RWAMAGANA-Local leaders in the Eastern Province, yesterday, met to assess the abnormal rise of Vision 2020 Umurenge Program (VUP) beneficiaries.

VUP is an integrated local development program to accelerate poverty eradication, rural growth, and social protection. The program gives direct support to the neediest individuals and families in communities.

Even though the most vulnerable have been receiving such aid for some time, the number of people claiming to be in need of such help has increased, hence prompting an assessment.

According to VUP coordinator in the country, Vincent Gahamanyi, the increase of the needy was against logic.

"Something must be wrong...we are here to make things clear that as we continue giving aid to the needy, we expect the figures to go down. VUP has done a great job in reducing poverty, something that should be reflected in numbers,” he said.

Gahamanyi challenged Vice Mayors in charge of social affairs in the districts to take it upon themselves to streamline the VUP.

"The contradicting figures are discouraging...they show relaxation from those responsible. Kirehe District is the only one showing consistent figures of the beneficiaries as they go down. Let others emulate Kirehe,” he said.

Jean Marie Makombe the Executive Secretary of the Province, who also chaired the meeting, told the local leaders that they must sort out the irregularities.

"There is no shortcut... we are here to put things right where they went wrong. Grassroots leaders must come up with a proper list of potential beneficiaries,” he said.

However, Samson Komayombi, 54, a resident of Fumbwe and one of the beneficiaries, told the Sunday Times that the increase of the needy was reasonable.

He said that VUP doesn’t cover all the needy in a given sector as people were meant to believe.

"VUP handles the number it can manage to finance, which doesn’t necessarily reflect the number of the needy. So, the mismatch of the figures is very understandable and shouldn’t be an issue. Let them continue doing what they can and leave what they can’t,” he said.

The project that started in 2009 supports at least four sectors in every district.

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