Prince Musore
The Prime Minister of Burundi, Lt-Gen Pol. Ndirakobuca_Gervais, held a meeting with stakeholders in the currency exchange sector on June 12, 2023. The meeting was held in response to concerns about the sector’s compliance with rules and regulations set by the Burundi’s Central Bank.
During the meeting, several decisions were made to address the issues facing the sector. Firstly, exchange offices were given three days to restore their share capital to 500 million Burundian francs, which had been withdrawn from most of the offices. Secondly, commercial transactions in foreign currency on the local market were prohibited to protect the country’s economy.
Exchange offices were also required to declare a revenue of at least 50,000 euros or dollars per week. Failure to meet this requirement would result in removal from the list of authorized exchange offices. Additionally, individuals and legal entities were banned from making money transfers except through commercial banks, and all money transfer establishments were suspended.
Exchange offices with more than one shareholder were required to deposit documents establishing the capital at Central Bank. Finally, citizens were urged to report any instances of individuals carrying foreign currencies without a travel ticket or visiting exchange offices to the security services.
The Prime Minister stressed that the government was committed to upholding the rule of law and ensuring that the currency exchange sector in Burundi complied with all regulations. This meeting was a crucial step towards achieving this goal.
