African Development Bank Group projects in Burundi are producing good results overall. A discussion took place in Bujumbura on 27-30 June 2022 between the Burundian government and the African Development Bank Group country office as they reviewed the performance of the active portfolio of 15 projects being implemented in Burundi for a total commitment of $300 million. The country office also organized a capacity-building workshop for officials of ministries involved in its projects and programmes and for the heads of project management units.
Bank Group Country Manager, Pascal Yembeline, said: "This is an important exercise for both the Bank and the government. It has helped us understand the current status of our projects and programmes and to agree on actions to support proper implementation for the benefit of the Burundian people." He was pleased to report that government operations co-financed by the Bank Group are moving ahead and performing well, despite crises worldwide, whose impacts are being felt in Burundi.
He said two operations were approved for Burundi in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic: a $27 million financing package for the first phase of the Energy Access Project and $20 million for the Agriculture and Livestock Value Chains Sustainable Development Support Project.
He said certain projects have had significant delays. "We must redouble our efforts to accelerate implementation to meet the high expectations that the public associates with these projects." He also announced other 2022 project approvals by the African Development Bank Board of Directors, including the Agropastoral Entrepreneurship and Professional Development Project for Youth and Women and the Burundi Emergency Agricultural Production Project (under the African Emergency Food Production Facility and the Transaction Guarantee Facility for the benefit of a local bank).
The African Development Bank Group stands alongside Burundi in supporting production and energy infrastructure and in facilitating access to energy for as many people as possible. We support the opening up of Burundi's regions and the country as a whole through support for the transport sector. We thank the government for involving the Bank Group in the rail development component, which will provide the country with a complete multimodal transport system. This will have a significant impact by reducing travel time and cost of transport, supporting economic productivity in Burundi.
Capacity building
The capacity building workshop for the heads of project management units and officials from ministries involved in projects and programmes financed by the Bank Group focused on building institutional and fiduciary capacities.
Annociate Nshimirimana, Director General of Planning at the Burundian Ministry of Finance, cited the challenges for project management -- a low disbursement rate, ineligible expenditures that force the government to make reimbursements, projects closing the budget year without submitting audit reports, and projects whose implementation has been delayed by an insufficient understanding of Bank Group procurement procedures.
She called for a substantial reduction of response times on both sides and expressed hope that training will improve the quality of reports submitted for preliminary assessment by Bank services.
Contact:
Media contact: Alexis Adélé, Communication and External Relations Department, media@afdb.org
