SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EMMANUEL SINZOHAGERA, BURUNDI SENATE SPEAKER, DURING THE SOLEMN CLOSING OF THE ORDINARY PARLIAMENTARY SESSION OF DECEMBER 2024

Honourable First Deputy Speaker of the Senate;

Honourable Second Deputy Speaker of the Senate;

Honourable Senators;  

Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the Government;

Mr. Governor of the Province Gitega;

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Ambassadors and Representatives of Diplomatic and Consular Corps accredited to Burundi;

Dear Representatives of International Organizations in Burundi;

Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the judiciary;

Mr. Administrator of the Commune Gitega;

Dear representatives of the Defense and Security Forces;

Dear Senate Executives;

Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the various services working in the political capital;  

Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the media;

Distinguished guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen; 

1. First of all, let us give thanks to God the Almighty who has kept and guided us during this session which we are closing today. Thanks to His kindness, we remained in good health, which allowed us to accomplish our constitutional missions serenely. I invite you to join me in applauding Him as a sign of gratitude.

2. Distinguished guests, we warmly welcome you and we take this opportunity to express our gratitude for your constant presence at each of our invitations. This demonstrates your unwavering support for us.

Honourable senators;

Distinguished guests;

3. During this ordinary session of December 2024, the Senate accomplished various constitutional missions in accordance with articles 192, 193 and 196 of the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi.

Regarding the ​​voting of laws, during this session that we are closing, the Senate analyzed and adopted twelve bills which read as follows:

1. Bill on ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the protocols amending the convention relating to international civil aviation, established during the 39^th session of the General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, October 6, 2016; 

2. Bill amending Law No. 1/19 of June 28, 2024 establishing the general budget of the Republic of Burundi for the 2024-2025 financial year; 

3. Draft law governing Special Economic Zones in Burundi; 

4. Bill on ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the Convention for the Suppression of the Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (1970 Hague Convention); 

5. Bill on ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the East African community protocol on information and communication technology networks signed on August 23, 2013 in Kigali; 

6. Draft organic law amending Law No. 1/21 of August 3, 2019 governing the Supreme Court in second reading; 

7. Bill amending Law No. 1/09 of November 13, 2020 on the general organisation of public administration; 

8. Bill on ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports between the Government of the Republic of Zambia and the Government of the Republic of Burundi, signed on June 14, 2024 in Lusaka, Zambia; 

9. Bill to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism; 

10. Bill revising law n°1/02 of March 3, 2016 reforming municipal taxation; 

11. Bill on ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the general cooperation agreement between the Government of the Republic of Zambia and the Government of the Republic of Burundi, signed in Lusaka on June 14, 2024; 

12. Bill on ratification of the general cooperation agreement between the Government of the Republic of Chad and the Government of the Republic of Burundi signed on July 19, 2024 in Accra, Ghana.

4. In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi in its Article 192, on December 5, 2024, we approved the name of Brigadier General of Police NINTERETSE Joseph, as the Inspector General of Burundi National Police. On February 4, 2025, we also approved the name of Major General of Police NDARUZANIYE Leonidas, as the Governor of the province Ngozi.
5. With regard to national ceremonies and other activities at national level, at the invitation of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Burundi, on December 5 to 6, 2024, the Senate Speaker, accompanied by his First Deputy as well as the Honourable senators presidents of the standing committees in the Senate, participated in a Round Table of Development Partners and Private Investors. This event was held at the National Assembly conference hall, in Bujumbura.

6. The Burundian Senate also attended the swearing-in ceremonies of the new Minister of Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning, which took place on December 10, 2024, in the premises of the National Assembly in Kigobe.

In addition, the Senate of Burundi took part in the ecumenical prayer of thanksgiving organized by the presidential family from December 28 to 31, 2024, at ETS Kamenge playground in Bujumbura City.

7. Regarding the other missions of the Senate, on December 12, 2024, at the Gitega Polytechnic University (UPG), the Speaker of the Senate participated in a workshop organized by International Christian Ministries (ICM) in its Global Leadership Summit sector. The purpose of this workshop was to revitalize leadership in various sectors of the country. It was an opportunity to emphasize that leadership starts with oneself, as it is difficult to serve others without being a model. A good leader should indeed preach by example.

8. Referring to the adage that “curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning”, during this parliamentary session we are closing, on January 22, 2025, Burundi Senate received from the Consultants the research results on the German colonial period and the Belgian administrative reform of 1925 in Burundi.

Then, on January 28, 2025, the Senate organized a meeting for the various leaders of the country to present the report of the research results made by the Consultants on the crimes committed during the German colonial period as well as the harmful consequences of the Belgian administrative reform of 1925 in Burundi.

After this research work, on February 10, 2025, the Senate examined and adopted a Resolution which highlights its position regarding the follow-up to be given to the report presented by the experts on the crimes committed in Burundi during the colonial period. After adoption, the Resolution has been transmitted to all those who are concerned so as to find an adequate solution which will lead to revealing the crimes committed by the colonizers.

9. As we are on the eve of elections, during this session that we are closing today, on February 11, 2025, the Senate, in collaboration with the International Christian Ministries (ICM), organized an exchange workshop on electoral disputes as well as on the consolidation of peace and security. This workshop was attended by senior figures of the country; representatives of the judiciary, political parties, private associations, religious denominations, defense and security forces, as well as many other authorities.

10. On February 18, 2025, the Senate Speaker enhanced with his presence the work of a seminar for leaders of religious denominations. This seminar was organized by the house “Lueur d’Espoir”, in collaboration with the “African Enterprise” Association; and it focused on the role of these authorities in building a “good Burundi”.

Honorable senators;

Distinguished guests; 

11. Concerning the control of government action, during these past three months, the Senate invited the Minister responsible for education to answer the senators’ questions about the selection criteria for students receiving scholarships to study abroad. 

12. As for the sports field, from December 6 to 18, 2024, under the leadership of the Second Deputy Speaker of the Senate, senators took part in the 14^th edition of the inter-parliamentary games of the member countries of the East African Community, which took place in Mombasa, Kenya. On January 30, 2025, after analyzing the report of the delegation of the Senate and the prizes awarded to the Parliament of Burundi during those games, the observation was that our country was validly represented.

13. In the field of strengthening cooperation, on January 16, 2025, the Senate Speaker received in audience the representative of the European Union in Burundi. Their talk focused on the situation of bilateral cooperation between Burundi and the European Union as well as the progress of preparations for the upcoming elections. 

Honorable senators;

Distinguished guests; 

14. In addition to all these achievements that we have just mentioned, senators have worked diligently by participating in community development activities organized in their respective constituencies and by providing responses to the concerns of the population.

15. Concerning the missions carried out within the country during the past three months, the members of the Bureau visited the provinces of Bujumbura, Makamba, Mwaro, Rutana and Ngozi, and they joined the population in various community development activities. During these visits, they provided advice to the population of those provinces on planning in different sectors of life, and they sometimes gave support for projects underway.

16. In the social field, on December 2, 2024, the Senate, represented by the members of its Bureau, provided aid consisting of food and other materials to a family living in the capital of the province Gitega, who had given birth to quadruplet at the regional hospital of Gitega.

17. In this same spirit of mutual assistance, on behalf of the Senate, on January 9, 2025, the Second Deputy Speaker of the Senate offered aid consisting of rice to the population of Kiguhu and Mugondo zones of Mpinga-Kayove commune, victims of torrential rains.

Honorable Senators;

Distinguished guests;

18. Before concluding our speech, we call on the Government, through the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, and Livestock, to fully commit to increasing the number of processing plants for harvests in order to boost foreign exchange earnings. It is very unfortunate to see farmers, who have invested significantly in their fields and have a plentiful harvest, finding themselves without a solution to preserve their products. They are then forced to sell the entire surplus on the market, out of fear of spoilage.

Honorable senators;

Distinguished guests; 

19. We would like to remind Honourable Senators that even if we are going on vacation, this does not mean that we will not work. We ask them to go to their constituency to raise awareness among the population to tackle the development activities in progress, especially those related to the growing season B, so that, as His Excellency the President of the Republic has always said, “Every mouth should have something to eat”. 

We are pleased that the harvest of the season A was good; and we take this opportunity to appeal to farmers to not waste this harvest as it is always wise to save something for a rainy day.

20. This recess that we are about to begin today comes at a time when we, Honourable Senators, are at the end of our mandate. You know that our mission is to be with the population. We will then continue to closely monitor the concerns of the population without taking into account the end of the mandate because “All is well that ends well”.

During the electoral period, you are aware that some citizens and some politicians are losing their minds; let’s give them piece of advice to safeguard peace and security of the country because after the elections, life goes on.

We conclude our remarks by thanking you once again for participating in today’s ceremonies.

It is with these words that we solemnly declare the ordinary parliamentary session of December 2024 closed.

Thank you!

God bless you!