President Evariste Ndayishimiye has recently threatened senior officials who plundered state coffers to “lose all value to the billions of stolen Burundian francs that they would hide in their homes”. On June 7th, the Central Bank took action and announced that it would replace all 10,000 and 5,000 Burundian franc notes with new banknotes over 10 days (until June 17th) to prevent the laundering of public funds by those who had embezzled them.
Since this announcement, thousands of Burundians have stormed bank counters to try to exchange their old 5,000 and 10,000 Burundian franc notes, but the pitfalls are almost insurmountable.
Hundred Dollars a Day
A simple citizen cannot withdraw more than 300,000 Fbu, about 100 dollars per day, and can only exchange his old banknotes for a value not exceeding some 3,600 dollars. The cap is $100,000 for corporations. “If we have more, it will go in the trash even if it is honestly earned money,” a businessman explains bitterly.
Faustin Ndikumana, president of Parcel, is fighting for good governance. He visited the bank counter on Saturday to withdraw money but has been told to wait until new tickets come out.
“Kind of Panic”
As a result, the population is finding it increasingly difficult to obtain supplies for many products, underlines Faustin Ndikumana. “There is a kind of panic. People don’t know which saints to turn to and don’t know how to handle the situation. Some sellers have to take some special measures. Some say clearly and simply, “I will rest and resume trading once the situation normalizes”.
The authorities must be careful, otherwise, this measure is supposed to help fight against the corrupt risks talking about the national economy, according to the president of Parcem.