Gasabo Mayor addresses plot dispute reports

Gasabo District Mayor Claudine Nyinawagaga has described as “impatient” civil servants who have expressed disappointment over delays in being allocated plots they paid for in the district. She was speaking at a press conference held Friday at Remera sector offices near Remera police station. This followed media reports about disputes between Gasabo District and several government employees over plots. The report also said that the aggrieved had gone to the level of petitioning President Paul Kagame to intervene in the matter. In reaction to the claims made by the government employees in the letter they addressed to the President, the Mayor said that the acquisition of the plots was delayed by a number of reasons among which was the fiscal study of the area. Other reasons she noted was putting infrastructure in the area and incomplete payments from civil servants. “The tender has now been awarded to the company that will do a fiscal study to have a detailed master plan. Thereafter, infrastructure will be put in the area followed by allocating plots accordingly,” Nyinawagaga said in the press conference that also attracted a representative from the Prime Minister’s office. “The first payment of these plots was done in November 2007 and the last payment in August 2008. There is no way we could have completed expropriation.” Vincent Ryamugema, the Director of Cabinet in the Prime Minister’s office, also accused civil servants of violating administrative procedures. “We have been surprised at how these people rushed to write to the president before writing to us. Administratively, when the district fails to help you then you write to Kigali city, to the local government ministry then to the Prime Minister,” Ryamugema said. “We did not violate any administrative procedures. What does it mean writing to someone several times copying to all involved parties and nobody takes any action?” Alain Mukuralinda, representing the employees, retaliated on his cell phone Friday. According to the Mayor, the civil servants did not pay for the plots in Rusororo and Ruyonza area in 2006 as they claimed but it was when the idea came up. Ends