28 December 2007
Bujumbura — The National Assembly endorsed the 2008 budget yesterday at 23:30.
There were no major changes with regard to the breakdown of the budget. Only 400 million francs were withdrawn from the National Intelligence Service and allotted to the Agriculture ministry. The Finance minister and MPs did not agree on the removal of the extra budgetary account of good initiatives whose management is prone to embezzlement which would be difficult to detect. Colossal sums allotted to the President of the republic and his vice - presidents, the speaker of the national assembly, and the senate, were not altered. The budget amounts to 520 billions and presents a deficit of 35 billion.
The budget was endorsed by 111 MPs out of the 112 who attended the plenary session. Hon. Léonard Nyangoma did not declare his stand. Burundi expects to receive funding for more than half of the budget from external donors. Measures have been devised to bridge this gap. Taxes and duties are to be imposed on tobacco, sugar, oil, and on wages of non-Governmental Organisations workers. The ministry of Agriculture has been allotted its smallest budget since independence, although the population is facing hunger due to a decrease in agricultural production. All the productive sectors have been left out while the education and defence ministries have received 22 percent and 23 percent of the budget respectively. Members of the parliament also saw an increase of allowances and other advantages.
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