The Ministry of Environment has said that it will work with the Ministry of Local Government and district advisory councils in the process to exempt people from paying overdue taxes on their farmland which was wrongly designated for construction.

Although citizens have homes on land that is meant for agriculture, Members of Parliament said that such land should not be taxed.

The MPs were on Tuesday, February 25, 2020, speaking during the session in which the Minister of Environment was appearing before the Chamber of Deputies’ Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Environment.

The minister was updating the Committee on the extent to which the government has implemented last year’s resolution on the taxes wrongly imposed on agriculture land.

According to the MPs agriculture land of not more than two hectares should not be taxed.

Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, the Minister of Environment, said that the government was keen on addressing the issue.

"We’ll correct the land titles…we’ve committed to resolve all the issues identified by the end of this year,” she pledged.

MPs tasked responsible ministries to expedite the process such that people are affected are helped.

MP Veneranda Nyirahirwa, the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Environment, said that their assessment revealed that in many parts of the countryside people live in their farms

"As a result, the entire land on which the person lives and carries farming activities is subjected to tax,” she said, adding that quite often there was no infrastructure such as water and electricity on such land.

"Because the people have lived on such farms for long, they were not aware that they are being subjected to the tax