A total of 1,657 residents in four districts of Rwanda’s Eastern Province say they have spent five years waiting to recover more than Rwf94 million owed to them under a project intended to help farmers irrigate their crops using mobile phone technology.
In 2021, a company called Akagera VTC signed agreements with several Umurenge SACCOs in the Eastern Province to help farmers access mobile phone-based irrigation services.
The project was expected to help farmers cope with the effects of climate change, which frequently affects agricultural production in the province. However, it was not implemented as planned, despite residents having already taken out loans from different SACCOs.
The residents say they continued to face demands to repay the loans even though the project failed to deliver the expected results. They are now appealing to the relevant authorities to intervene and help resolve the matter.
One of the affected residents said they had been encouraged to purchase mobile phones to participate in the project before being connected to SACCOs for loans.
“We were told that for the project to proceed, we had to buy mobile phones. They connected us to SACCOs and required each group to provide collateral, which we did, and we were given the phones. Our group had 15 members and borrowed Rwf1.144 million, with each person charged Rwf76,000 for a phone,” the resident said.
Another resident who provided collateral on behalf of their group told Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) that some members began refusing to repay their loans after realising that the project was not progressing as expected.
The resident said they are still being asked to repay approximately Rwf500,000.
The Eastern Province administration described the project as fraudulent, saying its design had raised questions about whether it was feasible.
It added that individuals suspected of involvement in the alleged fraud were being investigated by judicial authorities.
The administration also said it had held discussions with the SACCOs that issued the loans, asking them to stop charging interest on the outstanding amounts and refrain from auctioning residents’ pledged property while the matter remains unresolved.
According to information released by the provincial administration, the loans were issued to 1,657 residents organised into 156 groups across Rwamagana, Ngoma, Kayonza and Gatsibo districts. The total amount disbursed was Rwf223 million.
The money was intended to purchase and install water storage tanks and pipes on farms to enable residents to irrigate their crops.
Of the total amount, Rwf132 million has been repaid, leaving more than Rwf94 million outstanding, which residents say they have been waiting five years to recover.
The contractor and other individuals suspected of involvement in the problems surrounding the project are currently being investigated by judicial authorities.
