BUJUMBURA/KAYANZA/GITEGA, April 2nd (ABP) – Members of the CNDD-FDD party from Bujumbura Mayorship, Kayanza and Gitega provinces took part in a thanksgiving prayer organised by the party every last Thursday of the month.The prayer was attended by the President of the Republic of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, accompanied by his wife Angeline Ndayishimiye, at Bujumbura Mayorship.The central theme was: “True patriots remain unforgettable”, with reference to the biblical passage taken from the Gospel Acts of the Apostles chapter 9: verses 36-41.
The prayer was attended by the deputy secretary of the CNDD-FDD party and representatives of religious denominations, according to local sources.
In his opening remarks, the Head of State began by thanking the Almighty for keeping Burundi safe over the past month.
He advised the Bagumyabanga living in the city of Bujumbura to devote themselves to self-development activities in addition to their usual activities, with a view to improving their living conditions. He also invited them to redouble their efforts in their missions and to contribute to safeguarding peace and security.
According to President Ndayishimiye, everyone needs to make an impact on the country, so that we can achieve the 2040-2060 vision, because, he said, God has given us everything we need to accomplish his mission.
Basing himself on the biblical word from Geneva 6 verse 3, President Ndayishimiye invited the Bagumyabanga to work in synergy and to love their country. “We have forgotten the gift that God gave us: come and remain in the covenant. God has given to everyone according to their abilities. Let us have the heart and the desire to be with God”, he emphasised.
For his part, the deputy secretary general of the CNDD-FDD party, Cyriaque Nshimirimana, said that the month of March had been marked by many blessings, adding that development work had been carried out in various representations.
During the month of March,” he said, “we gave ourselves 100 days to visit the country’s communal, hill and sub-hill Bagumyabanga, as part of the evaluation of the implementation of the decisions taken at the meeting held in Ngozi from 21 to 22 April 2024. The recommendations will be presented to the Bagumyabanga at the beginning of May that year, before the electoral campaign begins,” he added. We are also preparing places to celebrate the day dedicated to Mukenyerarugamba, which will be held in the political capital Gitega on 5 April 2025, he announced, while inviting the Bagumyabanga to take part in that day.
During his talk, Apôtre Vital Nzubahimana pointed out to the participants that God blesses the work of our hands, reminding them that prayers are not enough to develop the country. According to him, God will bless the work done. So, he said, “Pray and work hard, and we will go a long way towards the development we want”.
Basing himself on the central theme, Nzubahimana said that everyone must awaken their conscience by changing their mentalities, by being responsible and by becoming more involved in the emergence of the country.
In Kayanza province (north), CNDD-FDD party members from the communes of Kabarore, Kayanza and Muruta met at the provincial capital Kayanza for a prayer of thanksgiving.
Against the backdrop of the theme chosen for that month, the preachers of the day asked the Bagumyabanga to carry out their assigned missions properly and to serve their people well. They insisted that those who serve the country well remain alive even after their death.
In his closing speech, the secretary of the CNDD-FDD party in the extended commune of Kayanza, Gervais Rurimwabagabo, invited the Bagumyabanga, especially the leaders, to behave well during that pre-electoral period.
He recommended that the young people affiliated to that party, commonly known as Imbonerakure, use wisdom, courage and intelligence.
In Gitega province (in the centre of the country), the preacher of the day, Gérard Harabandi, told the participants gathered in the grounds of the Gitega paramedical school that anyone holding a share of power in the management of the country should, in the exercise of their duties, shine through acts of great notoriety, with a view to leaving a living legacy for posterity.
Under the theme “Servers of the country with integrity remain engraved in people’s memories”, that prayer was attended by the provincial secretary of the party, Mr Georges Nshimirimana, certain members of parliament elected in the Gitega constituency, the national secretary of the party in charge of social and cultural affairs, as well as a population from the urban centre of Gitega and its outskirts.
According to the preacher of the day, “there is no clearer way of praising people who give of themselves in order to put the country on the road to development”. He lavished similar praise on people won over to the cause of compassion for the vulnerable and the defence of human rights.
They are people of reference,” he insisted, before asking the audience to take them as a model by detaching themselves from all those who bog them down in perverse behaviours, such as corruption, embezzlement of public funds, adultery, injustice, ethnicism and so on.
Building on what the previous speaker had said, the party’s provincial secretary, in his opening remarks, recalled the figures to whom Burundi pays tribute for the responsible citizenship they displayed during their lifetime. He cited, among others, King Ntare Rugamba, who shaped Burundian territory; Prince Louis Rwagasore, father of national independence; President Melchior Ndadaye, father of democracy; and President Pierre Nkurunziza, leader of patriotism. He invited those present to be like those illustrious personalities in their commitment to social good.