WESTERN PROVINCE RUSIZI — The Fund for Genocide Survivors (FARG) will soon stop disbursing funds for vulnerable genocide survivors in Rusizi District. Gaspard Uwumukiza, the national official in charge of Health and Human Rehabilitation in FARG, revealed this Monday at a meeting with Rusizi district officials. The meeting was meant to lay modalities for selecting genocide survivor students who would be sponsored by FARG next year. Uwumukiza explained that FARG would cut off funding to Rusizi because of poor coordination of activities and poor financial accountability of money meant for construction of houses for vulnerable genocide survivors in the district. According to the official, in 2007, FARG gave the district Frw30 millions and this year it also disbursed another Frw80 millions for the construction of houses for vulnerable genocide survivors, but no accountability report has been submitted to date. “FARG has resolved not to provide any more money to cater for vulnerable genocide survivors…. because the district has never accounted for the Frw120 millions we gave them in 2007 and 2008. This really underlines lack of coordination in the district and in one way or another it is a sign of irresponsibility,” Uwumukiza told participants. He added that FARG also disbursed Frw17 millions meant for health insurance for vulnerable residents in the district whose accountability is yet to be given. He blamed the problem to the district department of Good Governance and Social Affairs. Later, authorities named two people responsible for the problem. Christopher Mutugantambara in charge of Good Governance at the district attributed the irregularities to Yves Rutebuka, who was sacked as district FARG boss recently and his predecessor, Valence Bigirimana. Bigirimana resigned from his post after reportedly noticing that there were a lot of irregularities in the FARG management. Talking to The New Times shortly after the meeting, Job Rwabukambira, the vice president of IBUKA, an umbrella for Genocide survivors in the area, expressed worries about their living standards after the funding is stopped. He called upon the government to intervene to reverse the decision. According to Uwumukiza, FARG currently sponsors over 6,000 students in Rusizi district at secondary and university level. Ends
