Nyabihu-The government yesterday launched a countrywide clean and green environment promotion in Nyabihu district aimed at enforcing personal and household sanitation.

The Minister of Defence, General James Kabarebe, who officially launched the campaign, said that the objective is to ensure Rwandans live a hygienic life after the eradication of thatched houses (Nyakatsi).

"We must promote personal hygiene, drink clean water, promote a green environment, and encourage the use of biogas as well as maintaining our infrastructure,” said Kabarebe.

The campaign precedes the just concluded week-long crusade to protect forests.

The measures that the government has taken to ensure that the campaign is successful, include a standard latrine for every family before 2012, and ensuring that every household has decent beddings.

"It’s not meaningful to eradicate Nyakatsi and fail to ensure basic sanitary standards in our society,” explained Kabarebe.

In promoting a green environment, the public is encouraged to plant trees, control soil erosion, and plant grass in their compounds.

They are also urged to ensure a balanced diet, which in most cases does not require a lot of money.

"Unless we turn to biogas, we can’t preserve our forests since we cut them for fuel,” said Colletta Ruhamya, the State Minister for Energy and Water.

Ends