GASABO - Activities carried out by  Works of General Interest (TIG) since its inception in 2005 have so far been estimated at  Rwf 18,732,762,947.

This was revealed Friday by the Executive Secretary of TIG, Evariste Bizimana while briefing the press in Gasabo District.

TIG is a government agency that oversees community service of those who confessed their role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

According to Bizimana, TIG activities have proved to be efficient, especially where the convicts are used effectively as stated by the presidential decree number 10/01 of 07, March 2005.

Activities mainly carried out by the convicts include infrastructure development.

According to the TIG communications officer, Damascene Ngayaberura, that the most productive year was 2008 as it yielded over Rwf 12 billion.

The works that TIG has managed to do since 2005 include building houses for the needy, digging terraces, paving roads, planting coffee trees among other things.

Ngayaberura however told this paper that TIG has been facing some problems of late among them having low turn up numbers of those convicted by the Gacaca courts.

"Gacaca courts, give us the numbers of convicts who are supposed to serve their term in TIG, but some of them don’t turn up hence making our work difficult,” he said.

Ngayaberura cited grassroot leaders as the cause of the problem as they retain the convicts and use them in works which are not of general interest.

According to Ngayaberura, the way forward for the TIG secretariat is to make the convicts more productive and for them to start producing their own food so they don’t become a burden to the government.

Ends