2022 Fiscal Transparency Report: Burundi

Government-by-Government Assessments: Burundi

During the review period, the government published its enacted budget and end-of-year budget report within a reasonable period.  It did not make an executive budget proposal publicly available.  The government provided a substantially complete picture of its planned expenditures and revenue streams in publicly available budget documents, including information on financial allocations to and earnings from major state-owned enterprises.  Information on debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt, was not publicly available, timely, or comprehensive.  Natural resource revenues were not included in the budget.  Though information in the budget was not always complete, it was considered generally reliable.  The supreme audit institution met international standards of independence but did not publish an audit report within a reasonable period.  All mining activity approved by the prior government was suspended during the review period.  The government is redrafting its mining sector regulations and will renegotiate its existing contracts under the new regulations.

Burundi’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:

• Publishing an executive budget proposal within a reasonable period;
• Providing timely and comprehensive information on debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt;
• Ensuring adequate audit and oversight for off-budget accounts;
• Ensuring the supreme audit institution audits the government’s executed budget and makes audit reports publicly available within a reasonable period;
• Consistently adhering to applicable laws and regulations for awarding natural resource extraction contracts and licenses; and
• Publishing basic information about natural resource extraction awards.