Over 4,000 local leaders who were forced to give up their cows during the recent cow redistribution exercise, as part of the Girinka program, will be reimbursed. 

The exercise, was launched on Tuesday in Kicukiro District where 23 local leaders were given cows by the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with the District.

The ceremony marked the start of a process where 4,161 needy local leaders around the country will receive cows.
Speaking during the handover, Otto Vianney Muhinda, the Coordinator of the One-Cow-Per-Poor- Household project, thanked the leaders for the patience and ability to understand the situation

The Mayor of Kicukiro, Jules Ndamage, encouraged the local leaders to be exemplary and look well after the cows.

"You should continue striving to perform well and be able to lead the fight against poverty,” he said Francois Ritararenga, one of the leaders who received a cow, thanked the government for reconsidering and seeing the truth that although they are leaders, they are actually poor and needed the cows.

"Giving back the cows was not easy, but we never lost hope, we knew the truth would come out,” he observed.

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