Chinese-aided project eases access to TV service in rural Burundi

BUJUMBURA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Burundian Communication, Information Technology and Media Minister Leocadie Ndacayisaba has commended China for granting the east African nation's rural population access to digital satellite television.

In a project handover ceremony held here on Monday, the minister said the project will allow Burundian people to have access to the national television information and programs and boost universal access to the right to information.

During the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Burundi Zhao Jiangping said the project will contribute to the promotion of cultural exchanges.

According to Zhao, 200 villages would be connected to the digital television system in the second phase of the project with the donation of 190,000 sets of decoders and accessories from China. This has come after 300 other villages had been connected to digital television previously in the country by October 2018 through the project's first phase.

"In the framework of reinforcing bilateral relations between Burundi and China, both projects will significantly boost access to the television digitalization process", said Zhao.

On his part, Xu Weichao, managing director of StarTimes Media Burundi which implemented the project, said the completion of the second phase of the project means a greater Burundi population in rural regions would benefit from access to digital television services.

Xu added that more than 1,000 technicians had also been trained countywide by StarTimes to ensure the project's maintenance.

Participants in the ceremony also included governors of provinces of Burundi who represented beneficiaries of the project. They said that they are grateful to China which allowed the remotest population in the East African nation to have access to television programs.