MPs advise on rural settlement

RWAMAGANA – Members of Parliament on Tuesday encouraged Rwamagana District residents to heed the advice of settling in Midugudu (community settlements).Led by MP Désiré Nyandwi, the legislators, who are meant to over see agriculture and environmental issues in Eastern Province, told local leaders to be proactive in resettling residents. “We as Rwandans have no alternative but to live in Midugudu. It thus has to be every one’s responsibility, to see to it that people are settled according to the acceptable norms,” Nyandwi said. Local leaders however, said Midugudu committees which were set up to handle land distribution and resettlement, are not competent enough. In reaction, MP Faith Mukakalisa asked the local leaders to educate committee members on the basic principles to be followed. “You all know the required size of Mudugudu, let them know the number of houses recommended in a particular Mudugudu for the purposes of resettling residents,” she said. Other local leaders expressed concern over lack of funds required to compensate residents whose property is destroyed during road construction programmes. “How do you compensate a peasant whose house is in the path of a road? We don’t have funds for that kind of activities,” said Valérie Rubibi, the Executive Secretary Kigabiro sector. The Mayor Valens Ntezirembo, stressed the need to give residents farm lands in their new settlement areas, saying it is the only way to prevent food shortages in the future.According to the officials, Rwamagana has so far 87 well mapped Midugudu. Ends