SUMMARY REPORT OF THE PLENARY SESSION OF FEBRUARY 04, 2025

In the year two thousand and twenty-five, on the fourth day of February, senators met in the Senate chamber in Gitega for the 225^th plenary session of the sixth legislature to study the following points:

• modification of the programme of activities for the period from January 31 to February 14, 2025; 

• analysis and adoption of the bill amending Law 1/09 of November 13, 2020 on the organisation of public administration; 

• approval of a candidate for the post of governor of Ngozi province; 

• analysis and adoption of the bill on the 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.

The session was chaired by the Right Honourable Emmanuel SINZOHAGERA, Speaker of the Senate. This session, which was attended by 27 senators and two Government Representatives, namely, Mr. Martin NITERETSE, Minister of Home Affairs, Community Development and Public Security and Ir. Ibrahim UWIZEYE, Minister of Hydraulics, Energy and Mines, began as usual with a prayer at 10 a.m.

After welcoming the august assembly, the Senate Speaker then presented the amended programme of activities which were planned for the period from January 31 to February 14, 2025 and the latter was adopted unanimously.

The session continued with a word of welcome addressed to the first guest and the floor was given to him to present the preamble of the first bill under analysis. In his presentation, the government representative said that Burundi, based on the revised National Development Plan (NDP), is undertaking structural reforms of public administration in order to be effectively emerging in 2040 and developed in 2060, adding that this is materialized by its desire to implement the principle of decentralization resulting in the transfer of skills and management autonomy to local territorial entities in order to approach services to the population. 

Thus, Martin NITERETSE specifies that, in terms of innovations, the present bill adapts perfectly to the state structures in place and lays the foundations for the development of a provincial structure as a decentralized structure. It will also allow the updating of law no. 1/09 of March 17, 2005 distinguishing political and technical functions, which, without this, had fallen into anachronism.

After the preamble and the presentation of the report of the referred committee, the floor was given to the Honourable senators so that they could express themselves under the general debate and ask questions for clarification. To the question to know if the Ministry had already thought about the handover and resumption of the outgoing administrators with the incoming administrators, given that the new municipality is the result of the merger of two or three former municipal entities, the government representative responded to this concern of the people representatives by reassuring them that preparations are underway. All the equipment and heritage of the municipalities have already been inventoried and a handover and resumption sheet has been designed and set up, he said.

As for the population who used to entrust their disputes to the Governor of the province, the people representatives wanted to know how such cases will be managed. To this question, the Minister explained that all cases of conflicts will be handled at the level of the basic authority (village chief or zone chief). For cases of records which will not be closed at the base, the handling authorities himself will transmit them to the higher hierarchy. After this debate, the bill was put to the vote and was adopted unanimously by the 39 voting senators, including 27 present and 12 proxies.

In a second time, the chairman of the session again invited the same Minister to present the curriculum vitae of the candidate by the name of Major General of Police NDARUZANIYE Léonidas proposed for the post of Governor of Ngozi province for approval.

Here is the table of results after the vote:

The third point of the agenda began with a word of welcome to Minister Ir. Ibrahim UWIZEYE, followed by his preamble of the second bill under analysis.

In his preamble, the Minister delegated by the government indicated that the purpose of the agreement is to facilitate the movement of nationals of both parties and to promote the exchange of official delegations. The said agreement provides for a system of simplification of travel formalities for citizens of Burundi and nationals of Zambia holding diplomatic passports.

Ultimately, the signing of the said agreement will facilitate high-level exchanges which contribute to further strengthening diplomatic relations and cooperation between the two countries in accordance with the principle of equality and reciprocity. The agreement also opens the way to economic, commercial and tourist opportunities, thus promoting contacts between Burundians and Zambians, the Minister said.

Regarding the general debate, a recommendation asking the Government to negotiate agreements aimed at exempting visas for holders of ordinary passports was issued. After this recommendation, the bill was put to the vote and was adopted unanimously by the 39 votes cast. The session, which took place in a climate of perfect understanding, was closed at 12:40 p.m. with a prayer.