By JOHNSON KANAMUGIRE

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Several landowners are still awaiting compensation more than six years after Kigali City earmarked their properties for expropriation for a municipal dumpsite.

They say they are languishing in poverty over losses incurred.

The landowners, who include 10 families who are currently stuck inside the dumpsite buffer in the outskirt Nduba area told Rwanda Today the valuation of the land and properties was done and approved by both parties between 2011 and 2014. However, city authorities under four successive mayors are yet to disburse any funds.

Most of them have been incurring losses since they have not been able to put their properties to any beneficial use or earn any income from it after the Kigali city added a chunk of the land to the existing municipal waste disposal site while another section serves as a murram extraction site for road construction firms.

“Our main concern is that these activities have been taking place on part of our land and no one seems to be giving us hope about our compensation, years on.

They are not paying us and yet they continue to force waste on us and dig more septic tanks for toilet waste near us,” said Floribert Kayiranga, one of the landowners who is owed Rwf23 million for his 2,600 square metre land and properties on it.

When Rwanda Today visited the area last week, murram extraction machines were close to the residential neighbourhood in Kibungo Village of Muremure Cell, while two open toilet waste dumping site were only about 120 metres away.

Families decry deteriorating state of health. Things have become more unbearable in Taba village, which hosts the dumpsite, and homeowners have been forced to flee their homes to rent in neighbouring villages.

“We were under threat from attacks by dogs, which regularly roam around the dumpsite and it was no longer safe for my children who also suffered from the dumpsite’s bad smell,” said Jean Claude Nkundabanyanga, a father of three who moved to Rebero cell.

Rwanda Today found that four Taba Village families who directly or jointly owned the expropriated properties were forced to temporarily flee their homes over safety reasons after the long wait for compensation yielded no results.

They include Jean Baptiste Gatete, Michel Gwaneza, Francine Nyiramahingura and Epimaque Ndungutse who confirmed renting elsewhere.

Initially, City authorities told the residents that it would take a few weeks to make the payments for all those who assented to the valuation report and whose identification and banking details were complete.

A section of the landowners who continued to pay regular visits to the City Council for follow up, said that in November last year, authorities referred them to the Water and Sanitation Corporation (Wasac), which currently handles the management of the Nduba dumpsite and runs the country’s sanitation budget.

Time frame

Until last week, the residents were still in limbo and claimed that the time frame of 120 days for compensation payment for public interest projects as stipulated by the law was not respected, hence they deserved to renegotiate with the City.

Nkundabanyanga, for instance co-owned a parcel of land with others, which the 2014 valuation put at Rwf1.7 million including the house, but currently puts its value at Rwf3 million.

“My land which would then cost Rwf300,000 now goes for Rwf1 million, construction materials like a tree that then cost Rwf2,500 now goes for Rwf4,000 while roofing sheet now goes for Rwf7,000 from between Rwf4,500 and Rwf5,000 then.

That shows you how much we have lost and no one seems to consider that,” he said. “If it was possible I would prefer that they give me back my property, but many of us cannot afford legal fees and we would not want to run the risk of being seen to oppose the government project.

We are only pleading that they pay us,” said Landouard Mugabo.

When contacted, Wasac officials told Rwanda Today the city had filed a list of more than 64 landowners who will be paid Rwf173 million before the start of the next fiscal year.

Joseph Murenzi, director of Water and Sanitation Development said they awaited more files from the City which handled the valuation exercise, which would be processed.

However, Mr Murenzi said Wasac was not in a position to address complaints around the delay in payment of the compensation since it only dealt with disbursing the money.

Kigali City officials largely blame the payment delays to missing details in the files by some of the landowners.