District vice-mayors for finance and economic planning and sector executive secretaries in the Southern Province have undergone training in land law, administration and management.

The two-day training, which concluded yesterday, was organised by the Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA) in Huye District.

It aimed to equip participants with knowledge on land policy and management.

"Sector and district officials need to understand laws regulating land,  including expropriation and inheritance laws, as well as land use and management. Once they have got knowledge about this, they will be able to explain to the people and contribute to smooth implementation of land policies, laws and district master plans,” said Espérance Mukamana, the deputy land title registrar at RNRA in Southern Province.

Sam Biraro, the monitoring and evaluation specialist at RNRA, called for collaboration between sector land officers and district and sector leadership in handling land issues.

"If a given area was designed for agriculture, breeding or housing, it is what it should be used for,” he said.

The vice mayor for finance and economic planning for Huye District, Cyprien Mutwarasibo, said land policies should clearly be explained to the residents to avoid misunderstandings.

The Southern Province has 101 executive secretaries and eight vice mayors for finance and economic planning.

Similar training sessions were recently held in the Western and Eastern provinces.

Next week, the training will be held in the Northern Province.