SUMMARY REPORT OF THE PLENARY SESSION OF FEBRUARY 25, 2022 ON THE BILL AMENDING SOME PROVISIONS OF LAW N°1/12 OF MAY 12, 2020 ON THE SOCIAL PROTECTION CODE IN BURUNDI

In the year two thousand and twenty-two, on the twenty-fifth day of February, the senators met in the Senate hemicycle for the 80^th plenary session of the sixth legislature to consider and adopt the bill amending some provisions of Law No. 1/12 of May 12, 2020 on the social protection code in Burundi.

The session was chaired by the Senate Speaker, Right Honourable Emmanuel SINZOHAGERA. This session was attended by 37 senators and a representative of the Government, Mrs. Imelde SABUSHIMIKE, Minister of National Solidarity, Social Affairs, Human Rights and Gender. It began, as usual, with a prayer at 09:28.

Opening the session, the Senate Speaker first welcomed the Honourable senators. Then, he invited the representative of the Government to present the preamble of the bill mentioned above.

In her presentation, the Minister indicated that in his speech of June 18, 2020, during his investiture, His Excellency the President of the Republic expressed the political will to improve the living conditions of retirees in terms of social security whose ultimate objective is to grant a retirement pension equivalent to the last monthly salary of the retiree. In addition, the Minister added that article 27 of the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi provides that “the State ensures, as far as possible, that all citizens have the means to lead a life in keeping with human dignity”. She added that one of the aspects of the social protection system is the pension scheme ensuring the provision of old-age and invalidity benefits and the provision of survivors’ benefits from which affiliates or their dependents fulfilling the conditions required by law may benefit.

However, over the years, it has become apparent that the amount of pensions paid to beneficiaries can no longer guarantee them a decent life in view of the cost of living.

The Representative of the Government explained that, aware of its constitutional obligations to guarantee, to the extent of its possibilities, means liable to ensure a dignified living for those who have devoted a part of their working life to it, the Government expressed a political will to increase, initially, the amount of the old-age pension for civil servants, political or public representatives, agents of the judiciary and executives or agents of the public sector as well as members of the defense and security forces, and apply the same process for the parastatal and private sector in a second phase.

After the Minister’s presentation, the SenateSpeaker gave the floor to the president of the Standing Committee in charge of Social Issues, Youth, Sports and Culture, Honorable Ferdinand NDAYISAVYE to present the report of this referred committee.

At the end of this presentation, senators expressed themselves in the framework of general debate for a better understanding of the content of the bill under consideration.

Upon being asked about the lot of the people who retired before January 2020 with a small salary, the Minister replied that according to the studies carried out and the report given by the Minister of Finance, they will have an addition of 30% of their salary, she explained.

To the concern of the political representatives who will not benefit from the 30% like the others, the Minister indicated that article 9 paragraph 2 shows that there will be a special ministerial order for them.

Regarding the social protection mechanism between the employee and the employer, the Minister explained that social protection will remain the same for all.

At the end of these exchanges, the bill amending some provisions of Law No. 1/12 of May 12, 2020 on the social protection code in Burundi, was submitted to the vote and adopted unanimously by 39 senators, including 37 present and 2 proxies.

Two communications were delivered.

The first was related to Corona Virus screening and the second was about the closing of the December 2021 session which will take place on Monday 28/2/2022.

The session, which took place in a mutual understanding atmosphere, ended with a prayer, at 10.30 a.m.