Business

Cost of Living in Burundi Worsening

An economics commentator Simon Kururu has likened Burundi’s current economic situation to a ship facing a furious cyclone or hurricane.

“Plagued by a lack of foreign currency to import basic necessities, with queues to buy a kilo of sugar or a few liters of fuel, an exponential rise in prices on the markets, forced marches to and from the work, and resorting to high-risk means of transport, the boat is rocking dangerously,” Kururu notes.

The government has enormous responsibilities in saving the “Burundi liner”. “It must do what it must do, and it knows it,” we hear in public opinions. Some anonymous voices underline “the lack of will to do good, the relegation of the interest of the State to second place, and the prioritization of the personal interests of a few individuals”.

However, Burundi government has failed to explain to the public how it intends to fi the current bad economic situation. Some senior officials have gone as far as blaming Rwanda.

The President of the National Assembly has made baseless accusations against Rwanda saying; “certain deputies and their merchant friends of going to sell Burundian fuel in Rwanda and of insinuating to oil companies that Burundi is not solvent with the aim of to create popular revolt.”

Burundi, a landlocked country of 13.2 million, where 80% of the population is employed in the agricultural sector, is one of the poorest and most densely populated in the world.

Burundi’s budget will rise 15.9% to 4.4 trillion Burundi francs (U$1.5 billion) in the 2024/25 financial year starting in July, largely because of the unfreezing of civil servants’ salary bonuses, Finance Minister Audace Niyonzima said on Thursday.

Parliament passed the budget on Thursday evening with 84.7% of votes cast, after Niyonzima read it out.

The economy is expected to grow 5.4%, up from 4.2% in 2023/24, boosted by government investment programmes and improved cooperation with the country’s development partners, Niyonzima said.

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