Three people in Huye District, including a toddler, died when their house collapsed following last Saturday’s heavy downpour. The regrettable incident raises many questions, especially on the role of grassroots leaders in ensuring that Rwandans are not exposed to harmful agents of weather, among other calamities. With adverse weather conditions increasing over the past few years, it is essential that village leaders and technocrats at the sector level guide communities to develop habitable dwellings that meet minimum standards. From the pictures of the collapsed house in Sovu Cell, Huye Sector, it is clear that the structure was a death trap. One of the questions for leaders at the village, cell and sector levels in the area is whether the disaster could have been prevented. Don’t local governments have minimum standards for housing that could help prevent or minimise such catastrophes? Whatever the case, grassroots leaders across the country have the responsibility to guide residents and promote policies that safeguard lives, including better housing. It is not enough for leaders to only come after disasters to assess damage caused when they could have helped avert them and save life. With the present dramatic climate change that is characterised by extreme weather conditions like El Nino, or prolonged dry spells, local leaders must adapt their roles to new challenges faced by communities to be more relevant to the people they serve. It is also important that grassroots leaders do not sit back and wait for district authorities or the central government because some areas face specific challenges. Though Huye District has previously been affected by heavy rains that destroyed houses and crops in Karama and Mbazi sectors, local authorities seem not to have learnt a lesson on how to protect residents and their property. Things need to change otherwise it will be a repeat every time calamity strikes.
