Politics

Burundi: About BIF 70 billion to be used in 2020 elections

Domitien Ndihokubwayo, Burundi Minister of Finances and Planning has said the amount necessary for the 2020 elections is about BIF 70 billion. He says this amount is indicative of the fact that the National Independent Electoral Commission- CENI is collecting all the kits used in the 17 May referendum scattered throughout the country. “This collection phase is scheduled for June 2018 to gather together in the capital Bujumbura all the kit used in the recent election.

Domitien Ndihokubwayo: “The government is confident that it will collect all the necessary money without foreign aid”

Domitien Ndihokubwayo: “The government is confident that it will collect all the necessary money without foreign aid”

The inventory of those materials will show us those which are still in good condition and those which are not”, he says.

Minister Ndihokubwayo says the total budget for the 2020 elections will be known and communicated to the population. “The government is confident that it will get all this money without foreign aid. In 2015, Burundi government expected foreign aid in vain. However, it successfully held the elections,” he says.

He also says as soon as the necessary money is collected to organize the 2020 elections, Burundians will stop contributing. “Strategies will be set out to collect this amount,” he says.

Minister Domitien Ndihokubwayo also says government officials have already up to BIF 2, 688,217,781 while the other category including legal and natural persons had already contributed up to BIF 6, 234, 323.549. The government’s contribution to fiscal year 2017 has already amounted to BIF 8, 283, 233,334. “Burundi government intends to contribute BIF 12.5 billion to the 2018 budget”, he says.

The total amount for all these categories is BIF 17, 205, 774,664 until 31 May 2018. Minister Ndihokubwayo says the amount to be contributed by the category of unemployed people will be fixed soon. “They will start contributing by July and will receive the receipt acknowledging that they will have contributed,” he says.