Investigate mismanagement of Gishwati forest

Editor,The ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources did not properly manage Gishwati Forest in the immediate aftermath of the Genocide (spanning from 1995 and a few years later) and now they are trying to deal with the consequences. Consequently, innocent citizens are suffering from these errors committed 19 years ago, with some people having nowhere to graze their animals or carrying out their activities. Many of these people who were resettled in the forest were Rwandans who returned from the DRC, where they had lived in exile for decades. I remember at that time (1995-1996), the former Minireiso (Ministry of Repatriation and Social Reintegration) was the one distributing hectares of Gishwati forest to these people. How come 19 years later, the Government, via Minagri, is redistributing the land of Gishwati forest, and a farmer who had one ha is now getting 0.2ha?I urge The New Times to investigate the real situation without relying on Minagri’s reports.Jean-Pierre Kalisa, RwandaReaction to the story, “Farmers reap heavily from reclaimed land in Gishwati” (The New Times, December 17).

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Investigate mismanagement of Gishwati forest