Archbishop of Burundi, the Most Rev Bernard Ntahoturi, talks with President Pierre Nkurunziza(Photo: © CMS)CMS members and supporters are campaigning alongside the Church of Burundi against the UK government's controversial decision to discontinue aid to Burundi.
*UPDATED 7 JULY (see end)
On Tuesday 5 July the Archbishop of Burundi will give evidence to the House of Commons select committee on International Development.
Archbishop Bernard Ntahotouri has previously spoken of his dismay at the closure of DFID’s office in Bujumbura and the loss of UK aid as “not encouraging messages” for Burundi or the Great Lakes region.
Written evidence has already been submitted by the Rev William Challis, who is chair of the CMS Mid Africa Forum and also chair of Friends of Burundi, which aims to enrich links between the UK and Burundi and to champion Burundi’s needs in the UK.
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Watch committee live on 5 July
See written evidenceEarlier this year, the Department for International Development (DFID) announced that by 2016 the UK will close its bilateral aid programmes in 16 countries – including Burundi.
DFID said the move would allow it “to focus more tightly on the countries where the UK is well placed to have a significant long-term impact on poverty”. There are 27 countries in which the government will retain programmes.
But the exclusion of Burundi has shocked many CMS members and supporters, who have lived and worked in the country and who have long standing links there.
Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world – due to years of civil war, drought, climate change, high density of population, lack of natural resources, reliance on subsistence agriculture, and potential instability in the region.
Challenging the government's decision, the Rev Challis says: “It greatly disturbs me that the British government should withdraw its assistance to such a desperately poor country at a time when it needs every assistance to remain stable and develop.”
The select committee's inquiry was set up to assess the DFID decision “in light of the high levels of poverty levels in Burundi and the department’s decision to continue its support to other countries in the region,” according to the House of Commons’ website.
William, in his submission, adds: “Does this result from ignorance of Burundi? People in Burundi often feel they are ‘at the end of the line’ in the queue for help from other nations; should they not, as the poorest of the poor, come to the head of the queue?”
Archbishop Bernard Ntahotouri of Burundi arrived in the UK on Sunday in order to address the committee. Together with the Anglican Alliance, he has also made a joint written submission to the inquiry.
The Archbishop is a patron of Friends of Burundi, along with Jane Williams, the wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Sally Bottley, a member of the CMS Mid-Africa forum, is one of those who has taken up the call to write to her MP, who happens to be Andrew Mitchell, secretary of state for international development.
Sally says: “I fully appreciate the UK can’t support every country and that aid needs to be concentrated on the greatest need, but am very concerned about the exclusion of Burundi in the UK aid programme, especially at a time when it needs every assistance to remain stable and develop. This is obviously a great disappointment to all who are seeking to support Burundi on it journey towards lasting peace after years of instability.”
*This article was amended. It had mistakenly reported that Hugh James of Friends of Burundi was giving a presentation to the select committee as well as Archbishop Bernard.
FROM LAURA PAYNE, ANGLICAN ALLIANCE
Archbishop of Burundi tells UK: "Don't make us an aid orphan"
The Archbishop of Burundi today (Tuesday) gave a passionate appeal to the UK government to restore its bilateral funding to Burundi – one of the poorest and most fragile countries in the world.
The call came when he gave evidence at the International Development Select Committee’s enquiry into the UK government’s decision to end its bilateral aid programme for Burundi and shut the DfID office in Bujumbura.
He backed his call for funding with a warning that the security in Bujumbura was difficult and the country risked slipping into conflict only two years after the final peace agreement was signed with the last remaining rebel movement. The Most Reverend Bernard Ntahoturi travelled to the UK with the Anglican Alliance which brings together the development, relief and advocacy work of the Anglican family of churches and agencies.
When the UK closes its development office in Bujumbura next year, Burundi will be the only country in the Great Lakes and East Africa not receiving UK bilateral aid. The UK hopes Burundi will trade its way out of poverty through ‘TradeMark East Africa’, an initiative to increase commerce between the countries of the region, part-funded by the British. The Archbishop applauded the programme but explained that trade, although vital, is no silver bullet.
Giving evidence after the Archbishop Stephen O’Brien MP, Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for the Department for International Development, justified the government’s decision to withdraw aid. He said that the UK £12 million programme was too small to make impact and would be taken over by other donors. He said that there had been no objections made during the DfID consultations on the proposals and denied that the populated of Burundi would suffer as a result of the UK government’s decision.
The Church of Burundi and the Anglican Alliance are considering the next steps in their joint efforts to get the UK government to reengage with bilateral support for Burund