76 Scarcity and Surfeit
as Van Hoyweghen observes, apart from villages created in Kibungo and
other areas in north-western Rwanda, nearly all other settlements are inhab-
ited by Tutsi (either genocide survivors or first caseload refugee^).'^ Local
authorities, in many cases, do not recognise the Hutu as victims of the war
and genocide. Confounding the problem is that Tutsi genocide survivors
claim they are susceptible to militia attacks because they reside in clearly
identifiable 'Tutsi' villages. Imidugudu, therefore, has contributed to social
tensions in some areas of Rwanda.
Since the UNHCR withdrew support of Imidugudu, the programme is
threatened with a lack of sufficient financial support. It is clear that the gov-
ernment cannot pursue the programme without the assistance of the UNHCR
or other international donors. It therefore remains to be seen the extent to
which the villagisation programme will be implemented.
Turning now to the issue of law reform.
The preceding pages have made the point that land is the most important
productive asset for most Rwandans. Yet Rwanda has a legacy of disputed land
rights, arising partly from the lack of legal status for land title and partly from
the return of refugees whose land has been redistributed to other occupants.
Hence the provision of security and the resolution of land disputes are impor-
tant objectives of the current g~vernment.'~ In line with objectives outlined in
Rwanda's poverty reduction strategy, the government is acting to reduce con-
flicts over land, for example, through draft Land Policy and Land Law.
The Draft Land Policy includes the following provisions:
All Rwandans enjoy the same rights of access to land, implying no ethnic
or gender discrimination.
All land should be registered in title that can be traded, except where doing
so would fragment the land into plots that are less than one hectare in size.
Land use should be optimal. Households will be encouraged to consoli-
date plots to ensure that each holding is not less than one hectare; there
will also be a maximum size of 50 hectares for any individual landowner.
Families will be required to hold land in common should fragmenting the
land reduce the size of the plot to less than one hectare.
Land administration will be based on a reformed cadastral system and be
subject to further consideration.
The rights of occupants of urban land will be recognised on condition that
they conform to established rules.
The Draft Land Law specifies that:
Persons occupying less than two hectares, and those with customary hold-
ings of between two and 30 hectares, where the owner has a project and
a development plan, will be recognised as the rightful owners.