Government sets up food security fund

The Burundian government has declared famine in five provinces and set up a fund, known as the National Solidarity for Food Security, through which civil servants, private companies and individuals can contribute money to feed hundreds of thousands of people who are facing food shortages. In a presidential decree signed on 17 February, President Pierre Nkurunziza declared famine in the provinces as Muyinga and Cankuzo in the northeast; Ngozi and Kirundo in the north; and Rutana in the southeast. The decree also established the amount of mandatory contributions Burundian citizens must donate to the fund during a period of four months, beginning in March. "The contribution is due to be paid by any person engaged in an income- generating activity in Burundi or outside Burundi and not living in affected areas," the decree stated. According to the decree, senior civil servants - including members of parliament and the president's cabinet - will contribute 8 percent of their monthly salaries. Civil servants earning more than 100,000 Burundian francs (US $100) will contribute 2 percent of their pay, while those whose annual basic salary is equal to or less than $100 will contribute 100 Burundian francs (one US cent) during the four months. Burundian families in provinces not affected by "famine" will also make a one-time contribution of 100 francs each to the fund. Small-scale enterprises are required to contribute $100 each; medium-sized are to give $200; large companies will put in $500. At the same time, Nkurunziza issued another decree to establish an eight-member commission to supervise the management of the food security fund. The commission would be in charge of "determining the nature, the level and the duration of the contribution to national solidarity, as well as modalities of its management and collection", the decree stated. Nkurunziza's spokeswoman, Hafsa Mossi, said on Monday that the contributions would constitute a major effort by Burundians, who are just emerging from more than a decade of civil war. Therefore, she said, the contribution programme would not exceed four months. "Even the four months are a headache and will cause a major deficit among Burundians," she said. "What matters most is the effort of Burundians to contribute." Mossi said famine was declared in the five provinces after an inquiry conducted by administrative officials and NGOs working with the population. Although a private secretary in the Ministry of Solidarity, Beatrice Ntahe, said on Tuesday the government had declared the five provinces famine-stricken because of an acute food shortage, an information officer with the UN World Food Programme in Burundi, Isidore Nteturuye, said the agency had not yet recorded data that could make it call the food shortage a famine. At a news conference in Bujumbura, the capital, last week, Minister of Development Planning Marie-Goreth Nizigama said Burundi would request at least $168 million from the donor community for its emergency programme, which includes aid to drought-hit areas as well. Meanwhile, efforts to provide relief to drought-hit populations have been stepped up across the country. Hundreds of deaths have been recorded in the affected areas since late 2005. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 30 percent of the drought-affected people need urgent food aid. A member of the National Committee for the Coordination of Aid, Ernest Manirunmva, said on Monday that facilities had been set up in the central province of Muramvya since February, to store food contributions from the local population, which is not yet affected by drought. He said nearly 40 tonnes of food - comprising beans and maize - had been collected so far. Thirty million francs ($30,000) had also been collected in the province and in Bujumbura. He said the donations were in response to an earlier appeal for national solidarity to help drought-affected people. Funds were also collected under the same initiative in 2005 for drought-affected populations of northern Kirundo, Ngozi and Muyinga provinces. On Sunday, during an extraordinary congress for the ruling CNDD-FDD, party leader Hussein Rajab pledged that the party would release $15,000 to support the famine-stricken provinces. Rajab's pledge was in response to a call by Nkurunziza for his party's support to drought-stricken people. The drought in Burundi has now extended to other provinces, including Ruyigi and Cankuzo in the east. Thousands of people have fled to neighbouring Rwanda and Tanzania, and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has reported a drop in repatriations to Burundi in recent weeks due to the prevailing drought.