EDITORIAL: Expropriations should be carried out in a timely manner

The Government has been in relentless pursuit of rebuilding the nation in the past two decades. In order to keep up with the momentum and the urgency to move forward, many infrastructure projects were drawn up. They would need resources to acquire the land necessary to spread out the developmental ideas. But people would have to be relocated and they would need to be compensated. But relocating thousands of families is no easy feat; valuations have to be carried out as well as authenticating ownership to avert feuds. But that should be carried out in a timely manner and needs not take years. All it needs is proper planning. Of late, parliament has received many petitions of delayed compensations Residents of Rubavu were informed that they would have to give way to the expansion of Rubavu Airport; that was way back in 2006. In the meantime, they were prohibited from carrying out any developments on their property. Some received compensation, vacated their land or property, but the intended project did not take off. In the meantime, the land is unproductive yet it could be put to good use, as is the case for the proposed Bugesera International Airport and Gahanga Stadium. It is encouraging that now the issue of delayed compensation has been addressed by the enactment of a new law that compels the expropriating authority to do so within three months of the approval. What needs to be addressed next is coming up with mechanisms to carry out expropriations when everything is in order.

Opinions

EDITORIAL: Expropriations should be carried out in a timely manner