“We are worried about the way the ongoing contributions to the 2020 elections are being collected,” said Bishop Joachim Ntahondereye, the chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi (CECAB)
“Some people are abused, forced to contribute twice, even three times whereas they live in poverty,” he said.
Joachim Ntahondereye: “If we have to offer a financial contribution, we do it as a family through the diocesan bishop.”
Ntahondereye suggests that the government determine the amount needed to organize these elections before collecting money. “We find that it would be better if people in charge of coordinating the collection of this contribution start by determining the necessary amount to be collected and publish regularly the sum already collected, “said Ntahondereye adding that this will allow everyone to pay their contribution according to their means and considering the step already taken.
CECAB demands institutions responsible for collecting the contributions not to oblige all the institutions belonging to the Catholic Church namely parishes, religious communities, health centers, schools, orphanages, and hospitals for the disabled or elderly to pay individually contributions. “If we have to offer a financial contribution, we do it as a family through the diocesan bishop,” says Ntahondereye.
Minister of Home Affairs, Pascal Barandagiye says the amount of money needed to hold the 2020 elections is not yet fixed. “Technicians from the Ministry of Finance are working to reveal the amount,” says Barandagiye. He indicates that the Ministerial Ordinance setting the contributions for the 2020 elections specifies that if the necessary amount is collected, people will no longer continue to pay the contributions.
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