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BUJUMBURA, March 21 (AFP) - Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana deplored Sunday the lack of progress achieved by the four-nation Organisation for the Development of Basin of the Kagera river (OBK) in its 15 years of existence.
The presidents of four East African states -- Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania -- ended a one-day meeting here, at the close of which Habyarimana, elected OBK chairman for a two-year term, regretted that the organisation had failed to provide "an example of successful sub-regional cooperation".
Its achievements "have not been in relation to the efforts made", the Rwandan leader said.
Habyarimana, along with Pierre Buyoya of Burundi, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Ali Hassan Mwinyi of Uganda [Tanzania], issued a joint statement expressing their determination to clear the arrears in contributions to the OBK budget, largely responsible for the organisation's lack of achievement.
They further agreed on an equal 25 percent contribution from each country.
Previously Tanzania, with 35 percent, had been the largest single contributor.
dn/bb/bm AFP AFP SEQN-0298
