Burundi names Gitega as new capital

Burundi declared the small central city of Gitega the country’s
new political capital on Saturday, in line with a presidential
promise made a decade ago.

A government spokesman named Gitega while also stating that the
previous capital Bujumbura, on the north-eastern shore of Lake
Tanganyika, would in future function solely as the country’s
economic centre.

The government “has just adopted an historic bill making Gitega
the political capital and making Bujumbura the economic capital,”
tweeted Jean-Claude Karerwa Ndenzako, spokesman for President
Pierre Nkurunziza.

“Cabinet meetings will henceforth be held in Gitega, where five
ministries will also be established from the start of 2019,” he
added, notably the interior, education and agriculture
ministries.

Parliament, dominated by the ruling party, must still approve
the move.

Nkurunziza promised in 2007 the move would go ahead, citing
Gitega’s central position compared to Bujumbura, although the
former’s population is barely 30,000 to Bujumbura’s 1.2
million.

The new choice was once the capital of the Burundian monarchy
and the opposition accuse Nkurunziza of attempting a symbolic
restoration. Bujumbura is today considered an opposition stronghold
where the president spends less and less time.

One activist who requested anonymity said Gitega was not ready
to assume the mantle of capital.

“There are practically no offices to let, few hotels or
restaurants — it’s an irrational decision,” he said of the move
much derided on social media.

“The country is deep in economic crisis and does not have the
means to move and instal five ministries in Gitega.”

In addition, China only recently constructed a $20 million
presidential palace in Bujumbura.

A 2015 announcement by Nkurunziza, re-elected that year and
president since 2005, that he wanted to stand for a third term
sparked huge controversy.

Outbreaks of violence since then have cost at least 1,200 lives
with more than 400,000 people displaced between April 2015 and May
2017, according to the International Criminal Court, which is
investigating the unrest.

(AFP)

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