EASTERN PROVINCE

NYAGATARE — The Governor of the Eastern Province has advised Nyagatare residents to take advantage of the available water bodies in their bid to fight poverty.

Ephraim Kabaija urged residents to use the surrounding water bodies to irrigate crops and carry out other economic activities instead of using it as dumping ground and watering their animals.

He noted that livestock farmers use river Muvumba purely for watering their cattle. The river covers over five sectors of the district.

"How can some one bring herds of cattle to a river for watering and push them into the river. I have seen them swimming, and defecating in the same water used by other residents.

We have other cases where people have built on river banks and dump their garbage in the river. You have to use this water for irrigating your crops and fodder for your animals,” said Kaibaija.

He was addressing cell, and sector executive secretaries, at Umutara Polytechnic last week, at a meeting also attended by opinion and village leaders.

Noting that that there some areas that are not endowed with water bodies and are even crying out to get drinking water, the governor tasked the participants to sensitise area residents on proper uses of natural resources. 

"You have to volunteer and pass on this message to grass root people who have not attended this meeting. It is unfortunate that most of these people have not come here but I hope you are going to be my ambassadors out there.”

Kabaija also called upon the leaders to sensitize residents on the advantages of saving their money in banks.
He explained that saving is not for purposes of getting loans but security reasons. People still keeping money under their beds may lose it to thieves, he warned.

"We can’t deploy security personnel to every person in the district who has sold a cow or agricultural products for security purposes but all banks have guaranteed security.

So it will be safe for us if we keep our money in banks,” he said.

On education, he asked leaders to watch out on children who skip school on market days in order to check cases of school drop out.

Citing several criminal tendencies, the governor tasked the leaders to use their powers to mitigate the vices.

"You have all the powers to deal with your residents to stop everything they are doing that is against the laws governing our country,” he said.

Emmanuel Gakwaya, the regional police commander (RPC) urged leaders to cooperate with residents in order to prevent crimes.

According to the Governor, Nyagatare district ranks fourth on the national crime rankings, and first in the Province. The most common crimes include; defilement, selling local brew (Kanyanga) and fighting.

Ends