The government still owes expropriation fees that date way back to 2012 in what Transparency International says is in breach of the set laws put in place to defend Rwandans in the likelihood of the need for their relocation to pave way for public interest projects.

Speaking on a panel discussion regarding improving fairness in service provision by government officials, the Transparency’s Regional Coordinator for Western and Northern provinces, Odette Mukarunkundo, said that although the law is clear, there were people across the country, for instance, in Burera and Gicumbi districts who are still pursuing payments for as far back as almost a decade ago.

Article 4 of the law on expropriation gazetted in 2015 says that every project, at any level, which intends to carry out acts of expropriation in public interest, shall budget for valuation of the property of the person to be expropriated and for fair compensation.  

"Unfortunately that’s not the reality right now. For instance, there are areas in Burera and Gicumbi districts where (electricity) power lines passed in 2012. Those people are to this day still pursuing payment and they have been getting promises that they would be included in the next fiscal year budget for the last eight years,” she said.  

Fixing issues

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government Samuel Dusengiyumva admitted that there is a number of expropriation projects that commenced without following the exact procedures set by the law, which he said explains the many cases surrounding expropriation currently in courts of law or with the Ombudsman’s Office.

"There are also still some challenges when it comes to drawing up budgets. The law is clear. It says that not one activity should start on anyone’s land before full payment has been made. Whoever has done anything contrary to the law made a mistake and moving forward, we have put measures in place to fix that,” he said.  

Dusengiyumva pointed out that some of the old arrears stem from issues that arose when the people to be expropriated could not produce documentation to support their claim on the land. Others could not be paid on time because the land in question was in dispute due to family wrangles.

However, he said that as of April this year, local government was on its way to clear the Rwf2.7 billion that it owed locals in expropriation.

"As of April, we had 5,532 files worth 2.7bn that were owed in 27 districts. Of these, we have since cleared 4,958. We are remaining with arrears worth Rwf200m that we are hoping to clear by the end of the year if possible,” he said.

He called on local leaders to ensure that all locals acquire appropriate documentation for their land, national IDs and also ensure that family land disputes are fixed fast before expropriation land valuers begin their work.

General outlook

A report on expropriation issues issued in February this year covering both 2019/2020 projects and some years before indicated that government owed Rwf33bn.

Of the Rwf33bn, Rwf31bn (97 percent) is owed to the central government. The local government owes a paltry Rwf2.7bn (3 percent).

Of the listed districts, Nyarugenge district owes the most money at Rwf3.8bn followed by Kicukiro at Rwf1.1bn.

The others that owe significant amounts include Gicumbi with arrears worth Rwf760m, Muhanga Rwf407m, Gasabo Rwf555m, Burera Rwf293, Gakenke Rwf228m, Ngororero Rwf190m and Nyanza Rwf157m.

While the above amounts are owed by the local government, the central government owes more.

Study findings

Besides delay in paying expropriation fees, a survey commissioned by Strengthening Rwandan Administrative Justice (SRAJ) Project in six districts last year says that a whopping 60 percent of the respondents are unhappy with the process, with most describing the valuation process as ‘unfair’.

The Resident Country Director of the SRAJ project Seth Karamage told the panel that although there have been important substantive reforms including a new expropriation law in 2015, a number of challenges remain.

He said that there was a need for Rwandans to see expropriation as a solution that comes with several advantages.

He added that authorities have the responsibility to ensure that an announcement is made that there will be expropriation to pave way for the construction of a school, a road or any other project, the news should not be met with uncertainty.

"When we talk about improving fairness in service provision by government officials, what we mean is that should there be issues, the target landowners should be confident enough in their leaders enough to approach them for solutions,” he said.