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DRC: Can Burundi be a strong partner?

Omar Lucien Koffi

The President of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, concludes his visit to the DRC on Wednesday, July 14. Yesterday, he met his counterpart Félix Tshisekedi. The two heads of state discussed several subjects.

In Kinshasa, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, received his Burundian counterpart Evariste Ndayishimiye. The Burundian head of state was accompanied by his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Albert Shingiro. Within the Burundian delegation was also Alain Tribert, the Minister of Cooperation and Development. Tshisekedi and Ndayishimiye raised three topics.

In the first place, the integration of the DRC into the East African Community (EAC), one of the objectives of Tshisekedi which is undoubtedly seeking to expand its network. The modalities of the entry of the DRC within the EAC will depend on the will of the diplomacy of the countries of the organization. However, apart from Uganda and Rwanda, the other countries are more or less going it alone.

Second, the two heads of state signed a protocol for the development of a standard gauge railway (SGR). This project will link Kindu, in eastern DRC, to the economic capital of Burundi, Bujumbura. For Tshisekedi, the SGR is part of an infrastructure development trend in eastern DRC, in order to boost the economy. Such a project will involve joint efforts of the four border countries to ensure border security along the Kivu.

The third subject addressed by the two presidents was, moreover, security. The eastern border of the DRC is perpetually under threat from armed, terrorist and insurgent groups. It is therefore a quadripartite union that Tshisekedi seeks to establish, but what role will Burundi play in this alliance?

Evariste Ndayishimiye and his mixed year

The country is exposed to serious crime. Armed groups murder dignitaries and kidnap villagers there. However, for the Burundian opposition, insecurity falls on Ndayishimiye. For his first opponent, Agathon Rwasa, president of the National Congress for Freedom (CNL), the president does… nothing. He said in June: “The state does not guarantee the security of citizens. The president has done nothing after a year in office. He said himself that he has not achieved anything and that he is still organizing his teams ”. Before ironing: "It is not I who will contradict him".

For activist and economist Faustin Ndikumana, Burundi would be abandoned by the international community, but the state seems rather apathetic. According to the economist, “the debt explodes with 60% of the GDP. Official development assistance is frozen and the rural cooperation plan is still not operational. The economic results of this first year (of Ndayishimiye's mandate, editor's note) are hypothetical, mixed ”.

A diplomatic union within the EAC

At the diplomatic level, however, Ndayishimiye can boast a positive record. The Burundian government succeeded in negotiating the lifting of sanctions on Burundi. The chaotic third term of former President Pierre Nkurunziza had finished isolating the country. The European Union (EU) has favorably received Burundi's request. The country therefore expects to receive aid from the EU on which it previously depended, to the tune of $ 150 million per year.

In all, Evariste Ndayishimiye made seven trips to Africa during his tenure, without ever leaving the continent. Burundi could therefore represent a credible ally for Tshisekedi. Because with Paul Kagame and Yoweri Museveni as new partners, the head of state of the DRC could already take advantage of a powerful network in the east of his country. A network which, once in action, would mean the creation of a new power in the region. Like Kenya and Tanzania, or the countries of the Horn of Africa, Burundi is in any case a country on which Félix Tshisekedi could well bet.

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