BUJUMBURA, December 16th (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, on Friday, November 13, 2024 honored with his presence the ceremonies for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB).
In his speech for the occasion, the Head of State said that since the inception of the Bank of the Republic of Burundi, the country has experienced at least five coups d’état. These tumultuous events have often led to a rush on the BRB’s reserves.
According to him, after 1993, the BRB experienced a difficult period, during which it took about ten years to recover from the economic and political consequences of the crises.
In 2015, he continued to say, the country was hit by economic sanctions that exacerbated the challenges facing the BRB. These sanctions have had a profound impact on the functioning of the institution and on the national economy as a whole, he said.
Despite those obstacles, President Ndayishimiye underscored that seeing the BRB still standing today deserves congratulations. He indicated that this situation testifies to the resilience of the institution in the face of repeated crises.
The President of the Republic indicated that now is the ideal time to reorganize the country’s economy. This reorganization could not only stabilize public finances but also foster an environment conducive to investment and sustainable economic growth.
He therefore calls for collective mobilization to strengthen Burundi’s economic foundations and ensure a better future for all. According to him, the value of the currency is directly linked to the country’s production capacity. Indeed, an economy that fails to produce enough goods to meet internal and external needs risks seeing its currency lose its value. President Ndayishimiye also highlighted that the lack of exports is a major obstacle to stabilizing the value of the currency.
To improve this situation, he said, it is crucial that Burundi increases its production in order to have what to export. This will not only attract foreign currency, but also improve the country’s trade balance. Thus, the Head of State encouraged the population to actively engage in productive activities. He insisted that hard work and innovation in the agricultural sectors are essential to generate sufficient production that can be exported. This dynamic is essential to strengthen the national economy and improve the purchasing power of Burundians, he said.
He further expressed his skepticism about the effectiveness of development aid to promote real economic progress. “This aid cannot replace the domestic efforts needed to build a solid and sustainable economy,” he underscored, adding that economic freedom depends entirely on the ability to produce and transform resources. To achieve these goals, he explained, it is imperative to use available capital wisely, including the country’s abundant natural resources and human potential. The President therefore calls for collective mobilization around these crucial issues in order to ensure a prosperous future for Burundi.
The President of the Republic expressed major concerns about the behavior of commercial banks. He stressed that some of them refuse to provide transparent reports and, in some cases, present erroneous information to the Central Bank.
He warned those banks against those unacceptable practices. For the President of the Republic, the restoration of the authority of the Central Bank is crucial to restore confidence in the financial system and protect the country’s economic interests.
For his part, Edouard Normand Bigendako, governor of the BRB, noted that this bank has encountered multiple challenges in the accomplishment of its missions, but most have been overcome. The current Central Bank is an innovative bank in perpetual quest for knowledge to meet ever-changing expectations and challenges.
He specified that as part of the implementation of its missions, as well as in contributing to achieving the country’s vision, the BRB is modernizing the conduct of monetary policy through a forward-looking approach based on current facts and expectations of economic agents, with the ultimate goal of targeting inflation. “In addition, we will very soon begin the modernization of payment systems through the digitalization of the entire financial system of Burundi, which will ensure the inter-community of all payment systems set up by banks, microfinance and mobile phone companies. This project will make it possible to have a single digital financial identity for all users of the Burundian financial system and to make card payments with electronic payment terminals even in regions without an Internet connection,” he disclosed.
To achieve all this, he explained, the BRB has decided to improve the governance and leadership of the central bank in order to be a model of governance for other institutions of the country.