From left to right: Zarir Meurat, Cordaid Representative in Burundi, Venant Ntakimazi, Director General of the Ministry of Justice, and Jean Pierre Hakizimana, the Coordinator of ACJB.
A study commissioned by the Association of Burundi Catholic Lawyers (ACJB) has concluded that, based on the analysis of 2016 budget, the Ministry of Justice receives a share that does not reflect the importance of the institution.
“The overall assessment is that the Ministry of Justice receives an insufficient budget if one considers the needs the ministry has to satisfy”, says Michel Masabo who has carried out the analysis.
Consequently, the access to justice for all is hampered due to the lack of qualified human resources, the decaying and insufficiency of infrastructure and equipment.
The slowness or failure of sentences execution is the most frequent consequence. The study found out that few to no sentences have been executed in different courts of appeal in 2016. For instance, Bujumbura court of appeal, that has the highest average of sentence execution, treated a monthly average of 99.6 cases but executed only 10.7. The courts of appeal of Bururi and Ngozi treated respective monthly averages of 33.5 and 72.66 but executed none.
Venant Ntakimazi, Director General of Justice, says financial means allocated to the ministry is not sufficient due to current national financial conditions. He says that “there are action plans that we fail to carry out because of the lack of funds”. However, he is optimistic that in the future, the government will be able to provide the ministry with the budget it deserves.
The Minister of Justice, Aimée Laurentine Kanyana, also said that despite satisfactory achievements of the ministry she presides, “budget constraints handicapped some actions” in 2016.
The study, that was presented this Wednesday, was carried out in partnership with Cordaid NGO. Zarir Meurat, the representative of Cordaid in Burundi says the organisation he represents collaborates with ACJB because part of its mission is to help ensure access to justice for all citizens.
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