Nkurunziza announces free maternal healthcare, pay rise for workers

Free maternal healthcare, a 15 percent salary increase for workers in the public service and the setting up of anti-corruption bodies are some of the measures Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in a message to the nation on the eve of Labour Day, marked worldwide on 1 May. "Current salaries do not allow workers to make ends meet," he said in the central province of Gitega in a speech aired nationwide on state-owned Radio Burundi. He said the pay rise, effective 1 July, was coming at a time when the Burundian franc - exchanging at 1,000 to the US dollar - had "dropped dramatically". He added that workers had been unable to pay their rents, meet the cost of healthcare and purchase basic necessities. However, the leader of the Burundi Trade Unions Confederation (Confederation des Syndicats du Burundi), Tharcisse Gahungu, said the salary increase would have little impact on the lives of civil servants. "It is a like a drop of water in the ocean since workers currently have low salaries in the wake of expensive living conditions," Gahungu said. The average pay for a civil servant is US $30; and the country's per capita income is $1 or less per day. Nkurunziza said the pay rise was in line with the increase in production. "For example, income tax income has risen from nine to 11 billion Burundi francs [$9 million to $11 million]," he said. He added that future pay rises would be determined by the rate of increased production. Under healthcare, Nkurunziza announced that child delivery would be free in public hospitals and children aged up to five years would also receive free treatment. In efforts to control the spread of HIV/AIDS, he urged all Burundians to get screened to enable the Ministry of Public Health to come up with a "realistic" treatment plan. A pregnant woman, Jeanne D'arc, said she was pleased with the announcement on free maternity. "I will use the little money I have saved for my delivery to buy milk for my baby, if God protects me during delivery," she said. In a move to fight abuses in areas such as the economy, human rights and environment, Nkurunziza announced that police bodies against corruption, embezzlement and environmental depletion are to be operational soon. "Those who will be found to have embezzled [public resources] will be dismissed from work after repaying the stolen proprieties," he said. "An anti-corruption law has already been promulgated." Regarding the hunger-stricken north and northeast of Burundi, Nkurunziza said farming would be reformed, with irrigation being introduced to counter the effects of long periods of drought. Moreover, he said, the government would provide trainers who would attend to farmers at the grassroots level to ensure more effective farming methods are used. The government has already recruited 3,000 such trainers. On security, Nkurunziza said most of the country was now calm, with even the country's remaining rebel group, the Forces nationales de libération (FNL), agreeing to hold negotiations with the government. "The government is waiting for an invitation to peace talks with that movement," he said. South Africa announced last week it had agreed to facilitate the FNL-Burundian government peace talks. Technical teams are to meet this week in Kampala, Uganda, the country chairing the Great Lakes Regional Initiative for Burundi. The measures Nkurunziza announced on Sunday follow similar measures he has taken since becoming president in August 2005: these include the release of political prisoners and free primary education. He announced the reforms following weeks of criticism by human rights organisation on alleged police violations. The measures also come in the wake of strikes called by teachers and nurses' unions, seeking implementation of salary increase agreements they had signed with the government.