The flooding of the Ntahangwa River is threatening riparian infrastructure. Sanzu Avenue is not spared. The banks of this river are constantly collapsing. Residents are sounding the alarm. The Government of Burundi, through its project called Community Risk Management from Disasters to Climate Change in Burundi (GCRCCBU), has already begun work to repair Sanzu Avenue.

The National Communication and Information Network for Disaster Risk Reduction (RNCI-RRC) in collaboration with the national platform for disaster risk reduction visited the Ntahangwa River on Thursday, August 13, 2020. It has been found that Sanzu Avenue located in Mutanga Sud is now impassable. It was cut off due to the banks of this river which keep collapsing. Both public and private waterfront infrastructures are also under threat. For example, it is the Ecofo Mutanga Sud.

At Sanzu Avenue, a metal barrier blocks traffic at the entrance to the Mugoboka district. Cars are parked behind this barrier. Some belong to individuals, while others transport goods and people. Only pedestrians, bicycle taxis and motorcyclists easily access it.

Neighbors in disarray

Residents of the Mutanga Sud and Mugoboka neighborhoods are in disarray. As the rainy season approaches, Béatrice Mpozenzi, living in the Mugoboka neighborhood, fears that her children may be victims of the collapse of the banks of this river. They can get into this mess. According to her, some owners of the houses along Sanzu Avenue have already emptied the premises. The inhabitants of these two neighborhoods indicate that they tried, with their meager means, to protect the threatened part of the road, but to no avail. The ravine caused by the cut in this road broke all communication between the Mugoboka I and II districts, thereby damaging the Regideso pipes.

The government reacts

The government project responsible for natural disaster risk management, operational since 2015, has begun work to stabilize the banks of this river at one of the three target sites. Alexis Nimubona, national coordinator of the Community Climate Change Disaster Risk Management Project in Burundi (GCRCCBU) indicates that the sites that should be rehabilitated through the development of the Ntahangwa River above the Republic Bridge are the Ecofo Mutanga Sud project, the collapsed part of Sanzu Avenue and the part of the river located in Mugoboka. However, due to the lack of sufficient financial resources, it is planned to develop the collapsed part of Sanzu Avenue so that this road can be operational. The contract announcing the start of work has already been signed.

As we are aware that the crux of this calvary is located in the watershed of this river in the high mountains overlooking the city of Bujumbura, Nimubona notes that anti-erosion pits have been drawn and planted over a distance of 1000 km in order to mitigate the effects of erosion that affect the downstream of the Ntahangwa River. According to him, what we observe there is the result of erosion phenomena that are observed in the high mountains overlooking the city of Bujumbura.

In 2018, when the works to develop the Ntahangwa River watershed were completed, this project started the development of this river to protect the Ecofo of the Nyakabiga Public Garden and the Pentecost Church in the same neighborhood. In addition, the Ntahangwa River has been stabilized with gabillions over a length of 314 m. After this work, the second phase was launched, which took place in Kigobe over a distance of 350 m. The meander of the river, which threatened shoreline infrastructure and Mukarakara Avenue, was modified. This avenue has also been rehabilitated over a distance of 150 m with a setback of more than 30 m.