World Bank Sends Mission To Burundi

Bujumbura, Burundi - The World Bank's director for the Great Lakes region, Emmanuel Mbi, is due in Bujumbura on 14 February for a five-day working visit to assess the progress of projects financed by the bank in Burundi.
The World Bank is currently funding four socio-economic projects in Burundi worth 101 million dollars.

The Bank's representative in Burundi, Mathurin Gbetibouo, told PANA that the projects include one for supply of drinking water to rural areas at a cost of 32.7 million dollars.

He said the bank was also spending 21.3 million dollars on a population and health project in addition to providing 35 million dollars to Burundi as an emergency and economic recovery credit facility.

The bank also funds a social action project undertaken by a local non-governmental organisation, 'Twitezimbere' to the tune of 12 million dollars.

The visit of the Bank's representative for Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo-Brazzaville, will also focus on the follow-up to the conference of donors for Burundi, held last December in Paris.

Bilateral and multilateral donors at the conference pledged 440 million dollars in aid to Burundi.

Mbi will discuss with the donors' representatives in Burundi "ways of materialising the pledges made in Paris" to help the war- ravaged country undertake reconstruction and humanitarian aid to victims of the civil war which has been raging for almost eight years.

The World Bank official is scheduled to meet with Burundi President Major Pierre Buyoya, National Assembly Speaker Leonce Ngendakumana, and ministers responsible for development planning, reconstruction and public finance.

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