Equipment Rental Agency (Burundi)

The Equipment Rental Agency (Agence de Location du Matériel, or ALM, was a public company formed in 2001 that supplied rental equipment to road construction and repair companies in Burundi. It was merged into the The Burundi Road Agency in 2019.

Equipment Rental Agency
ALM
Native name
Agence de Location du Matériel
IndustryFinance
Founded27 October 2001
Defunct22 May 2019
Headquarters,
Burundi
OwnerGovernment of Burundi

History

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Until 2002 the general directorate of roads had its own equipment and accounting, and was funded by the state and by donors that included the World Bank. Based on World Bank recommendations, it was separated into three parts: FNR for funding, ALM for equipment and ODR for coordination of road activities.[1]

The Equipment Rental Agency was overseen by the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Equipment.[2] It was governed by decree no. 100/119 of 27 October 2001.[3] Law no.1/20 of 28 September 2013 said the state would transfer all or part of its interests in a named group of companies with state participation, including ALM. The approach to privatization would be decided on a case by case basis.[4]

As of 2014 financing was through the state (FRN) and by donors such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union, Arab funds and JICA (Japanese cooperation). Effective road maintenance was not widespread, in part due to lack of money, in part because the small and medium sized road repair companies were inexperienced, underestimated the effort and failed to complete the work. The law that required jobs to go to the lowest bidder contributed to this problem. There were many cases where roads had been damaged by torrential rain and had not been repaired.[1]

In July 2014 Ernest Mberamiheto, Minister of Good Governance and Privatization, answered questions in a National Assembly debate. Companies that had been recommended for privatization over a five-year period included SOSUMO[a], SIP[b], SRDI [c], OTB[d], ALM[e], COGERCO[f], LNBTP[g] and ONATOUR[h]. It was recommended that measures be put in place to prevent the assets of these companies being abused in the interim before privatization occurred.[5]

Decree No. 100/009 of 23 January 2017 made the agency a public establishment with an administrative character.[6]

The Burundi Road Agency (Agence Routière du Burundi, ARB) was created by Decree No. 100/080 of 22 May 2019, which dissolved three former General Directorates including the Roads Office (Office des Routes, OdR), the National Road Fund (Fonds Routier National, FRN) and the Equipment Rental Agency (ALM). The Burundi Road Agency is an administrative establishment with legal personality, its own assets and management autonomy. It maintains a multi-year plan, obtains funding, supervises and coordinates road maintenance activities, and builds new roads.[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ SOSUMO: Société Sucrière du Moso (Moso Sugar Company)
  2. ^ SIP: Société Immobilière Publique (Public Real Estate Company)
  3. ^ SRDI: Société Régionale de Développement de l'Imbo (Imbo Regional Development Company)
  4. ^ OTB: Office du Thé du Burundi (Burundi Tea Office)
  5. ^ ALM: Agence de Location du Matériel (Equipment Rental Agency)
  6. ^ COGERCO: Compagnie de Gérance du Coton (Cotton Management Company)
  7. ^ LNBTP: Laboratoire Nationale du Bâtiment et des Travaux Publics (National Laboratory of Building and Public Works)
  8. ^ ONATOUR: Office National de la Tourbe (National Peat Office)

See also

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References

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Sources

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  • Decree No. 100/009 of 23 January 2017 (in French), President of Burundi, retrieved 2024-10-09
  • Decret No. 100-100 du 28 Mars 2011 (PDF) (in French), President of the Republic, retrieved 2024-10-09
  • Hakizimana, Mireille (14 December 2016), Conseil des ministres: 11 points à l'ordre du jour (in French), retrieved 2024-10-09
  • Loi No1/20 du 28 septembre 2013 (PDF) (in French), Cabinet of the President, retrieved 2024-10-09
  • Madirisha, Edouard (14 June 2014), "L'Office des Routes veut faire son travail, mais …", Iwacu (in French), retrieved 2024-10-09
  • Questions orales avec débat adressées au Ministre de la Bonne Gouvernance et la Privatisation (in French), National Assembly, July 2014, retrieved 2024-10-09
  • Qui sommes nous? (in French), ARB, retrieved 2024-10-09