GISAGARA - District authorities together with officials from the national land registration centre on Monday kicked-off the land registration exercise in Ndora sector.
The exercise commenced amidst unresolved longstanding land ownership wrangles  around the border districts of Rwanda and Burundi.

Leandre Karekezi, the district mayor, attributed the land wrangles  on the history of the two neighboring countries where residents used to move freely from one country to another acquiring land around the borders in the process.

He revealed that the ongoing land registration exercise will serve as  part of a lasting  solution to the land problem especially for sectors lying along the border areas.

"We have started identifying disputed plots of land as such we will not issue land titles for such parcels of land not until we have got to the bottom of the problems afflicting such plots of land,” the Mayor said.

Christophe Habimana, the coordinator of the land registration exercise in the district noted that the identities of land owners are not important during the land registration exercise. He said that whoever owns a plot of land deserves a land title regardless of his or her nationality.

"We do not consider whether the owner is a Rwandan, a Burundian or Congolese, what we do ask is how someone acquired the land because a Burundian may buy a plot of land on the Rwandan territory. If someone proves that the land is his or hers, we give him or her the land title”, Habimana said.

Local residents in Dahwe cell, Ndora Sector welcomed the move arguing that it will give them full rights on their lands.
"I can do whatever I want with my land, I can give it as collateral for a bank loan after getting a title,” said one Nkurikiyinka, a resident of Dahwe Cell.

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