The Ministry of Local Government has outlined plans to compensate and resettle households living on several Lake islands. The households to be relocated are those living on Mwegerera and Mukira islands in Musanze District, Munanira island in Burera District, Sharita and Mazane islands in Bugesera District, Gihaya island in Rusizi District, Mushungo and Muzira islands in Nyamasheke District, as well as Kirehe, Ruzi, and Tereri islands in Nyamasheke District. ALSO READ: Small islands deserve ‘special attention’ against climate crisis, says Ngirente “Some residents will be compensated by getting money from investors who will buy the land for various investment activities. Some residents will be relocated by the government and resettled in other areas with basic infrastructure,” said the Minister of State for Local Government, Marie Solange Kayisire. “We will mobilise resources in collaboration with concerned institutions to resettle them. We have to work with different institutions so that relocated people continue to enjoy a good standard of living on the land where they are resettled,” Kayisire added. ALSO READ: Lake Kivu: Two islands to undergo forest restoration Those to be relocated, she explained, will benefit from social protection programmes such as the One Cow per Family programme, income-generating projects, among others after being resettled. Number of households to be relocated Mwegerera and Mukira islands, covering 14.67 hectares in Gashaki Sector, Musanze District, have 38 households with 181 people to be relocated. The two islands lack development infrastructure such as water, electricity, health facilities, and schools, prompting the relocation. “The district is designing a project to relocate the households, conduct a study on the place where they will be relocated, and determine how the islands will be used later after relocation,” she noted. ALSO READ: Multi-million Italian hotel in Nkombo to boost tourism Munanira island in Burera District has 26 households with 104 people to be relocated. Relocation activities have started through a joint project by the district and the Ministry of Emergency Management, dubbed “District-Contingency Emergency Response Component.” At least Rwf127.7 million has been secured to pave the way for relocation. The district will commence relocation in July this year through a community-based approach. The Ministry of Emergency Management has pledged to help secure construction materials to relocate the households to Kinyababa Sector, where land for an IDP model village has been made available by the district. Sharita island, spanning 90 hectares in Bugesera District, Rweru Sector, still has 84 households comprising 610 individuals to be relocated. A budget of Rwf2.5 billion is needed to relocate the remaining households. So far, 212 households have been relocated and resettled in Rweru IDP Model Village, and 60 households in Kivusha IDP Model Village. They were also given cows. At least 20 hectares have been secured to grow fodder for the cows. Gihaya island, covering 14 hectares in Rusizi District, has 184 households with 1,256 individuals to be relocated. At least 60 households have already been relocated. The land was bought by an investor who is building Gihaya Island Hotel. Mushungo and Muzira islands in Nyamasheke District will see the relocation of 157 households with 831 people. ALSO READ: Rwanda eyes biodiversity park on Kivu islands Kirehe (1.2 ha), Ruzi (92 ha), and Tereri (55 ha), also in Nyamasheke District, have 186 households with 1,304 people who will be relocated. Kayisire said there are 14 islands with 4,600 households comprising 25,638 people. She said households from 11 of the 14 islands will be relocated. Ministerial Order to facilitate the relocation Valentine Uwamariya, the Minister of Environment, stated that a Ministerial Order, which includes the list of government-owned islands, has already been prepared and discussed by relevant institutions and will be submitted to the Cabinet in July 2025. Once this order is published, she said, government-owned islands will be clearly identified, and in collaboration with other institutions such as RDB and MINALOC, conservation and management plans will be established for each island. ALSO READ: Over 90,000 trees to be planted on Lake Kivu shores “Once the order defining State and non-State islands is published, any resident who owns land on non-State islands will be allowed to sell it to whomever they choose, in accordance with laws governing private property rights. However, to prevent investors from exploiting residents, the district authorities must be involved to ensure the residents’ well-being is not compromised. Priority will be given to providing relocation compensation that enables resettlement rather than monetary payments,” she noted. After the publication of the Order, she added, all unauthorised activities (agriculture, livestock, tourism, among others) carried out on State-owned islands will be halted in collaboration with local authorities. She said considerations will be made for designating some of these islands as protected areas, including Biosphere Reserves to be included on UNESCO’s list. “Some islands are still inhabited despite not being suitable for settlement, which makes their protection difficult. Many islands have been severely degraded due to human activities. Some residents who were relocated continue to return to farm on the islands they were moved from,” she said while speaking to senators on 16 June. Agricultural and livestock activities are still being carried out on the islands, she noted. Tourism activities are also conducted on the islands without proper authorisation, with some individuals claiming to have purchased the land from indigenous communities. Most of the islands are not officially registered and therefore do not appear in the Land Administration Information System (LAIS). Some residents claim the land is ancestral or that they purchased it, yet it is not registered in their names. “They are now requesting formal registration.”
