Special Guarantee Fund will not compensate all goods spoiled by gorillas

The Special Guarantee Fund denies to compensate some of belongings of Musanze residents, who claim that their goods have been destroyed  by mountain gorillas. However some of them who own justification papers will be compensated not later than May, 2014.

Sebupfura Jean Claude who is among the ones to be compensated, has told UM– USEKE reporter his appreciation about the willingness of the government to compensate them.

To the other side the ones who will not be compensate, have revealed their anger about this.

Thy said that they will no longer collaborate with the officials in all activities reserved for the preservation of the Ibirunga National Park, including the ‘Yearly  Gorilla naming ceremony’.

Most of them have decided to bring their cases to the courts as to be compensated. The big majority of those people claim that the gorillas damaged their forests, destroyed their crops in fields etc.

For them the Special guarantee fund did not take into account the value of their destroyed belongings.

Bernardin Ndashimye  who was representing the SGF(Special Guarantee Fund) said that forests destroyed by the gorillas are still in a good stage that can help them to grow because most of them are still young.

He added that the SGF reserved seeds of trees as to help Musanze people to plant new trees because according to him, compensating damages made to a tree is harder to define and to provide.

The Fund promised people whose properties have been spoiled to be compensated not later than May ,2014.

In Rwanda, only the Akagera National Park has an enclosure that hinders wild animals from reaching outside the park and kill people or spoil their belongings.

UM– USEKE.RW