Burundi economy on the path to recovery

By Joseph Batte
The mainstay of the Burundi economy is agriculture. The sector supports more than 90% of the labour force. However, the civil war, over-population and soil erosion have led to the reduction of subsistence economy by 25%. Large numbers of internally displaced people were unable to produce their own food and had to depend on international humanitarian aid, yet Burundi is potentially self-sufficient in food production with capacity to produce enough for export to neighboring countries.

The main cash crop is coffee. It is the largest state-owned enterprise. In recent years, the Government has tried to attract private investment to this sector, with some success. Other principal exports include tea and cotton. Burundi is also the largest banana market in Africa.

A man binding paper at a printing press in Bujumbura

Unfortunately just like Ugandan and all other coffee-producing countries in the world, the over-dependence on coffee exports increased vulnerability to seasonal yields and the often fluctuating international prices. According to reports, commercial coffee production fell from 38,174 tons during the 2004-2005 crop year to a minimal 6,300 tons in 2005-2006, a decline of 83.5%. The slump in production was attributed to poor climatic conditions.

It is only the production of tea that remained stable, rising from 38,161 tons to 39,267 tons in the same period. Burundi also boasts of potential wealth in petroleum, nickel, copper and other minerals being explored, but little industry exists except the processing of agricultural exports.

Industrial development is hampered by Burundi’s distance from the sea and high transport costs. In this context, Lake Tanganyika remains an important trading point. In an attempt to repair the damagethat was caused by the 11-year civil war, the government started a two-year economic reform programme which is supported by the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). The programme was designed to ensure macro-economic adjustment and stabilisation with the implementation of structural reforms aimed at reducing poverty.

The economic reforms include the public finance sector, monetary and exchange policy as well as structural reforms, notably a coffee sector reform. It also entails the privatisation programme, transparency and good governance.

The democratic institutions that were established in August 2005 and helped consolidate the peace process, enhanced the implementation of strategic macro-economic and structural reforms and saw the country being allowed to join the East African community after waiting for 10 years.

This will offer great hope to the country because the EAC is currently moving towards a political and economic union. The region will realise and sustain their development goals easily now that the countries have come together. If the process is given public blessing, EAC will become a common market in 2008, introduce a common currency and become a federation in 2010. Burundi budget for 2006 was made with hope that there will be significant improvement in the economy and the public finance sector.

And the signs are already there. Roads and other infrastructure are being repaired. Shops in Bujumbura are filled with luxurious goods. Brand new cars ply the streets of Bujumbura. The Burundi franc has slowly appreciated against the currencies of Burundi’s trading partners that include Uganda.

Attracted by the a strong Burundi Franc, Ugandan companies like Roofings Limited, Picfare, Mukwano, are already selling their products in the country and have set up offices to co-ordinate their businesses. All this is a good indicator that Burundi’s economy is on straight path to recovery.

The Burundi fact file

By Joseph Batte
After years of knocking on the door to be admitted in the East African Community (EAC), Burundi together with Rwanda, were finally let in last year, bringing the population of the bloc to 120 million people. Unfortunately, although Uganda harbours a fairly large community of Burundians, very few Ugandans know where it is located let alone how to get there. Below is a brief fact file on Burundi:

Country Name: The Republic of Burundi
Geographical location: The landlocked country is located in central Africa, bounded by Rwanda in the north, Tanzania to the east and south and the vast Democratic Republic of Congo to the west. It is one of the smallest states on the African continent. It covers 27,834 square kilometres (10,747 square miles). Population: The country has 7.1 million people, of whom around 85% are Hutu and 14% Tutsi. The remaining one per cent of the population are pygmies called Twas. Burundi is one of the most densely-populated African countries.

Capital city: Bujumbura and it has a population of 300,000 people.
Languages: Kirundi is the national language, French the administrative language and Swahili is mostly spoken around the shores of Lake Tanganyika and in Bujumbura. A few people speak smattering English, especially in the capital, Bujumbura.
Although Burundi has no coastline as such, the south-west of the country, including the capital Bujumbura, does have access to Lake Tanganyika; the second deepest freshwater lake in the world. Religion: Most Burundians are Christians (70%); 15% Muslims and the other beliefs share the remaining 15%. History: Burundi existed as an independent kingdom for several centuries before becoming part of German East Africa colony in 1899. After the First World War, it became a Belgian-run territory of ‘Ruanda-Urundi’, with neighbouring Rwanda, under the League of Nations mandate. Burundi gained independence on July 1, 1962, first as a kingdom before becoming a republic in 1966.
Inter-ethnic massacres have occurred periodically throughout Burundi’s post-colonial history, notably in 1972 when around 200,000 people were killed and again in 1988 when between 5,000 and 50,000 were killed. A civil war which begun in 1993 has killed another estimated 300,000 people.

HERE IT IS: Locating Bujumbura on the Burundi sculpture map.

Physical features
Burundi is very mountainous, with a western range of mountains running north and south and continuing into Rwanda. The only land below 3,000 feet is a narrow strip of plain along the Ruzizi River which forms the western border north of Lake Tanganyika. From the mountains eastwards, the land declines gradually, dropping to about 4,500 feet toward the south-eastern and southern border. The average elevation of the central plateau is 5,600 feet.

Economic resources
Burundi is an agricultural country, but the years of violence have driven an increasing number of farmers to abandon their gardens. The economy, based mainly on coffee and tea, has suffered greatly as a consequence. The country also has gold deposits and other minerals which have not yet been fully exploited.

Head of State
President Pierre Nkurunziza

Membership to international groupings
The country is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, the Common Market of East and Southern Africa and the EAC.

How to get to Burundi
Two Gaso buses ply the 16-hour Kampala-Kigali-Bujumbura route on a daily basis. In Kampala they begin their journey from the Mukwano shopping Arcade. Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines also fly to Bujumbura on a weekly basis.