Bujumbura, February 21, 2011_Chairman of the United Nations Peace Consolidation Commission (UNPCC) for Burundi Paul R. Seger on Wednesday hailed the steps Burundi has reached in good governance.

The UN official made the remarks at a forum held in the Burundian capital Bujumbura, aimed at adopting the fifth report on peace consolidation.

Speaking at a forum before the joint committee delegates from UN and Burundi, the UN diplomat congratulated Burundi for the steps reached in good governance and the fight against corruption.

"The report is very positive, very open. It shows that sectors of good governance and the fight against corruption have improved.

"I seize this opportunity to congratulate the Burundian president for his policy on zero tolerance," Seger told participants at the forum, adding that "the zero tolerance policy against corrupt people should be decentralized from the top to the lowest level."

To promote the socioeconomic sector in the east African state, Seger said, "there are still some challenges that Burundians need to address.

These include social reintegration of vulnerable persons who were affected by the decade-long conflict, land conflicts and the integration of Burundi in the East African Community (EAC)."

While officially launching the forum on the adoption of the fifth report on the implementation of the Strategic Framework for Peace Consolidation in Burundi, Burundian First Vice President Terence Sinunguruza told participants that it is the last draft report before it is sent to New York.

"It's a result of common decision between the Burundian government and its partners to combine the two frameworks, the Strategic Framework for the Fight against Poverty and the Strategic Framework for Peace Consolidation, thanks to progress made in the peace process," Sinunguruza told the forum.

The chairman of the UNPCC for Burundi also backed the combination of the two strategic frameworks. Seger said, "the two strategic frameworks should be combined because there's no development without peace and there's no peace without development. "

The UN diplomat appealed to the Burundian government to appoint the head of the combined of strategic framework for better coordination.

Two African countries, Sierra Leone and Burundi, benefited from the UN Peace building fund in 2007.

Burundi was granted some 35 million U.S. dollars from the fund.