In the Democratic republic of Congo, the deputy governor of the restive North Kivu province says his administration is determined to rebuild destroyed infrastructure after years of rebel insurgencies.
<!-- IMAGE -->Fellel Lutaicheiowa said President Joseph Kabila's government also pledged to support the reconstruction plan at a meeting Monday.
Lutaicheiowa said that mobilizing the population is essential if his administration's efforts are to succeed.
"The plan of stabilization and reconstruction is a plan which needs sensitization because it can be very difficult to stabilize without training, without workshop because we have to bring all people to understand what is expected about this project," Lutaicheiowa said.
<!-- IMAGE -->He said the rebuilding effort will be extended to five other provinces that were adversely affected by years of clashes between government troops and various armed groups.
Lutaicheiowa said an agreement between Kinshasa and some armed groups has helped improve the security situation in North Kivu province. But he says reconstruction will not be an easy task.
"At the east part of the country now the situation is really improved. But we need to build infrastructure and we have many challenges because we are in a situation after conflict," Lutaicheiowa said.
The deputy governor said his provincial government will start with the rebuilding of schools, roads, health centers as well as buildings that were destroyed during the conflict. He said his administration will also assist returning residents who were displaced.
<!-- IMAGE -->"(We also have to improve on agriculture) because as you know we have many displaced people and now they are coming back (to) their villages and we think that they will begin to make farms," Lutaicheiowa said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a recent report that despite relative peace in the area, security incidents against humanitarian workers in North Kivu province increased by 26 percent since January compared to the same period last year.
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