SPEECH OF THE SENATE SPEAKER, RIGHT HONOURABLE Emmanuel SINZOHAGERA AT THE OPENING OF THE ORDINARY SESSION OF APRIL 2023

                                                                                     Gitega, April 3, 2023

Honourable First Deputy Speaker of the Senate;

Honourable Second Deputy Speaker of the Senate;

Honourable Senators;

Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the Government;

Mister Governor of Gitega Province;

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

Ladies and Gentlemen, Representatives of International Organizations in Burundi;

Ladies and Gentlemen, representatives of the judicial authorities;

Mister Administrator of the Commune Gitega

Ladies and Gentlemen, representatives of the Defense and Security Corps;

Ladies and Gentlemen members of the press;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

1. First of all, I would like to thank God the Almighty who has preserved us and who has allowed us to carry out the missions that we had during these parliamentary holidays that we have just ended in the company of the people who elected us. Please join me in acclaiming Him!

• Welcome to the Senate, dear guests, and we take this opportunity to thank you for having left aside your many occupations in order to join us in these opening ceremonies of the ordinary session of April 2023. It is tangible proof that you are by our side in our missions and that you are happy with it, which encourages us to work for the satisfaction of the population.

Honourable Senators;

Distinguished Guests;

• Indeed, the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi provides for one month of parliamentary recess for senators. But it is not a time to go to rest at home, but rather to change of activity. This period is an opportunity for us to join the citizens who have invested their trust in us and who have elected us to represent them. I take this opportunity to congratulate my fellow senators for their efforts during this month of recess by going to their respective constituencies where they joined the population to discuss their opinions.

• Allow me therefore to tell you roughly what characterized this period of parliamentary recess which we have just ended.

• During this period, we, members of the Bureau of the Senate, just like our peers, visited the people who elected us throughout the country. In the provinces where we were elected, we monitored the implementation of the laws we passed; we also listened to the concerns of the population and together we found solutions to the problems that this population faces in everyday life. It was also an opportunity not only to encourage our voters to safeguard peace and security, but also to launch a vibrant appeal to them for development activities, without forgetting to call on them to control demographic pressure.

• Before starting this recess, we, members of the Bureau of the Senate have undertaken the mission of visiting all the provinces of the country with the aim of exchanging with the members of the communal councils on the problems they encounter in the realization of their mission of representing the population and sensitize them to appropriate the legal texts that govern their administrative entities.

From these meetings, it emerged that the communal councilors of all the communes have various problems, but they also some problems in common. One can cite notably the insufficiency of travel fees allocated to communal councilors during their sessions, as well as the new organization of the funds of the communes, the Programme Budget. Having noted that these two issues are a major problem for the communal councilors, we informed the Minister of Home Affairs, Security and Community Development. The latter reassured us that he would find a solution by organizing training on the new development of projects taking into account the available funds (programme budget) and accepted to increase the attendance fees of the communal councilors according to the means of the municipalities. We also asked him that the legal advisers of the governors organize training seminars on law governing the communes.

• In addition, in all the provinces which we visited, we joined the population in community development work. Sometimes we provided support materials for projects that are being implemented. We also gave advice to the population on the safeguarding of peace and security; educating children; hard working to combat poverty; limiting births; valuing the customs and traditions of our ancestors; saving the crops; protecting the environment; working in cooperatives; applying for loans from BIDF and BIJ to carry out projects and other activities aimed at their well-being.

Honourable Senators;

Distinguished guests;

• Permit me to inform you that during this recess, senators participated in different festivities either with other authorities of the country or with the population. Thus,
• On March 1, 2023, they participated in the 14th edition of the National Prayer Breakfast, organized by Burundian Parliament.

• On March 8, 2023, the Senate participated in the celebration of the International Women’s Day, which took place in the chief-town of Buganda commune in the province Cibitoke.

• During this same month dedicated to women, women senators visited the women incarcerated in the central prison of Mpimba and provided them with assistance with the aim of comforting them.

• On March 28, 2023, the Senate was represented by Honourable First deputy Speaker of the Senate and speakers of the Standing committees in the solemn opening ceremonies of the 3^rd meeting of the first session of the 5th legislature of the EALA.

• In the framework of strengthening cooperation with other Parliaments, the Speaker of Burundi Senate visited Egypt where he met with the leaders of this country, notably the Speaker of the Senate as well as two Ministers: the Minister of Trade and Industry and the one in charge of Agriculture.

• This visit was beneficial in such a way that we signed a cooperation agreement between our two Chambers. We also received a donation of 30 computers to reinforce this agreement.

• For her part, the First Deputy Speaker of the Senate participated in the 62^nd Meeting of African, Caribbean and Pacific Parliaments. The meeting took place in Brussels, Belgium.

• The Honourable Second Deputy Speaker of the Senate represented the Senate at the International Conference held in Libreville, Gabon, where he participated in the activities of the 3rd International Conference of Parliamentarians on the Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa (Repar- AC). These meetings were held jointly with those of the presidents of the Parliamentary Alliances for Food and Nutritional Security (Rapac-San).

1. Other senators have also participated in such international conferences. We would mention the team of senators who attended the meeting held in Midrand in South Africa within the framework of the meetings of the standing committees of the Pan-African Parliament, and another committee which attended the 13^th ordinary session of the Plenary Assembly of the Forum of Parliaments of Member States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region held in Juba, South Sudan, from March 27 to April 1, 2023.

1. In order to improve the knowledge of Senate staff, this institution, in collaboration with the National School of Administration (ENA), organized a 5-day training seminar which took place from March 13 to 17 in Bujumbura within the premises of the same school. The themes explored were:

• Development and dissemination of local governance indicators;
• Optimization of a country’s performance;
• Analysis of public policies;
• Privileges and immunities of senators.

We hope that this training will improve the work of the Senate staff.

Within the same framework of capacity building for executives and members of committees in charge of Finance in the Parliament, the Senate of Burundi, in collaboration with UNICEF, organized a training workshop for parliamentarians who are members of the committee in charge of Finance on the programme budget and internal performance audit taking into account the concerns of children. This workshop took place at the Hôtel des Plateaux, in the capital of Ngozi province, from March 28 to 31, 2023.

Honourable Senators;

Distinguished Guests;

1. We have just ended the parliamentary recess to begin the April session. We have in front of us, various activities that we must do as elected representatives of the people. We call on you all to come with a new impetus to work for the proper accomplishment of the mission given to us by the citizens.

1. Allow me to inform you that during this April session, the Senate will analyze 12 bills sent by the Government of the Republic of Burundi alongside those that had remained pending. These bills issued by the government are as follows:

1. Bill on the ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the capital increase of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Finance Corporation;

• Bill on the ratification by the Republic of Burundi of a General Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Burundi and the Government of the State of Israel;

• Bill on regulations and budget account for the 2021-2022 financial year;

• Bill on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, service and special passports between the Government of the Republic of Burundi and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, signed in Rabat on October 19, 2022;

• Bill on the ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the agreement establishing the joint cooperation commission between the Government of the Republic of Burundi and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, signed in Rabat on October 19, 2022;

• Bill ratifying the Constitution and the Convention of the African Union Telecommunications, signed on December 7, 1999 in Cape Town, South Africa as revised on July 10, 2014 in Harare;

• Draft cooperation agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tunisia and the Government of the Republic of Burundi in the field of technological and industrial development, signed in Djerba in November 2022;

• Bill revising the mining code of Burundi;

• Bill on the electronic communications and postal code;

1. Bill revising the status of the legal profession;

1. Bill amending law no. 1/8 of May 20, 2021 amending law no. 1/17 of September 25, 2007 on the organization of the National Statistics system of Burundi;

1. Bill on the ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the agreement between the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Government of the Republic of Burundi on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic or service passports.

1. I would like to invite the presidents of the standing committees to get to work by carefully analyzing these bills and to give the report on time in order to adopt well-drafted bills for the interest of the population.

Honourable Senators;

Distinguished Guests;

1. Allow me to inform you that during this April session, in addition to the analysis and adoption of bills, we will continue to carry out our activities in accordance with the Constitution. We will visit our electorate in order to monitor the implementation of the laws passed.

1. We will continue to listen to the concerns of citizens, sensitize them to preserve peace and security without forgetting to call on them to focus more on development work.

1. To conclude, I would like once again to remind Honourable Senators that our mission as elected representatives of the people is to be close to the population, especially by participating in community development work organized in the provinces and communes of our constituency. We must not stay only in the political capital where we carry out our daily activities; rather we must go and encourage our electorate in the villages in the countryside.

1. Let us remember that we are accountable to the people who commissioned us. If we do not act well we will have betrayed our electorate, even the whole of Burundi. Come then, each in his own right, and let’s put together our efforts to support the Government represented by Major General Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE, so that our people have a better life. “Many hands make light work “.

1. Allow me to remind you again that as elected, we have an important role in strengthening Burundian mores as bequeathed by our ancestors. Let us always remember that a country is characterized by its culture and its mores, and the loss of the latter leads the country to the abyss. Let us therefore be the torch in the strengthening of good morals which have always characterized Burundi, otherwise we will have to give an account in front of our children.

I will end my remarks by thanking you for your participation in today’s ceremonies.

It is with these words that I declare the solemn opening of the work of the ordinary session of April 2023.

Thank you!

May God bless you!