The minister in charge of infrastructure publicly questioned the work of the construction company SOGEA SATOM, following the shortcomings observed in the rehabilitation of the RN3, Rumonge-Gitaza section. He denounces the deterioration of the roads, only a few years after their construction. However, is SOGEA-SATOM the only one at fault?
The Minister in charge of infrastructure, Dieudonné Dukundane, visited the RN3 rehabilitation site, Rumonge-Gitaza section, on Monday February 12, 2024. The rehabilitation of this road is progressing at a snail’s pace. The development and asphalting work is behind schedule. The minister indexes the accumulation of failures has at SOGEA-SATOM.
As a reminder, the rehabilitation work on the RN3, Rumonge-Gitaza section (45Km) was launched in a big way in November 2021 by former Prime Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni. They were financed to the tune of 66 millions d’USD donation from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
We will learn from Minister Dukundane that the initial contract has been revised. For the moment, all stakeholders have come together to build “ 30 km more sustainable » and with an additional 18 billion Fbu from the government of Burundi. But after more than 2 years, the work is progressing very slowly. Only around ten km (Rumonge-Kagongo) has been built. According to the Minister of Infrastructure, at present, SOGEA-SATOM is claiming 18 billion Fbu to cover less than 20km and 11 billion due to the variation in equipment prices. For him, with these parameters, the project will never achieve its results.
Dieudonné Dukundane subsequently suspended payment of additional fees covered by the government. And to specify that the government is considering discussions with the ADB for the revision of the construction company’s contract or, if necessary, for its termination. Mr. Dukundane goes very far in his accusations: “ It turned out that the roads she [SOGEA-SATOM] already built don’t even last 10 years ». As an illustration, he mentions the roads Gitega-Karusi-Muyinga, Bubanza-Ndora and Nyamitanga-Ruhwa which are already in a poor state.
Independent investigations are essential
We must admit it and salute it. It is not the experience of Burundians for a minister to publicly make such a statement. The construction of these roads swallowed up billions of FBu, but in the end they deteriorated after a few years. How can we imagine that a road of great importance like the RN5, connecting 3 countries including Burundi, the DRC and Rwanda, received in 2015has deteriorated since 2019?
If the current minister seems determined in officially accusing the SOGEA-SATOM company, several questions must be asked about the role of the different stakeholders in the construction of these roads. “ Has the government of Burundi not recruited a paid monitoring mission for monitoring, with a view to guaranteeing the proper execution of the work entrusted to SOGEA-SATOM during its 15 years of operation in Burundi? », questions Faustin Ndikumana, national director of PARCEM. He also wonders why did the technical services accept this work when it had shortcomings in terms of quality?
For PARCEM, “ in such corrupt administrations », illicit payments are demanded by the authorities from entrepreneurs who win the markets. “Some authorities see the execution of work by these companies as an opportunity to misappropriate public funds. »
Independent inspections are needed on this situation. Parcem proposes that institutions such as the Court of Auditors, the General State Inspectorate and Parliament carry out independent studies to shed light on this situation.
Did you find this article useful?
2024-02-19 08:52:21