{"id":53844,"date":"2025-04-12T11:32:46","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T11:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/burundian-pm-grilled-over-fuel-shortage\/"},"modified":"2025-04-12T11:32:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T11:32:40","slug":"burundian-pm-grilled-over-fuel-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/burundian-pm-grilled-over-fuel-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"Burundian PM grilled over fuel shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Burundi\u2019s economy has been in a prolonged crisis, with officials repeatedly citing a shortage of U.S. dollars as the main reason behind the fuel scarcity, as petroleum products are imported using foreign currency.<\/p>\n

On April 10, 2025, Ndirakobuca appeared before Parliament to present how the government had implemented the 2024\/2025 national budget. Among the many issues raised by MPs was the persistent fuel crisis and other problems affecting the nation.<\/p>\n

Before diving into explanations, Ndirakobuca said, \u201cFirst, allow me to apologize. But before I do, let me thank all of you who asked these important questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He emphasized that as Prime Minister, his role is to coordinate and prepare government actions, not to speak on behalf of individual ministers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany questions were asked, including those about fuel. But I don\u2019t think the Prime Minister is solely in charge of fuel. I don\u2019t believe there is a particular issue he is more responsible for than others. This is a concern for all Burundians, and as such, it is also a concern for the Prime Minister,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Last year, President \u00c9variste Ndayishimiye had announced that a ship carrying fuel was en route to Burundi, suggesting that a solution was imminent. When asked about this ship, Ndirakobuca admitted he had no information.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you come and ask the Prime Minister, \u2018Do we have any news about the ship, whether it’s here or there?\u2019 I think that would be hard for him to answer, he\u2019s not tracking fuel ships or measuring quantities. I believe the minister in charge of that sector has the experts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ndirakobuca<\/figure>\n

Ndirakobuca also commented on the public expectation that he should always apologize, saying Burundians sometimes take advantage of humility.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t think that I like apologizing just because I do it often. Burundians are difficult, when they see someone kneeling in humility, some want to push it further and say, \u2018Let\u2019s make him kneel again, let him go on apologizing.\u2019 Thank you, and I hope you accept my apologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

G\u00e9lase Daniel Ndabirabe, the President of Burundi\u2019s National Assembly, criticized MPs for questioning the Prime Minister about fuel, arguing that fuel is actually available in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf, as they often claim, there are no foreign currencies in the country, then where do those many fuel-guzzling trucks that fill the roads get their fuel from? Why don\u2019t you ask them? Even now, go out and see, vehicles are everywhere, trucks are moving. Fuel is stocked in people\u2019s homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ndabirabe added that while the Central Bank may lack foreign currency reserves, individuals are holding it privately.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that there\u2019s no foreign currency in the country, it\u2019s just not in the central bank, it\u2019s in people\u2019s pockets. And those who keep crying \u2018shortage\u2019 are trying to mislead the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"G\u00e9lase<\/figure>\n
\"Burundi\u2019s<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Burundi\u2019s Prime Minister, Gervais Ndirakobuca, failed to provide a clear explanation for the ongoing fuel shortage in the country when questioned by members of Parliament. During the session, he apologized to lawmakers and attempted to clarify the government’s position, but ultimately left the central issue unresolved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":2000085513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-53844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000085513,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-556.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-556.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-556.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-556.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-556.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-556.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000085513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53844"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=53844"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=53844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}