Lassila Karuta
Zurich and Bujumbura
Published on October 18, 2024 at 10:49. / Modified on October 18, 2024 at 2:16 p.m.
The sun will soon set over Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. Stuck in a traffic jam, a bus waits to move forward in line. Some of the passengers, very tightly packed together, to the point that the front door cannot be closed, took the opportunity to get out of the vehicle for a moment. However, they consider themselves lucky to have been able to find a bus home from work. For several months, many people have been walking long distances to go to the office due to a shortage of gasoline.
Other everyday items like sugar and certain medicines are also difficult to find in this small East African country, wedged between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. These supply problems are explained by a growing lack of currencies such as the dollar and the euro in the country. To import goods, traders need strong currencies, but these are increasingly difficult to find in the country. The foreign exchange reserves of the National Bank of Burundi (BRB) represent less than a month of imports, and those who need them must obtain supplies on the black market where prices have exploded.
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