A total of 715 casual labourers in Gatsibo District are complaining over delayed wages worth Rwf13.5 million for their services during the construction of Kiramuruzi-Gakoni road. They say they completed the work two weeks ago and the district had promised to pay them two days later but they were yet to get any communication from authorities. “We had better things to do. We expressed our worries about late payments before starting work and the district assured us the payment would be in time but this has not been the case,” Clementine Murorunkwere, one of the workers, said. Louise Uwineza, another worker, said they expected to use part of the money during the festive season and use the rest to cater for their medical insurance. When contacted for a comment, the district public works officer, Denis Mukama, said they had informed the workers about the payment process and that money would be on their accounts soon. “We prepared a payroll six days ago and sent it to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for approval. We hope that soon their money will be deposited on their accounts,” Mukama said. The acting Mayor of Gatsibo District, Esperance Uwimpuhwe, appealed to the affected workers to be calm, saying their payment was being processed. “We appeal to them to be patient. There might have been some flaws in the communication between road workers and Kiramuruzi Sector administration but we did not receive any complaint from them,” Uwimpuhwe said. The complainants worked for a daily wage of between Rwf1,300 and Rwf2,000 for a period of 15 days. Apart from their supervisors, other workers were vulnerable people selected from the Ubudehe category 1 and 2. Mukama said the district planned to complete the road construction works within 45 days but the work was completed in 15 days because the number of workers was tripled due to a big number of vulnerable people who wanted jobs. People who use Kiramuruzi-Gakoni road, meanwhile, said the road had become impassable, especially during heavy rains yet it leads to three secondary schools and to the Lake Muhazi beach. Mukama said they were waiting for a contractor to supply materials for bridges and trenches before construction works could resume.
