4.4.2 Perception on expropriation
process and relocation
According to the law relating to expropriation in public
interest no. 18/2007 of 19/04/2007, expropriation is carried out by the
government only in public interest and with prior and just compensation. No
person shall hinder the implementation of the program on pretext of self
centered justifications. No land owner shall oppose any underground or surface
activity carried out on his or her land with an aim of public interest. In case
it causes any loss to him or her, he or she shall receive just compensation for
it.
Depending on this law, the researcher had an objective (among
other objectives) of assessing residents' views on expropriation and their
willingness to resettlement once the government need to acquire their land for
development in public interest. Residents have different views on new housing
development taking place in Kigali city. Some residents say that the new
housing development intends to evict them since they are poor and cannot build
houses with the required minimum standards (see table 6 below). However the
majority of these with fear of eviction are tenants. Others have the view that
once the government takes their land for new development, they will be
compensated and find elsewhere to establish new homes in the city. The majority
with this view are land owners who think that when given just compensation they
can build or buy new comfortable and affordable houses in another residential
area established by the city council.
The remaining percentage of interviewed residents said that
they hope to get a new decent house once the government acquires their land for
new development in public interest. Residents with this view are those with
poor houses on a very small plot of land who think that compensation from their
properties cannot allow them buy or build a new house in the city. So,
according to them, the relevant authorities should take their land showing them
a ready new house to occupy.
Table
6: Residents' perception on implementation of KCMP
|
Question
|
Response
|
frequency
|
|
How do you think the implementation of KCMP will affect
you?
|
Will evict me
|
47
|
|
Will expropriate me
|
33
|
|
Provide me a decent house
|
20
|
|
Total
|
100
|
Source: Household survey,
2011
According to the expropriation carried out in Ubumwe cell and
in some other parts of Kigali city, some expropriated persons were assisted to
get new houses constructed by Kigali city council in collaboration with other
housing partners. Batsinda housing estate established by Kigali city council in
partnership with Rwanda Social Security Board and Rwanda Housing Bank to
receive expropriated persons from Ubumwe cell were resettled.
However, not all of them went to Batsinda because some of them
were not satisfied with the size, location and standard of the houses in
Batsinda. To know what residents of Amahoro cell would prefer if susceptible to
relocation, they were asked whether they would accept compensations for their
properties alone and look for other houses for themselves, compensations and a
serviced plot so that they can construct a house of their choice or be
compensated and assisted to get a new subsidized house which they would pay in
installments. The chart below shows their responses.
Figure 6: Residents' preferences if susceptible to
relocation
Source: Household survey
2011
As it is obvious in the chart above, a half of the respondents
(50%) need to be assisted to get a new house instead of giving compensations
for their properties alone. The reason they put forward is that they are poor
and have poor quality of houses which would be compensated little money that
can only buy a plot of land without a house. They also added that compensation
prices are low while the prices of houses and plots increase as the demand
increases. The following chart reveals residents' judgments on the
expropriation prices in Kigali city.
Figure 7: Residents' perception on expropriation
prices in Kigali city
Source: household survey
2011
Kigali city land commission approved Kigali expropriation
prices in July 2008 (see Annex 3) which were used when expropriating Ubumwe
cell residents and are still applied to date. Unfortunately the prices on the
land and housing market increase frequently. This seemingly fixed price does
not favor expropriated persons because they cannot easily get an equivalent
plot of land and be able to construct a new building especially for the already
poor residents.
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