For almost a month, traders in Bujumbura, the commercial city where all United Nations agencies and the central administration are concentrated, have suffered significant economic losses due to untimely power cuts. These frequent power outages paralyze commercial activities requiring a continuous power supply.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

In the commercial capital, trade actors, whether they are sellers of fresh produce, kiosk owners or service providers such as public secretariats, denounce a situation that is becoming increasingly untenable.

Cascading losses and equipment in danger

Repeated power cuts have a direct impact on the conservation of products. « These power cuts can destroy our appliances. Each time, we are forced to unplug them to avoid damage, and it is also a loss, because our products lose their flavor, » says a milk trader in the city center.

Soft drink sellers are also facing major difficulties.

« Everything is paralyzed, you see that there is too much sun, customers want a very cold drink and can’t find one. They leave very angry as if it were our fault. And we lose in turn, » laments a seller of soft drinks.

Power generators are no longer enough

In the past, merchants could count on generators to compensate for these power cuts, but today, the scarcity and high cost of fuel make this solution almost impossible.

« Before, there were generators that could help out, but currently, due to the lack of fuel, the problem remains unsolved, » regrets a public secretary.

Regideso struggles to reassure

Faced with this discontent, Regideso, the state-owned company responsible for distributing electricity, remains discreet about the real reasons for these recurring outages. However, the company had promised since last year that there would be no more electricity shortages.

Its Director General, Jean Albert Manigomba, explains that these interruptions are sometimes due to technical tests aimed at stabilizing the network and replacing old equipment. However, these explanations are not enough to calm the anger of traders who are demanding immediate solutions to avoid seeing their activities sink even further.

In the meantime, Bujumbura’s economic life remains paralyzed, and traders are hoping for a rapid improvement in the situation to avoid an even deeper crisis in the small East African nation which is going through a generalized crisis, the fuel crisis being the most severe.