Burundi winds up the 2020 electoral process this Monday
RegionWeek Newsletter Vol III, Issue #108 | Monday, August 24, 2020
This is a new version of RegionWeek Newsletter for the 3rd season( July-December 2020). The content targets Business leaders, Decision-makers, and Young professionals with interests in Burundi and East Africa. Subscribe to stay productive, and competitive in a pandemic and disrupted season.
Dear RegionWeek Readers,
It is a great joy, to have once again this privilege to put together this Weekday briefing on Burundi and East Africa, Welcome!
BURUNDI IN THE HEADLINES
Burundi 2020 Electoral process is almost at the end, after the presidential, legislative and municipal elections, the last scheduled elections are for grassroots leaders on hill level and will take place this Monday, August 24.
For each hill, the voters are required to choose three names among candidates, each ballot paper with less than three names will be considered as null.
Burundi's administrative organization has three main levels. The Province which itself includes municipalities. The smallest subdivision in Burundi is the colline (literally "hill") of which there are 2,638 in the country.
Meanwhile, confirmed cases in Burundi have risen from 426 to 429. An increase of 3 cases. There have been no additional confirmed fatalities in Burundi since the last update.
New cases confirmed: 3 (+ 0.70% daily cases increase)
Recovered: 336
Deaths: 1
Total cases in Burundi confirmed :429
Total tests: 22,093
Human Rights
Over 40 Human Rights organizations from East Africa, South Africa, and European civil society organizations announced in a letter sent to the UN, that they want the mandate of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi on Human Rights man to be renewed.
“Even though there was an encouraging speech from President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who spoke of reconciliation, it is believed that it would be premature to end the commission of inquiry as there is no concrete progress in Burundi". Said Nicolas Augustino the Representative to the UN for Defend Defenders.
Activists want the commission's mandate to be extended for another year to document the situation after the May 2020 elections.
IN THE REGION
In Kenya, Students and the education system is paying a heavy price for COVID-19 According to AFP. The government announced in July that schools would not reopen until January and that the 2020 school year was considered "lost."Examinations have been canceled, and the estimated 15 million elementary and secondary school students will resume next year in the same class as this year. In Kenya, the school year runs from January to October.
Schools and educational staff are also severely affected. The private sector, which brings together 2.3 million primary school pupils, is the most affected. Without their main source of income, tuition fees, some private schools struggle to pay their bills and their staff.
East Africa Community
The EAC Secretariat with the assistance of Trademark East Africa (TMEA) has finalized the development of the EAC Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System (RECDTS) as mandated by the Joint Ministerial Meeting of Ministers responsible for Health, Trade and EAC Affairs in their Video Conference in March 2020.
The EAC Regional Electronic Cargo and Driver Tracking System will be launched in Namanga on the Tanzania/Kenya border on 28th August 2020 as well as Kabanga/Kobero border (Tanzania and Burundi) on 31st August 2020.
The tracking system is expected to be the key to the region’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After installation, users are to share their Covid-19 test results on the platform for easy information exchange along the Central and Northern corridors.
The system will subsequently pass on the results using already existing systems used by the national revenue and health authorities in the region.
Thanks for reading,
Fabrice Iranzi, RegionWeek.com
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