RUMONGE, November 8th (ABP) – Bushfires and torrential rain mixed with hail have been reported as disruptive elements of security in the communes of Rumonge province.
That was revealed on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, by commune administrators and confirmed by the police commissioner in Rumonge province, at a security assessment meeting organized by the governor’s office for provincial service chiefs, commune administrators, zone chiefs and provincial defense and security corps officials.
As they pointed out, houses, schools and churches had been destroyed and crop fields damaged in all communes by the torrential rains.
During the same meeting, Obed Ntineshwa, head of the provincial branch of the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (OBPE), deplored the fact that bush fires had ravaged 439 hectares in three communes, namely Burambi, Bugarama and Muhuta.
According to him, that same bad practice is at the root of climate change, and he called on the administration, the police and the justice system to become more involved so that the perpetrators of bush fires are prosecuted and punished in accordance with the law.
The governor of Rumonge province, Léonard Niyonsaba, called on the administrative authorities at grassroots level to ensure that the owners of cattle caught grazing on young grass shoots were also punished.
Concerning the damage caused by the torrential rains, Governor Niyonsaba asked communal administrators to draw up a report, which will be forwarded to the governor’s office by Friday, November 8, 2024 at the latest, for onward transmission to the higher hierarchy.