GITEGA, October 18th (ABP) – The Minister for East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sport and Culture, Gervais Abayeho, was invited to the upper house of parliament on Tuesday, 15 October to answer oral questions from senators.
The need to extend the Kobero one-way station in Muyinga province (North-East) was a recurring theme in the senators’ speeches.
They argued that there was a traffic jam of vehicles coming from the northern corridor. In addition, there are insufficient staff at the Burundian Revenue Office (OBR) in Kobero, which has repercussions for customers who are not served in real time.
The senators recommended that Minister Abayeho work together with his ministerial colleagues, particularly the senators recommended that Minister Abayeho work with his ministerial colleagues, particularly those responsible for infrastructure and finance, to resolve the situation, adding that OBR staff should be on duty 24 hours a day to help transport operators.
In the field of culture, they recommended that the same minister preserve the usefulness of the Palace of Arts and Culture and upgrade the National Ballet.
In the area of sports, the senators deplored the failure to comply with international standards in the construction of football pitches and asked Minister Abayeho to explore such projects with the authorisation of the relevant departments. They recommended that he professionalise football and basketball by setting up academies for those sports.
On the subject of integration into the East African Community, the senators expressed their indignation at the attacks suffered by Burundians travelling to or living in member countries of that community, in violation of the treaties that govern them.
Minister Abayeho replied that he would contact the ambassadors of those countries to prevent such matters. The senators also recommended that he advocate the use of the French language in that same community.