Kigali City Council (KCC) Wednesday sensitised representatives of 37 Youth Associations situated in the city on the pending implementation of the city’s 50 year Conceptual Master Plan.

The session that took place at Nyarugenge conference hall in the city centre is the second of a series of sensitisations meant to adequately inform and survey public attitudes towards the Master Plan.  

"It is something the KCC has designed to prevent any complications during the implementation process. After this, we will talk to church leaders, the media, civil society, Non Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) and the private sector,” explained Bruno Rangira, KCC’s Director of Media and Communication.

In a power point presentation, the youth representatives viewed illustrative slides of the architectural plan accompanied by verbal explanations.

During the question and answer session, Theodore Murenzi, the General Secretary of the Heavy Truck Drivers in Rwanda, asked whether the plan puts into consideration minimising future costs of reconstruction.

"Kenya is breaking down her former structures to add more stories to buildings. I hope you won’t do the same after 50 years,” he advised. For which he received an affirmative from the organizers who said the designers were making all these considerations in their planning.

However, a furious Jean Paul Binama stated that the delay in the compensation funds (for resettled residents) promised by KCC was inconsiderate since commodity prices were unstable.

"We signed for compensation money and KCC promised to pay us immediately but they have taken long and the prices for construction materials are rising since we have to build elsewhere,” he retorted.

But Rangira said that KCC is in line with the law.

"According to the law, we are supposed to sensitise the people before we move them, then the evaluation of property follows and so we are still in the process,” he said.

Rangira also said that sensitisation is taking place at the grassroots level in the districts of Gasabo, Nyarugenge and Kicukiro, on the planned scope of the Master Plan.   

The KCC last week unveiled the Conceptual Master Plan at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST]). The audience which comprised of students from various universities in the country, was urged by KCC Vice Mayor, Jean d’Arc Gakuba, to be actively involved in its implementation.

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