Politics

Burundi launches much-awaited demographic census

Published

3 months ago

September 4, 2024

Burundi’s National Census of the Population, Housing, Agriculture, and Livestock has begun as President Evariste Ndayishimiye urged citizens to provide accurate information to aid in project development.

The president of state urged Burundians and foreigners living in Burundi to be counted and to be truthful with information.

“Everyone must know that this census is important for the country and the population. Based on this census, we will be able to get the right state of the country, and its economic situation, and enable us to make good project plans, because it is difficult to plan for the future without knowing the current situation. I call on residents of Burundi to respond truthfully and honestly in the questionnaire because wrong information may hinder project planning,” the President said.

Census personnel, supervised by the president of the Central Bureau of the Census, Nicolas Ndayishimiye, registered President Ndayishimiye and his family at their home on Mt Vugizo in Bujumbura’s Kiriri Quarter.

Vice-President Prosper Bazombanza and his family also participated in the exercise on Monday, and he echoed the President’s message, adding that accurate data would aid in the design of education and other social services.

However, this year’s count has presented complications, with enumerators reporting difficulty locating certain residents due to abandoned homesteads.

The agents are also dealing with travel and accommodation issues as a result of delays in the disbursement of their allowances, and many have had to walk great distances during the day to reach residential neighbourhoods.

In a news briefing last week, Central Bureau of Census Director Nicolas Ndayishimiye stated that the government has set aside BIF66 billion ($22.85 million) to fund the activities, with the World Bank pledging an additional $6.5 million.

Burundi’s last population and housing census was done in 2008. The ongoing exercise is scheduled to end on September 15.

Since its independence in 1962, Burundi has undertaken three censuses: in 1979, 1990, and 2008. The country now has five provinces: Gitega, the political capital; Bujumbura, the economic capital; and Butanyera, Buhumuza, and Burunga.

Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

4 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

Politics

Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.