Forum on the Burundian Economy

From the 20th to the 22nd August, a forum was held at Source du Nil Hotel, Bujumbura, on the Burundian Economy, under the auspices of the Vice-President of the Republic Mr Alphonse Marie KADEGE.

Let's recall that such a meeting was held in the country nearly 20 years ago.

Five themes, with 26 presentations by national experts, have been scheduled :

• Growth and poverty reduction;
• Public and private sector interface;
• Regional integration and commercial agreements;
• Monetary, credit, interest rate, exchange rate, savings and investment policy's;
• Production and support infrastructures.

In view of the recent economic situation in Burundi, the presentations have respectively reviewed the strategic lines to put in place in order to improve the growth and to reduce poverty, the issue about the food security, the relations between population and development, the fiscal and tariff systems and their impact on the development of the private sector, the strategies of improvement of exportations, the privatisation of state owned enterprises and its impact on employment, the monetary, credit, interest rate, exchange rate, savings and investment policy as well as the recovery of productivity of the factors of production and that of public investments.

With regard to credit and interest rates in particular, participants to the forum have high lighted the need to find ways and means to reduce the cost of money, which has become prohibitive for any economic activity and to avail long lasting resources for the funding of investment.

Ten recommendations came out of the discussions on the themes of the presentations, notably:

• the need to regenerate the state by enshrining it more credibility ;
• the establishment of a permanent framework of regular concertation between the public and private sectors ;
• the organization of specific forums which should go into certain themes ;
• the improvement of the business environment at the institutional, legal financial and monetary levels ;
• the design of an economic policy based on the strategic sectors ;
• to prepare Burundi to a profitable adherence to programmes of economic integration and better take advantage of regional and international trade agreements ;
• the search for mechanisms to fight against fraud, corruption and concussion ;
• a deep diagnosis of the employment situation with the aim to design an national employment policy ;
• to design mechanisms of support to the rehabilitation of sectors and economic agents that are victims of the socio- political crisis;
• the promotion of applied research that should lead to future forums to be held at a regular basis.

The proceedings have been closed by the Vice-President of the Republic with a strongly applauded speech centred on the means to regenerate the Burundi State - Nation.

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IBB-Infos / 28 August 2003
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