other fighters to abandon armed conflict, a UN official said. "We should consider the voluntary disarmament as an encouraging gesture," Sylvie van Wildenberg, spokeswoman for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC), said. "Since 2006 we have not seen the surrender of a group as important as the FDLR [Forces démocratiques pour la libération du Rwanda] or one of its dissident factions." The combatants and their dependants were members of the FDLR dissident factions of Ralliement pour l'Unité et la démocratie (RUD) and the Rassemblement populaire rwandais (RPR). The FDLR is the main remaining active Rwandan militia group in the DRC with an estimated 7,000 militias, against 400 for the RUD and RPR. Van Wildenberg said the leader of the dissident factions had also indicated he would continue sensitising the remaining combatants to demobilise.
MONUC, she added, expected the gesture to encourage other combatant groups to join the disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, reinsertion and reintegration (DDRRR) process.
At least 50 small arms and some machine guns were surrendered by the combatants. According to the RUD and RPR spokesman, Augustin Dukuze, those assembled at the cantonment site in Kasiki area were free to choose to be relocated or to leave the assembly site. The Congolese authorities were also providing security for the combatants in the area where Congolese and Rwandan militias remained active. Dukuze said this was the first phase of the Kisangani roadmap. Under this plan, the RUD and RPR agreed to gather at two sites for disarmament in return for a guarantee of their security.
MONUC was asked to oversee the process and the DRC government not to forcibly repatriate the combatants to Rwanda.
The FDLR has, however, disowned the roadmap. The militia group also said it was not party to the signing of a communiqué between the Congolese and Rwandan government, in November 2007 in Nairobi, for the disarmament and repatriation of Hutu rebels from Rwanda. At least 6,500 Hutu combatants remain in the DRC, with 8,000 others having been repatriated under the DDRRR process between 2001 and 2006. Some of the combatants are accused of having taken part in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Their presence has been linked by human rights activists to the high rates of rape in the territory of Lubero, eastern DRC.
Norway increases support to Burundi
Norway is increasing its budget support to Burundi by NOK 40 million. This means that Norway’s total support to the country for 2008 will amount to NOK 100 million.(photo : Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development, Erik Solhiem)
In recent weeks, the Government of Burundi and representatives of the armed group Palipehutu-FNL have taken important steps forward in the peace process. A press release states that the increase in Norway’s support to the country is intended to help Burundi meet its economic obligations during a very difficult and decisive period. Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development, Erik Solhiem, commented: “We are very pleased about the political breakthrough in negotiations. Norway wishes to support this important process. What we are now doing is to indicate to the parties that the international community is ready to provide further support for Burundi. We are rewarding good political decisions. Without additional support from the international community, Burundi would have no economic security net for the many poor people in the country.” After many years of internal conflicts, Burundi is still in a difficult economic situation. Norway has increased its development cooperation with Burundi in recent years in order to support the peace process in the country. In connection with these efforts, Norway has established an embassy branch office in the capital, Bujumbura. Since 2006, Norway has also led the efforts of the UN Peacebuilding Commission in Burundi.
After a decade absence, the Miss East Africa beauty contest is back and the next edition is expected to draw contestants from 14 countries. The 2008 edition scheduled to be staged in Burundi in December is being put together by a consortia of players in the beauty, modeling, tourism and marketing fields. “We have planned meticulously for the pageant to make sure we bounce back with a bang, said the event’s Managing Director, Renna Callist, adding: “We will be looking for a suitable candidate to act as a role model for young women in the region.He said the ideal candidate would be someone with a general knowledge about the region and the world and is able to participate in social events and speak on issues facing women such as poverty, diseases and ignorance.He gave the criteria for participation as being between 18 and 28 years of age, single and with minimum height of 5 feet 6 inches.He said the event, apart from availing an opportunity for young ladies to showcase their talents, also seeks to promote the host country as a tourist destination.The countries expected to compete are Tanzania, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Seychelles, Reunion, Djibouti, Mauritius, Comoros, Somalia, Rwanda and Eritrea.
“The pageant will be beamed live to an estimated TV audience of 200 million across the region,” Callist told APA on Saturday.On why Burundi was chosen to mark the return of the pageant the last one was held in Dar es Salaam in 1998, Callist said it had to do with the country’s recently found political stability. “Burundi had until recently mostly been associated with ethnic killings and insecurity, but we now want to promote a positive image of the country,” he said, adding that plans are afoot for the pageant to be held on rotational basis annually among countries in the region.Callist said beauty contest is not a thing to be condemned as it is a culture of its own which can transform lives and act as a platform for participants to scale new heights in life. “In this pageant, contestants will compete with the hope of advancing their careers as well as personal and humanitarian goals, including improving lives of other women,” he said, noting that the organizers will provide opportunities towards that goal. Source African Press Agency
28 June 2008 Posted to the web 30 June 2008 Bosco Hitimana Kigali
Burundi president, Pierre Nkurunziza has expressed optimism that his country is safe for investment with reforms in place to entice investors.
Nkurunziza was speaking at the first East African Community investment conference held in Kigali at last week.
"My government has already engaged great efforts to reform the economy by setting up macro economic policies, appropriate judicial and financial systems with the view to creating an adequate atmosphere for investment and business", Mr. Nkurunziza said.
Burundi which recently signed a peace agreement with the last rebel group is just regaining momentum and working round the clock to attract foreign direct investments like its other EAC members.
The Burundi government and its private sector showcased what was on offer in Burundi. Nkurunziza stressed that Burundi has got a lot investment potential given its strategic position on Lake Tanganyika and its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Nkurunziza cited coffee, tea, cotton, vegetables and fruits as very strategic areas for investors. He also mentioned that other opportunities like tourism, energy and mining were available for investment.
"As far as I am concerned, investors wishing to work in Burundi are welcome. We will grant them work permits and other relevant facilities", the head of the state said, adding that his country is already harmonizing the investment code to conform with the EAC requirements.
BUJUMBURA, 3 July 2008 (IRIN) - Food security in Burundi’s Kayanza province is under threat because of an untreatable disease that has killed more than 1,000 chickens in one commune, according to a senior official.
"The disease has also been reported in other parts of the country but total numbers of dead chickens are not [yet] available," the director of the Animal Health Department in the Ministry of Agriculture and Stockbreeding, Pierre Bukuru, told IRIN.
"With the pandemic among the chickens, the population will face a significant lack of animal proteins and many people will suffer from the shortage, as chicken is widely raised and consumed in Burundi," he added.
Bukuru said the illness, which has similar symptoms to Newcastle Disease, was affecting the economic lives of people raising chickens or trading in meat and eggs. "Egg production has dropped by 80 percent," he said.
He added that the meat of infected chickens did not pose a threat to human health as long as it was well-cooked.
And although the disease itself can be passed on to humans, the only effects are mild conjunctivitis. Laboratory tests were being carried out to determine the precise identity of the disease, although he ruled out the possibility of it being avian influenza. "Bird flu has not yet reached Burundi up to now," Bukuru said. No treatment is available for the disease, and although chicks can be vaccinated, doing so would be impractical in a country where most poultry is kept by individual households.
bn/am/mw
GLOBAL: NGOs call for more funds, investment in agriculture
A woman sells potatos in Nairobi, Kenya. Food prices have soared 53 percent in the first three months of 2008 alone compared with the same period in 2007, according to the FAO
NEW YORK, 2 July 2008 (IRIN) - The humanitarian community is to urge the G8 leaders to fully fund immediate emergency aid and to invest in longer-term agricultural development in poorer nations to tackle the global food crisis.
Since the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and US met at the last G8 summit a year ago, food prices have soared 53 percent in the first three months of 2008 alone compared with the same period in 2007, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“The G8 nations shoulder much of the responsibility for current global conditions and should commit to the achievable goal of ending hunger as a fundamental step towards alleviating human suffering, increasing international security and fostering economic [growth],” Devrig Velly, senior food security adviser for the NGO Action Against Hunger (AAH), told IRIN.
Asked for a wish list to hand the leaders at the summit in Japan from 7-9 July, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) research fellow Marc Cohen told IRIN: “Expanding assistance to agriculture in developing countries and, second, making sure that we do indeed have adequate resources for humanitarian assistance for the rest of the year.”
The facts are stark: soaring prices propelled by both cyclical patterns such as droughts and floods, potentially exacerbated by global warming, and more fundamental shifts such as the diversion of crops to fuel production and the rapidly expanding food demands of the growing economies of India and China, threaten to push up to 130 million more people into hunger, in addition to the 850 million already suffering.
Earlier this year the UN World Food Programme (WFP) had to issue an “extraordinary emergency appeal” for an additional US$755 million over the $2.9 billion it had sought - just to feed the same 73 million people in 78 countries. Food riots and protests have already erupted in more than 30 countries and UN officials have warned of potential widespread unrest and political instability sparked by the food crisis.
The UN summit called for a twin-track approach aimed at immediately alleviating the impact of high food and fuel prices on the weakest population groups through direct transfers and safety nets; and promoting agricultural and rural development both in the short and long run, especially in poorer countries.
FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf is calling for $30 billion a year to boost productivity in low-income, food-deficit countries. IFPRI puts the annual bill at somewhat less – some $20 billion.
It is here that the humanitarian community, both UN agencies and NGOs, wants the G8 to step up to the plate.
One report cited by the FAO ascribes 65 percent of the food price rise to the diversion of such commodities as sugar, maize, cassava, oilseeds and palm oil to biofuel production
“I suspect that the G8 by themselves will not come up with that level but there might be some additional pledges of resources,” IFPRI’s Cohen said, noting that the donor community had cut support for agriculture in developing countries “pretty dramatically”, to about half of what it was in real terms 25 years ago. World Bank President Robert Zoellick has already announced a doubling of the Bank’s agricultural assistance in Africa to $800 million.
Cohen also called on the leaders to provide resources to help developing countries to improve or create safety nets so “they can expand as need expands”.
Oxfam America policy director Gawain Kripke noted that aid to the agricultural sector had declined from some 18 percent to about 4 percent of official development aid (ODA) over the past 25 years.
“One of the reasons that we’re facing food insecurity now and the food price crisis is because agricultural productivity has declined so dramatically,” he told IRIN, voicing the hope that the G8 leaders would pledge more aid specifically for agriculture and small farmers in developing countries.
He called on the summit to look at rich countries’ policies that contribute to the crisis, including biofuels and trade. One report cited by the FAO ascribes 65 percent of the food price rise to the diversion of such commodities as sugar, maize, cassava, oilseeds and palm oil to biofuel production.
Oil palms can yield oil in three years that can be chemically processed to produce fuels such as biodiesel
GM role
Siwa Msangi, research fellow in IFPRI’s environment and production technology division, who has advocated for genetically modified (GM) crops for food and fuel production, a move opposed by some environmentalists, hopes the summit will look at GM policies.
“I hope they will adopt a more science-based approach to decide whether or not countries should adopt [GM products], rather than basing it on scientific biases,” he told IRIN. “Hopefully a more evidence-based approach could be used as a standard for admitting or not admitting GM production.”
Another issue is rich countries’ domestic agricultural subsidies that many experts see as de-stimulating agricultural production in the developing world. “The subsidies systems in western countries must encourage greater economic investment in sustainable forms of agriculture in the least developed countries,” Velly of AAH said.
He also called on the G8 to eliminate trade barriers “that serve to protect western markets while stultifying exports from the least developed countries”.
EU follows Burundi's political evolution June 26 2008 Bujumbura - The European Union (EU) has urged Burundi to set up an independent and permanent electoral commission to ensure free and fair elections due in 2010. "The establishment of such a commission is really a priority for us," Roeland Van de Geer, EU special envoy in the Great Lakes region told reporters late on Wednesday. "We will continue to follow the political evolution in Burundi very closely, including the way towards (the) election." Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader elected in 2005, has been praised for improving the coffee-growing country's economy but rights groups accuse his government of intimidating opponents and corruption. East Africa: Kigali Hosts EAC Summit June 26 2008 – The New Times, Kigali - Heads of State from the East African Community member states have started arriving for the Ninth Summit and Retreat of Heads of State of the EAC. The Presidents will also attend the first East African Investment Conference which begins today. Presidents Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Burundi's Jean Pierre Nkurunziza and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni were already in the country by press time. Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete was expected early this morning. Museveni is the current chairman of the regional bloc to which both Rwanda and Burundi joined last year. The conference, which is taking place for the first time, is expected to bring together a cross-section of businessmen to explore investment opportunities in both Rwanda and the region.
According to the Director General of the Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency (RIEPA) which is the organiser of the event, over 1,000 delegates are already in the country from different parts of the world to participate in the conference. "This number is 50 percent more than what we expected and we are foreseeing a very successful meeting," RIEPA boss, Francis Gatare said by telephone last evening. He said that this was an appropriate chance for Rwandans to take advantage of the event and showcase goods and services they provide. "With this number of delegates, we are expecting at least a million US dollars to be spent in just two days; Rwandans should make use of this by demonstrating their characteristic high level of hospitality," he said. According to Gatare, this conference, being the first of its kind, shows what value the business community sees in regional integration. President Paul Kagame is expected to take over the reigns of the chairmanship of the EAC. After a plenary session to be held at Serena, the Heads of State will proceed to a Strategy Retreat at Village Urugwiro. The conference, which will take place at the Kigali Serena Hotel, will be held for two days, ending Saturday. Felly Kimenyi Kigali
Scores of lucrative mining concessions handed out by President Joseph Kabila are in doubt after a report questioned their legality. Will a programme of renegotiation finally allow a beleaguered nation to exploit its huge mineral wealth? Nick Mathiason reports
It is one of the world's most resource-rich countries, with huge deposits of diamonds, gold and copper. For a decade, the Democratic Republic of Congo was torn apart as factions backed by neighbouring countries wreaked murderous havoc on Africa's third-biggest country. Three million died.
As war subsided in all but the eastern region of this vast nation, a new regime led by Joseph Kabila signed dozens of valuable mining contracts with Western concerns based in the southern Katanga region. Only now are the implications of those contracts coming to light.
'The losers, of course, are not the companies who willingly entered into questionable arrangements, but the Congolese people,' says Patricia Feeney, executive director of Rights and Accountability in Development, a renowned expert in Congolese mining.
A commission formed by the Congolese government to investigate several legal and financial aspects of the impoverished central African nation's mining industry published a hard-hitting report this year. It has worried international extraction concerns, which fear their potentially lucrative concessions may be adversely affected. The report has prompted the Congolese to renegotiate 60 of the biggest gold, diamond, copper and zinc contracts. Fresh talks with those concerned are due to begin next month.
Of these 60 concessions, half focus specifically on the World Bank-sponsored privatisation of Congo's most important state mining company: Gecamines. That privatisation scheme packaged up mines that were sold off to private consortia, with Gecamines retaining a minority interest in each component business.
Once the biggest company in Africa, Gecamines' production plunged during the kleptocratic dictatorship of President Mobutu Sese Seko (1965-97). Even so, Gecamines accounts for around 80 per cent of the war-torn country's export earnings. And in private hands with fresh investment, huge mineral deposits are to be exploited in vast quantities. This is why the new contracts are so valuable - and significant.
The Gecamines contracts were signed by some of African mining's biggest names. They include Nikanor, co-founded by diamond dealer Dan Gertler, known to have close links with Kabila, and Beny Steinmetz, an Israeli billionaire. Nikanor has since merged with Canadian-listed Katanga Mining. It did not wish to comment on the recent developments.
Another big player is Freeport McMoRan, a US mining giant that extracts more copper than any other company in the world. It inherited its Gecamines interests after buying the companies that scooped concessions after privatisation. The Freeport holdings have been described as a priority for renegotiation. William Collier, a vice-president at the firm, says: 'We received a letter from the Ministry of Mines seeking our comment on modifications to our contract and have responded. Our contract was negotiated transparently, complies with all laws, was approved by the government and we believe the terms are fair and equitable. We are working with the Ministry of Mines to resolve these matters and continue with our project development activities.'
The Congolese commission revealed how government officials appeared to have given away lucrative mineral rights. As warring militias negotiated a peace settlement, a frantic race to secure resources, which have rocketed in price, pitted powerful interests against each other.
The process to unpick the joint ventures has been fraught. The Observer has seen documents and spoken to investigators who express frustration at delays and obstructions created by government and Gecamines officials, who have been described as hostile to investigators. The evaluation was to have started in January 2004, but the government ensured there was a 14-month delay.
By the time assessors began their probe, they found nearly all the priority joint-ventures had been renegotiated, or that agreements that should have been in the preliminary stage were finalised. Agreements were not put out to international tender.
The report claimed that Gecamines had 'alienated' the majority of its mining rights without ensuring it received 'just' compensation, and that it has insufficient control over many contracts so has no influence over technical or management decisions. This means it cannot insist on obligations being met.
The DRC, according to its own inquiry, sold contracts that ceded mining titles and rights. It would have been better, the report argues, to have agreed leasehold agreements. It found that the ability to defend the country's interests under international arbitration was 'weak' and that, having given so much away, the incentive for private firms to come to the table is almost non-existent.
Crucially, international investigators report they did not have access to key documents so it is not possible to determine the exact extent of mine boundaries, licences and reserves. There is also a strong indication from the report that Gecamines was in a far weaker position in 2006 than in 2003, when a similar audit was completed.
The report discussed issues associated with 'transfer pricing' - selling minerals between connected arm's-length companies to avoid tax. This led to much less revenue flowing back into DRC coffers. Feeney says: 'The report shows that the majority of Congo's copper and cobalt assets were disposed of, not in the frenzy of war, but coolly and deliberately once relative peace had been established, with a complete lack of transparency. It's ironic that the same Congolese political elite that hurried to conclude the deals, with a flagrant disregard for their own laws, are now using the expert legal advice they once shunned as a lever to renegotiate the mining contracts.
'The challenge for the UK and other governments is whether they will take a principled stand and investigate and, where there is evidence, prosecute companies implicated in the corrupt deals.'
The World Bank does not want to annul or revoke agreements but to quietly renegotiate them. Though Kabila undertook the review, he is keen not to frighten overseas investors; it was the initiative of his prime minister, Antoine Gizenga, an old-style socialist. Mining executives say that the Congolese parliament is increasingly attempting to modify contracts.
The report was completed last year. Its contents were kept secret for months. In the interval, Kabila was invited to see President George Bush. Released four months ago, the report examines virtually every mining contract signed, including those with De Beers and BHP Billiton, as well as lesser-known outfits from Russia and Israel which are all co-operating with the government in a bid to find agreement. But only weeks later, the pressure on the mining companies was hugely intensified when China announced a $9bn deal with the DRC that will see the building of 2,400 miles of road, 2,000 miles of railway, 32 hospitals, 145 health centres and two universities. In return, it will get 10 million tonnes of copper and 400,000 tonnes of cobalt.
This arrangement appears to indicate the new Congolese government, with an alternative outlet for its minerals, suddenly holds all the aces in its game with the extraction corporations.
BURUNDI: Cantonment of rebel FNL fighters set to begin
BUJUMBURA, 17 June 2008 (IRIN) - Burundi’s last active rebel leader, Agathon Rwasa, has declared the end of the armed struggle against the government at a ceremony to mark the formal start of the cantonment of his fighters in Rugazi Commune, Bubanza Province, western Burundi.
"Through this pre-cantonment process we want to show the Burundian and international community that we are committed to reaching a lasting peace," Rwasa said as 150 combatants from his Palipehutu-Forces nationales de libération (FNL) assembled at Rugazi. Others were to assemble at Rukoko in Gihanga Commune.
The launch of the cantonment process was a step that showed the FNL was "committed to moving forward in implementing the ceasefire accord", he said on 16 June. It was also "a gesture that will, among other things, allow an improvement of security, and people to [perform] their ordinary activities without problems".
The two locations have been designated by the government as cantonment sites for FNL combatants. However the FNL has said more sites are needed, commensurate with the number combatants, which they say is 15,000. Other sources say they number 3,000.
Without revealing the number of his combatants, Rwasa, who on 30 May returned home from years of exile in Tanzania, said: "What matters is that the war is over."
The number of his fighters that would be reintegrated into other forces, such as Burundi’s army and police, would be discussed with the government, he said.
The launch of the cantonment process was witnessed by members of the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) and the Political Directorate, as well as the ambassadors of Tanzania, France, and the African Union, and representatives of the World Food Programme in Burundi, the European Union, and the Burundian government.
Rwasa, who was dressed in military uniform, was welcomed by cheering, dancing FNL combatants. Calling on the government to "withdraw its troops from villages" and confine them to barracks, Rwasa said a show of political will was necessary.
What matters is that the war is over
"The cease-fire agreement links both sides," he said, adding that the FNL had, by assembling its combatants signalled it wanted to join the government.
The leader of the government team in the JVMM, Maj Lazare Nduwayo, hailed the FNL for agreeing to prepare for cantonment. "Joining Assembly zones is very important to us," he said. "The government, too, wants peace."
Background
The cantonment of FNL combatants is starting after weeks of talks at the JVMM over implementation of the September 2006 ceasefire accord signed with the government of President Pierre Nkurunziza. A former guerrilla leader, Nkurunziza was elected president in 2005 under an agreement brokered by the African Union and the UN.
The FNL refused to be part of that pact, but later signed a separate accord. That deal soon stalled, however, and clashes resumed.
In May, it again attacked the suburbs of Bujumbura, leaving 33 people dead and at least 20,000 displaced. Under intense international pressure, however, the group eventually signed a ceasefire agreement on 25 May with the government, paving the way for Rwasa’s return to Bujumbura.
Clic to link
BURUNDI: Rebel leader's return a boon for peace prospects
Burundi is recovering from more than a decade of conflict that devastated its infrastructure
BUJUMBURA, 12 June 2008 (IRIN) - The return from exile of a key rebel leader is a significant development in Burundi's search for peace, but his group and the government need to quickly overcome mutual suspicions and make compromises, according to observers.
"The fact that [Agathon] Rwasa accepted to come to Bujumbura and that talks [took place] in South Africa are good indicators," said Henri Boshoff, an analyst with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa. "For the first time, he will directly be part of the talks group."
Rwasa, leader of Burundi's last active armed opposition group, the Palipehutu-Forces nationales de libération (FNL), returned from years of exile in Tanzania on 30 May. Observers said he returned under immense international and regional pressure to pursue peace.
"It is time to look forward and build lasting peace and stability in Burundi," he told cheering supporters at Bujumbura airport. "We are ready to lay down our weapons and bring our combatants to assembly areas."
Days later he flew to South Africa for two days of talks. "The government of Burundi and Palipehutu-FNL renounced violence and undertook to resolve all their differences by dialogue," a communiqué issued after the talks said.
There was also a broad agreement for the group to be accommodated into Burundi’s political and military institutions.
Since Rwasa's return, the guns have been silent. Should they remain so, aid workers in Bujumbura said, many of about 330,000 Burundian refugees in neighbouring countries, and an estimated 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), could be encouraged to go back home.
"The FNL never advocated using weapons," FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana told IRIN on 6 June. "It was forced to because talks failed. Now that talks are back on, it is out of the question that the farmers will take [up] arms."
Three days earlier, President Pierre Nkurunziza had hailed the presence of FNL leaders in Bujumbura, but warned against further recruitment of fighters. "Recruitment might delay the process to assemble the combatants," he told reporters.
President Pierre Nkurunziza hailed the presence of FNL leaders in Bujumbura
Then he hinted that he wanted FNL fighters to leave the bush soon. "I am calling on the Political Directorate [part of the mediation mechanism] to do everything possible so that the [FNL] combatants assemble as quickly as possible," he added.
However, Habimana urged patience. "The combatants are getting ready to go to cantonment sites, but nothing has been agreed yet on what they would become afterwards," he told IRIN in Bujumbura. "There has to be a political accord and technical force agreement [on] what happens when they leave the cantonments."
Observers read mutual suspicion in the two positions. "Some confidence-building is necessary," a political commentator in Bujumbura, who requested anonymity, said. "The FNL leaders still fear to talk openly about their plans. On the other hand, the government has yet to say what exactly it is putting on the table."
Himself a former guerrilla leader, Nkurunziza was elected president in 2005 under an agreement brokered by the African Union and the UN. The FNL refused to be part of that pact, but months later signed a separate agreement with the government. That deal soon stalled, however, and clashes resumed.
Still in the woods
Ordinary Burundians remain cautious - closely watching developments. "It is difficult to believe that the clashes are about to end - until all the people [FNL fighters] in the hills come down," said taxi driver Ramathan Asuman.
The hills of Bujumbura Rural province, where hundreds of FNL fighters are believed to be holed up, tower over the city. "In the past, the FNL have come into town ostensibly to talk and days later walked back to the hills to resume shelling us," Asuman added.
It was from these hills that FNL fire power came raining down on the suburb of Kabezi, 20 km from the capital, in May - shattering expectations among many Burundians that the government and the FNL were about to clinch a new deal to end conflict which has over 15 years killed an estimated 300,000 people.
The May attack left 33 people dead and prompted at least 20,000 to flee their homes. It violated a September 2006 ceasefire agreement and led Nkurunziza to call for sanctions against the FNL.
A view of Bujumbura, with Lake Tanganyika in the background: FNL's stronghold is in Bujumbura Rural, a hilly province surrounding the city
Eventually, the army pushed the rebels back into the hills. On 25 May, the FNL agreed a new ceasefire with the government. Three days later, the police released 102 detainees, alleged FNL supporters, in 'a gesture of good faith from the government'.
Some Bujumbura residents faulted the timing of the president's appeal for sanctions. "One can understand the frustration, but he should have been more tactful - the FNL was already under [international] pressure to stop fighting," a businessman who requested anonymity told IRIN. "What he did was to build more mistrust."
Then the police rounded up hundreds more suspected FNL supporters. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), at least 300 people were detained 'solely as suspected members of a movement long opposed to the government'.
Many remain in custody - reportedly crowded into irregular detention sites, including military installations. "Some people have been in detention for weeks, even though Burundian law clearly prohibits holding anyone without charge for more than seven days," Alison Des Forges, senior advisor to HRW's Africa division, said.
Outstanding issues
Since Rwasa's return, the FNL has resumed attending meetings of the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism in Bujumbura, which it had quit in July 2007, and discussed the cantonment of its fighters.
The group claims to have 15,000 men, but sources in Bujumbura put their strength at no more than 3,000, including hundreds of children.
FNL military spokesman Anatole Bacanamwo said they would like three cantonment sites set up in each of the provinces where their presence is greatest. These include Bujumbura Rural, Bubanza, Kayanza and Cibitoke.
So far the government is insisting on two sites countrywide, saying the FNL numbers do not justify many sites.
Other sticking points were yet to be tackled - including power-sharing, the constitutional recognition of the FNL as a political party and demobilisation of fighters.
Habimana declined to discuss the power-sharing arrangements the FNL would propose. "We cannot share a cow when we do not have it yet," he said. "It would be a mistake."
The ISS’s Boshoff said the group would have to make compromises. "I do not think power-sharing will occur; what is the basis? I do not think the FNL fighters are that significant any more," he told IRIN on 10 June. "They will have to accept whatever they are given - they cannot afford to be picky any more."
It is time to look forward and build lasting peace and stability in Burundi
Habimana wants Palipehutu-FNL to be recognised as a political party. As far as the government is concerned, the group must first change its name, which is short for Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People. The government pointed out that another FNL wing gained official recognition only after it changed its name to Palipe-Agakiza.
"Anything related to changing the name of Palipehutu-FNL must refer to the constitution which actually orders political parties with an ethnic brand to change their names," explained presidential spokesman Leonidas Hatungimana.
Habimana dismissed the idea of a name change. “If the parliament does not amend the constitution, we shall request a referendum," he said.
Francine Nijimbere at the association for the protection of women's rights, ADDF
BUJUMBURA, Francine Nijimbere relies entirely on her mother for basic things like bathing and eating. Her husband cut off her arms up to the elbows in 2004, for failing to give birth to a boy. She was pregnant at the time and lost the baby due to her injuries, which included cuts on her stomach. The man - a soldier - was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison but was recently released following a presidential pardon.
After her arms were cut off, Nijimbere left for Burundi's southern province of Makamba with her daughter, now four, where she lived with her mother. She is now living in fear following her husband's release and has sought refuge with ADDF, an association based in Bujumbura, dealing with the protection of women's rights. She spoke to IRIN on 22 February:
"In December [2007], the president announced a pardon for all inmates suffering from incurable diseases. I hear my husband was released on a false name; how can a criminal like him be pardoned? The head of state pardoned inmates suffering from incurable diseases but my husband was not ill.
"I was married to his elder brother, who was a soldier. He died in 2000 five months after our wedding. However, I remained in the house as I waited for the end of the mourning period in order to return to my parents' home. My mother-in-law insisted I should not go to my parents since dowry had been paid. She convinced my parents that I should marry her other son; I was reluctant but my parents and in-laws reached an agreement.
"Right from the start, I never accepted him. One night, he forced the door to my house and raped me. I remained there; where was I supposed to turn?
"During our life together, he was just there; he never helped me, he did not buy me any clothes, nothing. Sometimes, I spent the nights out in the cold, other times he was good enough to let me in. When he realised I was not getting pregnant soon enough, he threatened to marry another wife and even built a house for her. He did not bring her home because I got pregnant then.
"When I delivered, he simply inquired about the sex of the baby. When he heard I had given birth to a girl, he did not even bother to visit me at the hospital, and he did not pay the bill when I was discharged. After three months, he came home from work and asked me: 'Do you consider yourself a mother after giving birth to girls?' He repeatedly told me I was worthless.
“I become pregnant again, four months later. This time he told me that if I gave birth to another girl, I would have to find somewhere to take her. Later when he came home on leave, he was all sweet, telling me he was sorry if he had wronged me and that from then on things would be different, that he was a new man. And I believed him. I actually hoped he would change.
"Then one evening, I saw him sharpening a machete. I did not know he was preparing to kill me. After the evening meal, I went to sleep, leaving him with his mother and sister. I was awakened by the machete blow on my arm.
"I cried and cried, I begged for pardon but he cut my second arm. Nobody came to my rescue. Neighbours were afraid of him because he was armed. With cuts everywhere, I had a miscarriage. My husband left me there bleeding, and fled. He was later caught and imprisoned. I was taken to hospital out of pity, no one expected me to survive.
"I stayed in a coma for six days in hospital. When I was well enough, I went to live with my old mother. These days I depend on her for everything. If she is ill, I cannot get anybody to feed me. I cannot wash, I cannot clothe myself.
"If neighbours take pity on me, they come and assist me. I am more helpless than a newborn baby.
"Two weeks ago, my sister-in-law came to inform me that he has been released from prison. I know it meant death for me, so I fled to Bujumbura. I heard that while in prison, he had vowed he would 'finish the work' if he ever came out. I hear he said cutting my arms was not what he wanted in the first place.
"The only thing I want now is justice and assistance."
Bujumbura residents say despite ongoing rains, prices of even locally grown foodstuffs has risen
BUJUMBURA, 10 June 2008 (IRIN) - Even before his wife bore their eighth child, Selemani François knew he would have a difficult time sustaining a large family on a taxi driver's income in Burundi's capital of Bujumbura.
"I am in 'shida' [trouble] because my family can hardly eat - let alone eat good food like meat," he said. "If I do not find another job soon, my family will starve - and those in school will have to drop out."
Selemani's frantic efforts to find alternative employment have so far yielded nothing - mainly because formal employment in a country that is just pulling out of nearly 15 years of conflict is very hard to come by.
For many of Burundi's eight million people, the situation has been aggravated by a recent significant rise in food prices.
"What has put me in real 'shida', is the rising cost of food and fuel for the car," Selemani told IRIN. "A year ago, I used to spend 15,000 Burundi francs [US $15] a week on food, now I need 30,000 [$30]. Food has become too expensive."
Like Selemani, several Bujumbura residents said despite ongoing rains, prices of even locally grown foodstuffs had risen.
"Every day, the prices go up," Bararufise Marceline, a trader in the main market, complained. "Now, we sell less and eat cheaper food. My family used to eat meat or chicken several times a week, now we are lucky if we do twice."
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that 70 percent of family expenditure in Burundi goes on food.
"With rising food prices, that figure could go up," Cecilia Lonnerfors, the agency's communications officer in Burundi, warned.
According to the WFP, only 18 percent of Burundi's population is food secure. "Thirty-four percent are extremely food insecure; consuming less than 1,400 kilocalories (kcal) per day [recommended intake is 2,100 kcal]," Lonnerfors told IRIN on 6 June.
Long term problem
Burundi, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), WFP and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), experienced a per capita food production decrease of 24 percent since 1993 due to reduction in access to land and lack of production inputs and technical assistance.
Yet 91 percent of Burundi's population depends on subsistence farming, according to the UN. The country, which has witnessed conflict for the last one and half decades, also has the second highest population density in Africa. This has placed pressure on land and affected agricultural production in one of the poorest countries in the world.
"We are seeing more people killing each other over land - even between brothers," Jean Pierre Kisamare, the deputy executive secretary of the human rights group, League Iteka told IRIN. "Land has become a very important issue."
Apart from land, food availability in Burundi has been affected by market-related problems. A 2006 assessment by FAO, WFP and UNHCR cited poorly integrated markets due to high transaction costs, poor infrastructure and insecurity.
The other factors include lower demand due to high prices and inflation, slow market turnover and decreased production and supply.
A woman scavenges for food in a Bujumbura suburb: The UN World Food Programme estimates that 70 percent of family expenditure in Burundi goes to food
According to the WFP's food security monitoring system, prices of basic foodstuffs such as beans and cassava have increased by 52 and 22 percent respectively this year, compared to 2007.
The impact of these high prices has been particularly felt because of a progressive reduction in purchasing power over the last 10 years. Even for the few paid employees, salaries have only increased by 10 percent since 2002.
"People are starting to eat foods they were not used to before," Lonnerfors said.
The WFP, which is planning to spend US $12 million to scale up its programmes in Burundi this year, is currently providing food rations to 600,000 people a month.
High population density and inadequate agricultural techniques aside, Burundi's population is also extremely vulnerable to climatic shocks. "In 2007, we had planned [to help] 500,000 people, but ended up assisting two million because of heavy rains and flooding," she added.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in a 6 June report said the situation had forced households to adopt very strict coping strategies with regard to food consumption.
"The purchase of expensive basic foodstuffs has either been reduced or completely stopped, households now depend on low-cost foods and have reduced the frequency and consistency of meals," OCHA noted.
The situation had been worsened by lean or late rains. In low altitude areas like Moso, Bugesera and Imbo in western Burundi, late rains had severely affected anticipated production levels.
In Musigati commune, Bubanza province, an estimated 70 percent of the families will face food shortages from July because their bean crop was planted too late for the rains, according to the UN and NGOs. Farming activities in the commune have also been affected by the activities of the armed opposition Forces nationales de libération (FNL) group.
Peace would help
Blamed for delaying Burundi's peace process, the FNL has remained active after all the other groups denounced armed opposition. Its fighters have recently been involved in clashes in provinces like Bujumbura Rural, Cibitoke, Kayanza and Bubanza.
Population displacements caused by these clashes have disrupted farming activities. An attack in May in Kabenzi, for example, forced 20,000 people to flee their villages. While they have since returned, they have had to be given aid.
Every day, the prices go up. Now, we sell less and eat cheaper food. My family used to eat meat or chicken several times a week, now we are lucky if we do twice
On 30 May, FNL leader Agathon Rwasa returned to Burundi, raising expectations that the peace process would now move forward. Officials believe that once peace returns, the government can focus its attention on plans to revamp food production.
According to the agriculture ministry's strategy paper, the government plans to mobilise farmers to exploit unutilised land, promote crops that have a resistance to climatic shocks such as cassava, and turn plains in Imbo, Moso and other areas of western Burundi into productive lands.
In the middle and longer term, the government plans to promote regional specialisations, enhance project management capacity and initiate broad reforms.
However, aid workers say the strategies in their current form will require huge amounts of resources, which the government does not currently have, meaning various organisations would have to help.
At the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, the Norwegian Minister for the Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim, will chair a committee which will deal with questions involving shipping, air travel and trade. Solheim was appointed head of the committee at Monday's meeting of the Copenhagen Summit, and will lead the work together with Singapore. - The work will mean consulting all countries which have an interest in integrating these fields in a Climate Agreement, Solheim says. - Both shipping and air travel are major contributors to the emission of greenhouse gases, and we must try to find ways to cut these emissions, Solheim says. (NRK) Rolleiv Solholm - From the Norway post
What matters is that the war is over
