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RegionWeek Newsletter Vol VI, Issue #213 | Thursday, June 16, 2022
BURUNDI IN THE HEADLINES
The Council of Ministers met on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at the presidential place Ntare House in Bujumbura. It was headed by President Evariste Ndayishimiye and seven points were on the agenda including the draft organic law on the delimitation of the provinces, communes, zones, hills, and districts of the Republic of Burundi. The draft law amending law Nᵒ1/28 of August 23, 2006, on the general status of civil servants; the draft decree on the classification and rating of jobs in the Burundian public administration, was also on the menu.
The education sector in Burundi is faced with several challenges, mainly: financing, adequacy of training and employment, management of the flow of pupils and students, organization of curricula in the face of the employability of graduates of the Burundian education system, management of the school and the lack of academic infrastructure. This was highlighted by participants to the states-general of education 2022 edition, taking place in Bujumbura from 14 to 16 June under the theme: "Building an efficient education system for a better future in Burundi"
On Wednesday, June 15, 2022, the National Assembly met in a plenary session and passed a resolution approving a bill to sign a $ 400 million aid package from the United States of America. Amb. Albert Shingiro, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation on behalf of the Government of Burundi, said that the aid would not be reimbursed to the Government and would be used in the field of education, human health, and human development. The fund will also help fight malnutrition, maintain peace, strengthen the fight against corruption, increase agricultural productivity, protect the environment, and more.
Bujumbura hosted from June 14 to 15, 2022 a regional round table on peace and security of the member countries of the international conference of the countries of the great lakes. The discussions focused on the promotion of peace education and mediation. Participants noted that despite the efforts made, the presence of negative forces, terrorist groups, the lack of judicial cooperation between certain countries which refuse the surrender of criminals, the porosity of borders, the illicit and illegal exploitation and trade in natural resources, unemployment, refugee repatriation challenges, cross-border crimes, and poverty are among the elements destabilizing peace and security in the Great Lakes region. According to Ambassador Ntahiraja, National Coordinator of the ICGLR National Coordination Mechanism, the problem of the armed groups which abound in the East of the DRC, is a challenge not only for the DRC but also a regional problem. “What is more important is that there is a firm determination of the heads of institutions at different levels for the stability of the Great Lakes region. Where there is the will, there are the means” he said
IN THE REGION
The first flight of asylum seekers from the United Kingdom which was to take off on Tuesday, June 14 to Rwanda has been canceled by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The plane was suspended by the European Court of Human Rights minutes before departure. UK Government Home Secretary Priti Patel said no one would discourage them from doing the right thing and implementing their plans to control the country's borders. She added that the preparation for the next flight is starting. The Rwandan government says it is undeterred by the cancellation of a flight and remains committed to this partnership. “We are not discouraged by these developments. Rwanda remains fully committed to working to make this partnership work,” Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said.
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Fabrice Iranzi, Editor in Chief | RegionWeek.com