BUJUMBURA, April 21st (ABP) – The Burundi Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca attended the joint review meeting of the portfolio of Burundian government projects funded by the World Bank on Thursday, April 17, 2025, a check on site by ABP has revealed. That meeting aimed at evaluating and explore ways to improve the implementation of those projects.
In his remarks, Ndirakobuca stated that monitoring project performance is an activity of great importance to the Government of Burundi. That reflects the value the government now places on tracking the performance of projects financed by development partners.
The vision of making Burundi an emerging country by 2040 and a developed country by 2060 demonstrates the government’s commitment to ensuring the well-being of the population through the implementation of a strategy based on a proactive development approach. Achieving that objective requires joint efforts from both the government and development partners, he noted.
In order to achieve socio-economic development, the Prime Minister stated that Burundi has chosen to deploy its internal resources to support inclusive growth. To that end, he indicated, the approach with partners will be a win-win approach, insofar as the government’s wish is for partners to support Burundi in the key areas that the Burundian government will have identified as priorities.
He added that “since the inclusion of human capital and economic resilience require everyone’s contribution, we must work in perfect synergy to achieve positive and tangible results.”
He also called on all Burundian stakeholders to be aware that the development of Burundi is first and foremost their duty and obligation. He urged the participants in that meeting to commit to the various tasks assigned to them, so that disbursements can be made at an acceptable pace and managed with the highest diligence regarding key impacts
Furthermore, Ndirakobuca specifically reminded the project coordinators that it is their duty to ensure that World Bank funding is used solely for its intended purpose, with a strong emphasis on the effective implementation of projects and the sustainability of results, so that the World Bank, which has clearly demonstrated its commitment to remain alongside the Burundian government, may be encouraged to support other sectors.
As for the Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Nestor Ntahontuye stated that among the 16 national projects and 3 regional projects funded by the World Bank, some are progressing while others are not.
Regarding underperformance, he mentioned operational challenges such as communication and collaboration between the management units at the ministry and the World Bank. There are also files that are delayed due to pending no-objection approvals. Another challenge, he noted, is the lack of fuel supply zones and technical issues.
To find a solution, Minister Ntahontuye indicated that a retreat is planned with other donors, including the AFDB and IFAD, in order to formulate recommendations on those challenges and develop a portfolio to ensure macroeconomic stability. That roadmap will help improve the performance of project implementation.
It should be noted that the World Bank’s disbursement rate for financing national and regional projects is estimated at 13.3%.