BUJUMBURA, November 15th (ABP) – The Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Audace Niyonzima, launched the Critical Mass of Professionals Initiative (CMPI) in Bujumbura on Thursday 14 November 2024, with the aim of training professionals for projects financed by the World Bank.
In his opening remarks, Minister Niyonzima praised the flexibility of the World Bank (WB) team, chaired by the bank’s resident representative in Burundi, in setting up the CPMI to build the capacity of project managers.
‘We have a vision of making Burundi an emerging country by 2040 and a developed country by 2060, and its effective implementation requires quite a few resources, including human resources, which are the scarcest’, he said, pointing out that the projects that are currently being implemented, particularly those financed by the World Bank, are projects that are part of this development perspective for Burundi.
Niyonzima did not mince his words in pointing out that, in previous years, there was a tendency to use financial resources in a haphazard way, and that some people even thought that these resources were there to do nothing; hence the work that should have been done was not done, which, in his opinion, is holding back the country’s development.
“Imagine, for example, the Jiji-Murembwe project, which is going to give the country around 47 MW: We feel that if anyone tampered with the money intended for the construction of this dam, they would be setting us back.,” he lamented, stressing that project managers should change their mentality and understand that these resources are intended to be used effectively and efficiently to achieve the objectives set.
He discussed a number of challenges that hamper the implementation of development projects. These included difficulties with financial management, delays in awarding contracts that stretched over several months or even a year, failure to comply with the planning approved by the WB platform, weaknesses in the management of contracts up to the point of delivery, the poor quality of bidding documents, and the late deployment or non-deployment by companies of environmentalists in the field.
Niyonzima also pointed out that the government of Burundi currently has 20 projects financed by the WB to the tune of 1.8 billion US dollars. ‘Through this initiative, we want people who are efficient, who know what they are doing, who master their tasks,’ he insisted, pointing out that the IMCP is a unique initiative among WB projects, which aims to build capacity by drawing resources from funding that is already available.
As for some people who are unaware of the scale of the country’s needs, and who tend to think that the government’s resources can come from tax revenues alone, Niyonzima deplored the fact that this is a misconception. He pointed out that all countries go into debt, even if some Burundians have a negative perception of debt.
He went on to say that, in addition to tax revenue, all countries in the world seek external resources in two main forms: debt, which can be internal or external; and the financial resource known as a ‘grant’, which comes from bilateral partners (between friendly countries) and multilateral partners, i.e. international organizations headed by the World Bank, because, he said, it is the WB that provides the largest budget and finances many projects in the country.
‘From now on, we need to wake up because these resources are available to the government to implement development projects’, recommended Minister Niyonzima. He took the opportunity to call on the permanent secretaries, who were present at the launch of the IMCP, to take ownership of the execution of contracts to ensure that those managing the execution are trained and capable of completing the task as quickly as possible.
The WB’s Resident Representative in Burundi, Hawa Wagué Cissé, explained that the IMCP aims to train professionals working on government projects financed by the bank in five areas: procurement, financial management, environmental and social safeguards, internal auditing of projects and monitoring and evaluation.
‘Having professionals in these specific areas will enable us to implement all these projects as quickly as possible, to have a positive impact on the population and to achieve Burundi’s development objectives ‘, she emphasized, adding that the first cohort to be trained, which is expected in around 9 months’ time, is made up of 150 people who are civil servants working on WB-financed projects, as well as specialists in these same project areas. She pointed out that the WB team is currently working with the Ministry of Finance, the University of Burundi and the Higher Institute of Business Management (ISGE) to implement the programme as quickly as possible.
‘We think that with this initiative, there will be more experts to implement the projects we are financing, but also government officials who are capable of implementing development programme in general in the country,’ she concluded.