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Bujumbura-Burundi.
BURUNDI - NEGOTIATIONS.
PRESIDENT MUSEVENI, CHAIRMAN OF REGIONAL INITIATIVE ON BURUNDI, REJECTED BY PALIPEHUTU-FNL.
BUJUMBURA, OCTOBER 2, 2000 (NET PRESS). IN A PRESS COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY PALIPEHUTU-FNL CHAIRMAN, MR. COSSAN KABURA, THIS MOVEMENT PUBLISHED ITS POSITION VIS A VIS THE 28 AUGUST 2000 ARUSHA ACCORD.
IT PARTICULARLY BLAMES THE UGANDA HEAD OF STATE, MR. YOWERI K. MUSEVENI, CHAIRMAN OF THE REGIONAL
INITIATIVE ON BURUNDI, AND PRESIDENT KAGAME OF RWANDA, ACCUSED BOTH OF BEING "JUDGE AND PARTY IN BURUNDI".
PALIPEHUTU CONSIDERS "THE ACCORD ON PEACE AND RECONCILIATION" AS THE "RESULT OF A NATIONAL DEBATE WHICH IN ESSENCE CAN NOT BRING ABOUT PEACE IN BURUNDI" BECAUSE IT HAS "PARADOXICALLY EXCLUDED ONE OF THE PARTIES TO THE BURUNDI CONFLICT". ACCORDING TO MR. COSSAN KABURA, HIS PARTY EXCLUSION IS "PARTLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT TALKS WERE SUPERVISED BY LEADERS WHO ARE NOT ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CRISIS OF THE GREAT LAKES REGION, BUT WHO ALSO ARE FIGHTING ALONG SIDE THE BURUNDI GOVERNMENT". HE DID EVEN POINT HIS FINGER AT PRESIDENTS MUSEVENI AND KAGAME.
PALIPEHUTU-FNL BELIEVES ALSO THAT IT WAS EXCLUDED FROM NEGOTIATIONS BECAUSE OF THE "PARTIALITY OF SOME MEMBERS OF THE FACILITATION TEAM BOTH UNDER THE FORMER MEDIATOR JULIUS NYERERE AND FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA".
PALIPEHUTU-FNL IS ALSO HOLDING CERTAIN POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS BEING KEPT AWAY SUCH AS "THOSE THAT HAVE SIGNED A CEASE-FIRE IN JULY 1998 WHILE THEY WERE NOT FIGHTING". THE MOVEMENT OF COSSAN KABURA FINALLY DECLARED THAT IT IS READY TO ENTER "POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS" ALTHOUGH ITS PRESENCE AT THE NAIROBI SUMMIT OF 20 SEPTEMBER 2000, "THAT CONSTITUTES A AMPLE PROOF OF ITS COMMITMENT TO THE PEACE PROCESS, HIT A SNAG BECAUSE OF ILL-WILL BY THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REGIONAL CRISIS" AND POINTED OUT THAT HE HAD BEEN "SURPRISED" BY THE 30-DAY ULTIMATUM GIVEN HIM BY PRESIDENT MUSEVENI "SINCE IT HAD NOT BEEN MENTIONNED DURING THE TETE-A-TETE BETWEEN THE REGIONAL HEADS OF STATE AND THE PALIPEHUTU-FNL DELEGATION". IN MR. COSSAN KABURA OPINION, BARUNDI PEOPLE "WILL HAVE TO WAIT LONGER FOR PEACE IF MUSEVENI, WITH HIS EVIDENT PARTIALITY, IS MANTAINED AS A "KEY-PLAYER" IN BURUNDI". (SEE www.cbinf.com/netpress.bi, RUBRIC "AGORA").
BURUNDI - URBANISM.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY CHEATING IN THE ALLOCATION OF PLOTS ON THE SOROREZO SITE ?
BUJUMBURA, OCTOBER 2, 2000 (NET PRESS). THE ANSWER GIVEN OVER RADIO "UMWIZERO", LAST THURSDAY, BY MS. CHANTAL BARINGUVU, ECOSAT (MEDIUM STANDARD HOUSING AND PLOTS ALLOCATING ENTERPRISE AUTHORITY) MIGHT NOT HAVE CONVINCED CERTAIN BENEFICIARIES WHO DECLARE TO HAVE BEEN INFRINGED ON THEIR RIGHTS DUE TO THE REDUCED DIMENSIONS OF THEIR PLOTS. THEY ADMIT THAT LAYING SERVICES WORKS MAY RESULT IN THE REDUCTION OR THE INCREASE OF PLOTS, BUT THEY NOTICED THAT THE 1st LAYING SERVICES PLAN TO WHICH REFERENCE WAS DONE WHEN THEY WERE ASKED TO PAY FOR THE PLOTS WAS MUCH DIFFERENT FROM THE NEW ONE USED BY CLERKS OF WORKS THAT SHOWS THAT OTHER PLOTS HAVE BEEN SQUIZED INTO. THE QUESTION ARISING IS : WHO ARE THOSE NEW BENEFICIARIES ? THEY DO NOT KNOW, BUT WHAT IS OBVIOUS IS OTHER PLOTS HAVE BEEN CREATED IN SOME PLACES. A ROAD NOT PLANNED PREVIOUSLY WAS LAID SO AS TO LAY SERVICES IN THOSE "UNPROVIDED PLOTS " THAT ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO SPARK A MERCILESS "WAR" AMONGST BENEFICIARIES.
"NET PRESS" CONTACTED ECOSAT DIRECTOR GENERAL, MS. BARINGUVU WHO GAVE SOME CLARIFICATIONS. ACCORDING TO HER, BOTH ECOSAT AND COMPETENT URBAN SERVICES HAVE NOT ALLOCATED NEW PLOTS TO NEW BENEFICIARIES ON SOROREZO SITE AND GVT FIELD MONITORING OFFICIALS HAVE NOT REGISTERED NEW BENEFICIARIES NEITHER. THE DIRECTOR GENERAL SAID THAT SHE WAS ON THE FIELD ON MONDAY MORNING AND THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO SEE THE STATE OF PROGRESS OF THE WORK SO FAR MADE THAT IS QUITE NORMAL. AS FAR AS THE PLOTS AND THE ROAD WERE CONCERNED, IT WAS NOT AN INITIATIVE TAKEN OF THE GVT FIELD MONITORING OFFICIALS, BUT THAT THE DECISION REACHED BY HER SERVICES AND IMPLEMENTED ON THE SPOT. MS. BARINGUVU EXPLAINED THAT IN THE PROCESS OF LAYING SERVICES, SEVERAL ADDITIONNAL PLOTS MIGHT BE CREATED TAKING INTO ACCOUNT BOUNDARY MARKING AND THEY AMOUNT NOW TO 6 WHILE THEY WERE INITIALLY EXPECTED TO TOTAL 7. THEY HAVE NOT YET BEEN ALLOCATED AND AS SHE PUTS IT, THEY WERE INITIALLY PLANNED TO COMPENSATE THOSE THAT MIGHT PROBABLY BE SUPPRESSED ON THE PERIPHERAL AREAS OF THE SITE DUE TO THE UNEVEN RELIEF STRUCTURE.
AS FOR REDUCED PLOTS, ECOSAT DIRECTOR GENERAL SAID THAT, DUE TO THE EXISTENCE OF NEW ONES RECENTLY CREATED, SHE WAS QUESTIONNING THE VALIDITY OF THAT NEW PLAN MUCH SPOKEN ABOUT BY CERTAIN BENEFICIARIES. IN HER OPINION, IT IS A WORKING DOCUMENT, A KIND OF DRAFT OR MINUTE WHICH HAS UNFORTUNATELY BEEN UNOFFICIALLY TAKEN FROM THE SITE. THE FIGURES REFLECTED ON IT ARE YET TO BE FINALIZED. EVERY THING SHALL BE DONE SO AS THE DIMENSIONS OF THE PLOTS ARE MAINTAINED, AND FURTHERMORE, THE ECOSAT IS NOT INTERESTED IN PAYING MONEY BACK TO THE BENEFICIARIES FOR REDUCED DIMENSIONS OF THEIR PLOTS. ECOSAT DIRECTOR GENERAL TOLD "NET PRESS" THAT, THEREFORE, THERE SHOULD BE NO WORRY OVER THE PLOTS, SINCE BOUNDARY MARKING IS YET TO BE DONE AND THE LAYING SERVICES PLAN WAS AN UNOFFICIAL ONE STOLEN FROM THE SITE JUST USED TO LAY THE ROAD AND A FEW PLOTS, AN INTERNAL DOCUMENT INDEED TO WHICH BENEFICIARIES SHOULD NOT NORMALLY HAVE ACCESS. FINALLY, ECOSAT DIRECTOR GENERAL BELIEVES THAT THE BENEFICIARIES WHO ARE ATTACKING HER SERVICES HAVE NOT WELCOMED THE PROCESS OF LAYING NEW PLOTS ON THAT SITE BECAUSE THEY MIGHT HAVE SETTLED THERE STRAIGHTAWAY AND INCREASED THEIR DIMENSIONS TO 3 OR 4 ACRES IF ECOSAT HAD NOT DONE SO NOW.
BURUNDI - THEFT.
A THIEF KILLED IN BUJUMBURA CENTRAL MARKET PLACE.
BUJUMBURA, OCTOBER 2, 2000 (NET PRESS). A THIEF WAS KILLED IN BUJUMBURA CENTRAL MARKET THIS AFTERNOON AT 15 O'CLOCK WHILE HE WAS PASSING BY IN QUARTER IV OF THAT MARKET (WHOLESALE DEALERS) AND STABBED IN THE HEAD WITH BIG SCISSORS BY PEOPLE UNIDENTIFIED. THE MAN DIED IMMEDIATELY AND ALL PEOPLE MET IN THE MARKET ARE UNANIMOUS TO SAY THAT HE WAS WELL KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE MARKET PLACE AS A THIEF, BUT HAVE NOT YET DISCLOSED THE NAMES OF THE MURDERERS. THE POLICE HAVE ARRESTED ALL THE WOMEN INVOLVED IN WHOLESALE ACTIVITIES FOUND THERE FOR INVESTIGATIONS.
BURUNDI - ADMINISTRATION.
MS. MATRONE BANGIRINAMA HAS REACTED ON HER COLLEAGUE'S ALLEGATIONS, MR. GERARD BIZIMANA.
BUJUMBURA, OCTOBER 2, 2000 (NET PRESS). MS. MATRONE BANGIRINAMA, ADVISOR TO THE CABINET OF PLANNING MINISTER, FOLLOWING DECLARATIONS OF MR. GERARD BIZIMANA, NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR PLANNING IN THE SAME PLANNING MINISTRY, REACTED THIS MORNING OVER HIS STATEMENT WRITTEN IN "NET PRESS" RELEASE OF SEPTEMBER 22, 2000 ABOUT TWO COMPUTERS THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED WHEN MS. MATRONNE BANGIRINAMA WAS HEAD OF THE PROJECT "SUPPORT TO NATIONAL POPULATION POLICY".
MS. BANGIRINAMA AFFIRMS NOT TO HAVE EVER PREVIOUSLY BEEN NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE PROJECT "SUPPORT TO POPULATION NATIONAL POLICY (PNP) OR FORMER UPP (UNIT OF POPULATION PLANNING). SHE USED TO BE COORDINATOR OF THAT PROJECT FOR 2 YEARS FOLLOWING A PROPOSAL MADE BY THE THEN NATIONAL DIRECTOR. AS FOR HER MANAGING ROLE, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN STEALING OF 2 COMPUTERS. IN HER OPINION, AS THEFT IS A PENAL OFFENCE FOR WHICH PROCEEDINGS ARE DONE PRIMARLY BY THE PROSECUTOR'S SERVICES, MR. GERARD BIZIMANA, IN HIS CAPACITY OF PROJECT NATIONAL DIRECTOR, SHOULD HAVE INITIATED A PENAL PROCEDURE. SHE FINALLY SAYS THAT THE PRESENT CASE "IS DISHONNEST AND FORGERY, ORCHESTRATED BY MR. BIZIMANA TO JUSTIFY HIS DISMISSAL. THIS AFFAIR IS INDEED BEING HANDLED BY THE JUDICIARY UNDER REFERENCE RP 12761 FOR SLANDEROUS DENOUNCIATION" AGAINST HER.
AS FOR THE COMPUTERS MENTIONNED BY MR. BIZIMANA, THEY ARE A PRIVATE PROPERTY OF ONE ILO OFFICIAL AS TESTIFIED IN AN AUGUST 3, 2000 LETTER SENT BY THAT PERSON TO THE ONE ASKED TO KEEP THEM UNTIL HIS RETURN TO BUJUMBURA TO AVOID EXCESS WEIGHT. THAT ILO OFFICIAL DID REGRET THE ACCUSATIONS OF THEFT PRONOUNCED AGAINST MS. BANGIRINAMA AND REQUESTED THAT ALL CLARIFICATIONS BE DONE TO AVOID "UNJUSTIFIED MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN GERARD AND MATRONNE". THE MINISTER FOR PLANNING HAS NEVER HAD MR. GERARD BIZIMANA OFFICE LOCKS CHANGED. AND, AS FAR AS MS. BANGIRINAMA KNOWS, THE ONLY OFFICE WHERE LOCKS WERE CHANGED IS THE SECRETARY OFFICE OF THE PNP PROJECT FOLLOWING HER INSTRUCTIONS FOR OFFICIAL REASONS, AND THIS IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM MR. BIZIMANA'S OFFICE.