As I began to scratch this poor paper, I found it difficult to let go of my poor task of blogging and to focus on a single aspect of the life of the country, Gitega is so shaken by challenges some more important than others. I didn’t pull any punches though. I tried my little autopsy and this is what I found.
Is it really worth going back to what the country looks like politically on the eve of the 2025 elections. Well, let’s not get tired and repeat what you probably already know. To say the least, the political climate does not look reassuring. Between an establishment of CENI far from being consensual and one electoral code no less restrictive, the smell of 2025 promises to be harmful. And the vitality of political parties, do we talk about it? Can we still talk about what has just happened, or rather what the CNL is experiencing? This party which happens (which happened) to be the second political force but currently very weakened as a result of endogenous but especially exogenous factors? How can we pretend to organize a competition worthy of the name in these conditions? “What good will the upcoming elections be if it is under the conditions we are currently witnessing? », asks one opinion. How can we hope to emerge from the economic crisis in these conditions when we know that “the economy is the daughter of politics”?
Let’s talk about the economy.
How can we not talk about it when the country is experiencing shortages of basic necessities, fuel in this case. How can we forget that we had been reassured that the question of fuel would no longer arise? As we scratch these lines, there are endless queues at the stations. But is it really necessary to talk about all this when the primacy has just declared in the Kigobe hemicycle that the question will only find a solution with the availability of the dollar, the scarcity of which he also recognizes? These currencies which we anticipate will be sufficient after 5 years, the time for a return on investment in the avocados that we plan to plant throughout the country.
And inflation, are we really talking about it again even though the subject is no longer relevant? But yes, why not, as long as it constitutes an obstacle of an “Umufuko wose uronke amahera, umunwa wose uronke ico ufungura”. No need to add that this slogan becomes obsolete when making ends meet is an obstacle course. But, why should we be surprised by inflation when the country lives largely on imports and the dollar/euro are commodities that have become increasingly rare. The situation persists despite the measures liberalization measures taken by the BRB and supported by international monetary institutions.
A misfortune never comes alone
Proof of these obstacles to the slogan “Umufuko wose uronke amahera umunwa wose uronke ico ufungura”, ANAGESSA struggles to pay farmers their dues, while they are obliged to sell corn harvests to it. Agriculture precisely. What about the (natural??) disasters that threaten farmers and infrastructure? These landslides which sow desolation in their path. And the floods? What about risk governance so well recommended by experts while it would allow us to take anticipated measures and thus face these cataclysms which fall on us, powerless.
Fatality then?
“All the indicators are red,” informed observers seem to be unanimous. The current shortage of Brarudi drinks comes as if to darken the already gloomy picture, always against the backdrop of the scarcity of greenbacks essential for imports. Where will the salvation of a Burundi with many challenges really come from? Many people were enthusiastic when the European Union announced that it would renew its relations with Gitega after the hurricane of 2015 before they became disillusioned after seeing that normalization was not accompanied by the return of the Fbu or rather of the euro. For what reasons ? Difficult to answer, but “nta kabura imvo” especially since we know that these partnerships are always accompanied by conditionalities. Has Gitega not taken favorable action on the latter? Nothing is excluded in any case. And do its positions in relation to regional political and security issues fix the situation?
The least we can say is that the current situation in terms of governance is not likely to lead to an effective resumption of cooperation. Unthinkable to consider it in a context of strongly criticized political governance, the preparation of the 2025 elections already questioned and an economic governance far from being unanimous.
Far from being exhaustive, these are all the challenges that Gitega will have to respond to in the hope of breaking out of the impasse in which the country currently finds itself.
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