WESTERN PROVINCE

GISHWATI—In light of recent weather in Western Province, Governor Penelope Kantarama has urged district leader to immediately stop residents from carrying out agricultural activities in Gishwati hills, an area known for producing 40 per cent of Irish potatoes in the country.

The move comes after Prime Minster Bernard Bakuza chaired a meeting finding solutions and long-term preventions of heavy rains in the area.

Bakuza had earlier blamed local leaders for failure to implement environmental protection laws, resulting in people living on the slopes of the hills, destroying forests.

The governor has said the province would immediately stop all agricultural activities on the hills, and transfer flood victims as well as others still living in ‘danger zones.’

"There are still hundreds of people living in dangers zone,” Kantarama said. "If northing is done, heavy rains will continue killing our people.”

According the mayor, officials in Nyabihu and Rubavu districts are in the process of registering people still living in the areas as they wait to be resettled.

The decision to stop agricultural production is also difficult, as the area is said to contribute almost half of all the country’s popular Irish potatoes.

District Mayor Charles Ngirabatwari said the decision was more significant because it was meant to prevent further environmental dangers.

"It is true that Gishwati has fertile soils but its elevated nature makes its dangerous for settlements to the extent that we recently lost 17 people,” Ngirabatwari said.

"Continuous human activities also are a big risk to total destruction of the hills because soil erosion will continue washing away the fragile fertile soil which will finally leave behind bare rocks like it has already happened on some parts of the hills. There will be reduction in Irish potato’s production but the decision is meant to prevent future environmental dangers.”

The mayor also said though that district authorities were doing every thing possible to ensure that potato production was continued in the new settlements.

"The challenge however is maintaining supply of food to thousands of the displaced people until next season. It is a big challenge but has to be done because heavy rains have destroyed all their crops.”

According to the Minister of State in charge of Land and Environment Patricia Hajabakiga, experts and researchers from various research institutions such as IZAR are currently being contacted to carry out a study on the kind of plants that can be planed on the fertile elevated Gishwati hills to both benefit the public at the same time stopping soil erosion.

Plants expected to be planted on Gishwati include tea plantations which will give employment to the neighboring residents, fruits, cow grass among others.

Experts will also design a way of unblocking the seasonal rivers in the area that were blocked by heavy loads of soils from the hills thus causing uncontrollable floods.

Ends