BUJUMBURA, February 27th (ABP) – The President of the Republic, Evariste Ndayishimiye, opened on Friday 21 February 2025, at the presidential palace in Kiriri, a brainstorming retreat for the development of a national anti-corruption strategy, organised by the State Inspectorate General, with the participation of all stakeholders, including civil society.
In his opening speech, Inspector General Elysé Ndaye underlined the importance of that retreat. He said that the Government of Burundi, through the Inspectorate General of the State, was organising that retreat to take stock of the commitments and progress made in the fight against corruption in Burundi. That will help to identify possible challenges to that fight, and to draw up recommendations and solutions that will serve as a basis for the adoption of a guide document that will serve as a basis for the development of a National Strategy for the Fight against Corruption in Burundi.
In his presentation on the theme “Commitments and achievements of the Government of Burundi in the fight against corruption”, Félicien Mbonihankuye, Presidential Adviser, recalled that corruption is a major obstacle to the country’s development and a universal social scourge, and that the whole world is mobilising to tackle it.
He added that since 2006, the Government of Burundi, in collaboration with the United Nations System in Burundi and civil society, has joined the rest of the world in celebrating International Anti-Corruption Day, which is held every year to raise awareness and educate all Burundians, public authorities, civil society and the private sector about their duties and responsibilities in the fight against that scourge in the country.
Mbonihankuye recalled that every Burundian has a duty to defend the nation’s heritage. “Any act of sabotage, vandalism, squandering or any other act affecting public property is punishable under the conditions laid down by law”.
During the second presentation on “The role of civil society in the fight against corruption”, Me. Ernest Ndikumukama indicated that the State has a legal role to play in involving civil society in the fight against corruption.
To remedy that, Me. Ndikumukama made recommendations to strengthen the role of civil society and develop a new national strategy to fight corruption. Those include developing a strategy to strengthen the role of civil society actors in the fight against corruption, updating the legal framework for the prevention and repression of corruption and related offences to fill gaps and ensure better protection for whistleblowers, witnesses and other civil society actors, enhancing the work of civil society actors in the fight against corruption by implementing relevant actions already undertaken, etc.
Taking the floor, Father Symphorien Ntibagirirwa, who also spoke as a participant from civil society, highlighted a number of suggestions for implementing the strategy.
He mentioned, among other things, the restoration of the Ubuntu culture and the spirit of patriotism, the reform of public administration and the justice system to better combat corruption, nepotism and clientelism, the fight against impunity with a view to recovering the goods and assets resulting from corruption, etc.
With regard to the role of public institutions in the fight against corruption, the Inspectorate General of the State noted that a certain number of areas are more affected by corruption. Those are the public procurement sector, state-owned land and buildings, the Burundi National Police, the agropastoral sector, the customs and tax administration, construction, the state cartage, mining, state-owned forests and woodlands and health.
Possible solutions for eradicating corruption in institutions include creating synergy between the various partners involved in the fight against corruption, and digitising public services to promote transparency and accountability.
The Head of State, Evariste Ndayishimiye, said that the retreat had come at the right time to completely eradicate corruption in Burundi. He added that once the document had been drawn up and validated, there would be an evaluation every three months to measure its impact.