BY JAMES BUYINZA Residents of Kinyinya communal settlement (umudugudu) have been urged to avoid idleness and divisionism in order to concentrate of developmental activities. The call was made on Sunday by Gasabo District vice mayor in charge of Finance and Development, Paul Jabo. He was speaking during the inauguration ceremony of Agriculture Farming for a Better Future Cooperative (Afbef) in the area. Jabo said Afbef was born after series of consultations with Kigali City Council, Banque Populaire (Population Bank) and other experts on the way how cooperatives operate under various circumstances. He noted that the cooperative will generate income to members. Jabo added that recently, the district had conducted a fundraising in which Frw15 million was collected and donated to Afbef He however, warned against divisionism and idleness, saying that they affect such infant cooperatives and urged them to consult in case of any misunderstanding. On her part, the vice mayor of Kigali city, in charge of social affairs, Jeanne d’Arc Gakuba, said that such a cooperative was the only way through which residents can address their immediate financial needs. She called on Kigali residents to join cooperatives in large numbers. The settlement has a population of 450 people with 110 families, 47 of whom are child-headed, 18 are headed by women and men infected with HIV/Aids. Twelve of them are headed by widows, 15 disabled headed families and 10 are headed traumatised headed families. All of these families are reported to be surviving on handouts from the government, Genocide survivors’ associations, Banque Populaire (Population Bank), among other well-wishers.
