BUJUMBURA, December 6th (ABP) – On Wednesday 4 December 2024, the Prime Minister’s Geomatics Centralisation Office (BCG) presented the report on the national geospatial information strategy to the steering committee chaired by Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca.
During his presentation, Fréderic Ngendabakana, Permanent Executive Secretary of the Geomatics Centralisation Office, pointed out that the BCG produces data in all areas relating to geolocation. He added that geomatics encompasses all the tools and methods used to acquire, represent, analyse and integrate geographical data. But to achieve that, Ngendabakana pointed out, we need a national geo-spatial information strategy, which will help draw up the roadmap for that office to be able to work properly.
Following the presentation of that strategy, the Steering Committee commented on the stage reached. The Steering Committee recommended reviewing the format of the strategy document. To that end, it proposed that the strategy should conform to national realities and not refer to the formats of other countries with realities different from those of the local context. It was also recommended that costs should be budgeted in local currency rather than in foreign currency.
With regard to the proposal contained in the strategy to create a school specialising in geospatial sciences, the Steering Committee recommended instead that existing universities be strengthened with geography programmes, by integrating geospatial studies.
Validation of the strategy was postponed until after the Steering Committee’s recommendations had been incorporated.