If you have a trip within the country, it would be wise to scan your smartphone before you leave. These days, mountains are collapsing, blocking roads for several hours in certain corners of the country. The situation is worse on the RN3, especially since the companies which ensured its rehabilitation have announced the cessation of activities.
Monday, April 15, I have a work mission in Rumonge. We are scheduled to go there on Sunday, April 14. With our team, we decide to stay in Bujumbura and leave very early in the morning. At 6:30 a.m., we begin our journey, arriving on site at 8 a.m., right on time for the start of our work. Shortly after an hour’s drive, we pass Gitaza. It was raining at that moment, and it was up to my boss to ask us this question that we were all already asking ourselves: “ Are we really going to get to Rumonge? ? »
After another kilometer we reach Kijejete. Surprise ! A long line of vehicles greets us. The untenable Kijejete mountain has once again collapsed onto the road above Lake Tanganyika. Unfortunately, no vehicles pass. Guys improvise to transport travelers on their backs, for a small 1000 thousand Fbu. Fishing boats are also there to shuttle from one side to the other to transport large bags. Travelers in public transport vehicles must go to the other end of the road to take another.
« We’re done. How to get to Rumonge? », murmurs a disgruntled colleague. Our driver didn’t think twice. He turns around. “ With the slowness of Burundian services, we will still be here tomorrow! “. So here we are returning to Bujumbura, to take the RN7 to Mahwa (around 100km), then Bururi (30km) to finally go down to Rumonge (30km). With more than 50km (round trip) Bujumbura-Kijejete, we covered more than 200km. For a journey which normally covers a distance of 72 km, we arrived in Rumonge at 1 p.m. I’ll spare you the hassle of dealing with our delay.
What to do ?
The chances of reestablishing this route are dwindling. The rising waters of Lake Tanganyika strongly threaten the shores of this infrastructure which is already in poor condition. Worse, the rehabilitation work which was carried out by the group of companies SOGEA-SATOM and Getra has just been stopped.
In a correspondence sent to the director general of the Burundi Road Agency (ARB), on April 10, 2024, these two companies announced the cessation of work and the suspension of deadlines from April 11. The reason ? “ The sum of the work carried out and the calculation of the revision of prices and stocks have reached the initial amount of the work “. The ARB is accused of not reacting to the group’s correspondence and of not providing guidance on the approach to follow regarding the continuation of the work. SOGEA-SATOM and GETRA specify that the state of progress of the work in no way guarantees its sustainability and that serious problems will not fail to affect them in a short time, failing to ensure sufficient completion.
During his visit to the site on February 12, Dieudonné Dukundane, minister in charge of infrastructure, announced the suspension of payment of additional costs covered by the government for SOGEA-SATOM. He further clarified that the government was considering discussions with the ADB for the revision of the construction company’s contract or, if necessary, for its termination. The minister indicated that after more than 2 years, the work is progressing very slowly. Only around ten km (Rumonge-Kagongo) has been built.
This means that the rehabilitation of this road and more particularly in more threatened places (Magara-Gitaza) is a dream. Travelers need to get used to traveling more than 150km to reach Bujumbura-Rumonge.
Initiatives to protect the Bujumbura-Rumonge Road are slow to be put in place. We need to find a solution to the landslides in the mountains overlooking Lake Tanganyika. Why not plant trees on these hills? As long as these mountains are not protected, efforts to build the RN3 will go to waste.
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2024-04-22 08:10:21