Mayor challenges leaders on land consolidation

HUYE - The Huye district Mayor, François Uhagaze, has said there is need for sector leaders to fully understand the land consolidation policy, in order to rally residents support towards the programme. The Mayor, made the remarks last week while presiding over a presentation of the sectors’ achievements in the first semester of 2009-2010. Uhagaze noted that some leaders do not fully understand the policy, whose aim is to bring fragmented plots of land together, to facilitate extensive crop production. “Many of you [executive secretaries] are giving impressive figures of the progress in the implementation of the policy ,but close observation of the so called ‘consolidated land’, reveals a different picture from what is expected,” he said. He said that local residents have gone on with their traditional ways of farming characterised by mixed cropping on the consolidated land. “We have a duty to advise our people to grow selected crops on these consolidated plots of land if they are to realise any benefits from the policy,” he added. During the presentation, different Executive Secretaries gave progress reports on the implementation of performance contracts. Many revealed that the land consolidation policy was on track. “So far we have cultivated beans on a 322 hectare stretch of consolidated land, our target is 400 hectares,” said Jean-Baptiste Mutabaruka, the Executive Secretary for Huye Sector. The sector leaders said their main challenge was financial constraints and a lack of skilled man power. The challenges had forced them to drop some of their planned activities. “The money we are allocated to implement different policies is not enough, we are also understaffed as regards to the administration of sectors,” noted Joseph Kagabo, the Executive Secretary for Gishamvu Sector. Ends