SOUTHERN PROVINCE

HUYE — The number of vulnerable people who need housing in the fourteen Sectors of the district stands at 2695, district officials have said.

This was revealed during an extraordinary district advisory council (DAC) meeting on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by the council president Innocent Kayitare.

However, the district Mayor, Aimable Twagiramutara said the district does not have materials to construct houses for all identified vulnerable people.

He said: "This list will help us mobilise for resources from our local community, non-government organisations and government. We now know the extent of the housing problem in the district.”

According to the Mayor, the selection exercise of vulnerable people who need housing began at the Village (Midugudu) level.

The names of selected people were agreed upon by residents during community work (Umuganda) before being sent to Cell and Sector advisory Councils for endorsement.

Mayor Twagiramutara said that the district is currently constructing 132 houses with assistance from the Ministry of Local Government which provided roofing materials.

"We are intensifying the campaign of making tiles in different Sectors. These will supplement government’s efforts of providing iron sheets,” he added.

Authorities at Karubanda prison have already started producing the much needed tiles while similar tile producing plants are being set up in the Sectors of  Karama, Maraba –the model Sector and in Mukura.

Meanwhile, Ildefonse Gasana, the district Vice Mayor in charge of Economic affairs has threatened to withdraw construction materials from Sectors that have failed to utilize them.

Speaking at the same meeting, Gasana told the DAC that during a recent working tour of different Sectors, it was established that Sectors had put little effort in mobilising their communities to construct houses for the vulnerable amongst them; despite the availability of materials like cement and iron sheets.

"We shall not hesitate to give the unused materials to Sectors which need them,” Gasana told Sector Executive Secretaries who attended the meeting.

The DAC President commended district authorities for the mapping exercise and asked them to mobilise resources and the general community to solve the housing problem of vulnerable people.

Ends