WESTERN PROVINCE

RUBAVU — Rubavu residents will  start receiving  the long awaited TV and Radio Rwanda signals by March next year. The Minister in Office of the Prime Minister in charge of Information Louise Mushikiwabo has said.

Mushikiwabo revealed this while on her recent visit to Rubana hill Nyamyumba sector Rubavu district where TVR and radio Rwanda transmitters are being constructed.

The construction comes two months after president Kagame’s visit to the area, where he promised residents full access to TVR and radio Rwanda signals in the shortest period possible.

While at the site, Mushikiwabo said that the construction process was going on smoothly through  joint efforts by ORINFOR and Rubavu district authority and the information ministry.

‘We are working together to ensure residents will have started viewing RTV by March next year’.

‘Electrogaz is working hard to provide power lines leading to the site and powerful transmitters will have reached the site before the end of January 2009’, explained Mushikiwabo.

Asked why the transmitters where not installed on Rubavu hill as it had originally been planned, Mushikiwabo said that experts realized it would not cover the entire district.

‘Although Rubavu is a an elongated hill, experts discovered that transmitters once installed over there would not send signals to all residents especially Gisenyi town which is located just under the hill and at a very lower altitude’, she said.

She said that transmitters on Rubona hill will provide full signals to Gisenyi town, an urban area that is inhabited by many people and which is also a touristic area with hotels and other hospitality outlets.

Concerning the issue of residents whose land is being used for the project and are not yet compensated, Rubavu district vice mayor in charge of economic development Evaliste Bizimana said that the district authority was doing every thing possible to compensate the affected residents to help them buy plots elsewhere.

‘The evaluation process of their plots was done by experts and they will be compensated in due course’, Bizimana said. He called upon the evacuated  residents to positively look at the TV and Radio project  since it is bound to benefit the entire district tremendously.

‘This is a development that is going to benefit thousands of residents in Rubavu, the few displaced people should therefore understand and vacate the demarcated plots willingly since they will be fairly compensated’.

Jeanne Mukagatare one of the residents to be evicted said that although she loves her plot due to its fertility , she is willing to move to another place for the good of the entire community.

‘Communication is vital for development, there is therefore no need to refuse to move when the government is trying to do some thing that will benefit thousands of people’,said Mukagatare.

She however called upon the district authorities  to speed up the compensation process and to do it fairly since the affected people will need to buy land from other places. 

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