The Ministry in Charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA) has announced that it will resettle 9,231 people who are currently homeless after being displaced by flooding and landslides that hit Northern, Western, and Southern provinces.

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After two or three months, the displaced people will be informed about the safe zones in which to live. We must categorize the affected households in order to identify those for which the government will provide shelter support. Those who are financially capable will be relocated to safe zones where they can build their own houses, while the vulnerable ones will be supported,” Minister in Charge of Emergency Management, Marie Solange Kayisire, said.

She said an assessment is being carried out to know the families’ status, their source of income, and how they can be supported to survive in the aftermath.

"The government will identify new sites that are not high-risk zones where the vulnerable displaced families can be resettled,” she said.

Kayisire said a comprehensive assessment will be carried out to know the resettlement cost after identifying the displaced families in need of support.

She said Rwanda needs at least Rwf130 billion for disaster recovery in different affected sectors.

Is a disaster response fund needed?

Experts have always suggested the need for a sustainable disaster fund that could help in recovery in case of catastrophes.

In 2021, Members of Parliament requested the Prime Minister to expedite the establishment of the Disaster Response Fund in order to ensure the timely disbursement of relief to people affected by disasters.

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However, the fund is yet to be established. Establishing the fund is part of implementing the law relating to disaster management, which was enacted in 2015.

The establishment of this fund is provided for by this law in its article 38. According to the law, financing of the fund shall be through the national budget, grants from development partners as well as donations and bequests.

Swift response to disasters such as constructing houses for the affected residents, and rehabilitating infrastructures such as roads and bridges as well as farms, has been faced with challenges including a lack of readily available budget.