Address by His Excellency Rt. Hon. Emmanuel SINZOHAGERA, Speaker of Burundi Senate, closing the ordinary parliamentary session of August 2020

                                                         Gitega, October 30, 2020

Honorable First–Deputy Speaker of the Senate

Honorable Second Deputy–Speaker of the Senate;

Honorable Senators;

Chief Justice;

Your Excellencies Ministers;

President of the Constitutional Court;

President of the Independent National Electoral Commission;

Commissioner–General of the Special Anti-corruption Brigade;

Governor of Gitega Province;

Representatives of Diplomatic and Consular Corps accredited to Burundi;

Representatives of International Organizations in Burundi;

Members of the press;

Distinguished Guests;

1. Let us first of all thank the Almighty God who guided us through all our achievements of the ordinary session of August that we are closing today.

2. On behalf of the Senate Bureau, Honorable Senators, and on our own behalf, we express our warm greetings and welcome you to these closing ceremonies. 

We would like to reiterate our sincere thanks for having responded to our invitation despite your multiple obligations.

3. In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi in its articles 179 and 190, we are proceeding today, Friday, October 30, 2020, to the solemn closing of the ordinary session of August.

4. During this session that we are closing, the Senate considered and adopted bills and carried out the control of the government action. We visited different provinces to encourage the population in their various activities.

Regarding the analysis and adoption of bills;

5. Referring to article 187 of the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi, we set up the Internal Regulation of the Senate.

6. In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi in its article 163 which stipulates that the Parliament considers and adopts bills, and controls the government action, we considered and adopted 7out of 16 bills sent by the government. These bills are the following:

a) Bill on income taxes;

b) Bill on Value Added Tax (VAT);

c) Bill on fiscal and non-fiscal procedures;

d) Bill revising the Law N ° 1/22 of December 30, 2011 on the reorganization of higher education in Burundi;

e) Bill on Burundi labor code;

f) Bill revising the Law N ° 1/08 of April 28, 2011 on the general organization of public administration;

g) Bill on capital market authority

Regarding the control of government action;

7. On October 29, 2020, in accordance with article 168 of the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi, the Parliament meeting in congress followed the presentation of the government’s plan.

Regarding the visits to the scene in the provinces of the country;

8. We carried out visits to the scene in the provinces of Bujumbura, Karusi, Rumonge and Ruyigi. In all those provinces, we joined the population in the construction activities of schools and offices of provincial governors.

We also gave a contribution to encourage the population in their different development activities.

We appealed to them for peace and security building, love of work, fight against idleness, protection of the environment, following of advice, implementation of measures of Burundi government in order to fight against covid-19.

We also called on them to buckle down to the first farming season activities, so that everyone could have food and earn money, as specified by His Excellency Major-General  Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of the Republic of Burundi.

9. We would like to thank Honorable Senators for having been very close to their electorate; and we encourage this good attitude. 

10. On October 13, 2020, we joined Burundians in the commemoration of the 59^th anniversary of the assassination of the Hero of the Independence of Burundi, Prince Louis Rwagasore.

On October 21, 2020, we participated in the commemoration ceremonies for the 27^th anniversary of the assassination of the Hero of Democracy, His Excellency President Melchior NDADAYE.

11. On October 16 and 17, 2020, we went to Rumonge and Makamba provinces where the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR) was exhuming the remains of Burundians thrown into mass graves during the crisis of 1972. What we witnessed is very upsetting. Many people were killed. The perpetrators of that despicable act inhibited peace, security and development of the country, because those victims were the active force that would contribute to the development of our country.

12. We extend our congratulations to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for this step already achieved. The Senate will ask the Government to continue supporting the CVR by providing it with the necessary means to successfully carry out the mission entrusted to it by the country.  

Regarding diplomacy;

13. We welcome the visit carried out to the Senate by the Kenyan Ambassador to Burundi. We are delighted with our conversation, which mainly focused on strengthening the friendship and cooperation relations between the Kenya Senate and the Burundi Senate.

14. We also participated in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, by videoconference. In this session, we were represented by Honorable the First-Deputy Speaker of the Senate.

We reiterate our heartfelt thanks to the Government of Burundi for granting us the venue for the event. We hope that even next time we will be offered this chanceas long as the Covid-19 is not yet eradicated so that the conferences could be organized as usual.

15. May this recess that we are starting be an opportunity for us to:

– continue to be close to the population in order to heartheir complaints, know better about their opinions, provide favorable responses to their concerns and submit to the competent authorities the concerns to which we will have not found solutions.

– continue raising the population awareness so that they could change their mind, buckle down to work, develop themselves and develop their homeland, without forgetting the protection of the environment.

– continue to cooperate and strengthen friendly relations with other Senates and International organizations of which our Senate is a member.

16. To conclude, in accordance with articles 179 and 190 of the Constitution, we will meet again in this hemicycle on Tuesday, December 1^st, 2020 to proceed to the solemn opening of the ordinary session of December.

May God protect you and protect Burundi!