The parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has grilled the City of Kigali (CoK) over an incinerator at Nduba Landfill that has been lying idle for seven years now, and Agaseke House [in Kicukiro District] that has not yet been put to use four years after its construction.

While officials from the CoK were virtually appearing before PAC to respond to public asset mismanagement cases that were cited by the Auditor General (AG)’s reports, PAC urged them to urgently put these facilities to good use.

The idle incinerator issue was exposed by the follow-up audit report on management of solid and liquid waste in the City of Kigali, which was carried out in March 2021, while the Agaseke House problem was included in the AG’s report for the financial year 2019/2020.

According to the audit, the incinerator was in line with the projects that the City of Kigali had planned for sustainable waste management.

Its installation was meant to handle hazardous and infectious waste at the landfill located in Nduba Sector of Gasabo District.

The incinerator was acquired in 2014 for the cost of more than Rwf180.7 million, including over Rwf151.9 million for supply and installation of the incinerator and over Rwf28.8 million for the construction of its shelter.

The audit found that there was no value for money derived from acquiring the incinerator. It recommended that CoK to urgently find a way to use this incinerator or another alternative solution that could mitigate the loss of the asset.

"Seven years have elapsed since the incinerator was bought, but it has not yet been put to good use ... This is not acceptable,” said MP Beline Uwineza, pointing to poor planning and management of public resources.

Pudence Rubingisa, City of Kigali Mayor admitted that the situation implies that there was indeed poor planning.

He said that the challenges include that the hazardous waste that the incinerator would reduce to ashes were not available at the Nduba Landfill. This, he said, is attributed to the fact that new incinerators were introduced in the City of Kigali.

PAC Chairperson Valens Muhakwa, blamed poor planning for this case.

"What sort of planning is in procuring an incinerator without knowing when or whether the hazardous waste it will handle will be available,” he asked City of Kigali officials.

MP Germaine Mukabalisa said that if there was enough will, the incinerator would have gotten an operator, indicating that there is a high need of incinerator in the country.

"There are many hospitals that exposed the issue of lack of incinerators [to handle medical wastes],” she said.

As the way forward, Rubingisa said that the City of Kigali has started the process of looking for ways the incinerator can be utilised.

"We have started negotiations with people who can utilise it. We have two options on the table: leasing it so that we get monthly income, or selling it to private operators,” he said.

The Agaseke house concern

According to the audit, on June 18, 2014, City of Kigali signed a Memorandum of understanding with a contractor worth over Rwf423 million for the construction of a business and touristic house named Agaseke.

Agaseke house had been completed as per the signed Memorandum of understanding and final handover was signed on January 25, 2019. However, Agaseke house is not yet put to use since provisional handover held on March 23, 2017.

Also, the audit noted that failure to maintain the constructed Agaseke building has led to the damage of the building, including the leakage of roof cover and damaged ceiling as well as humidity on walls from leaking roof.

The Vice Mayor in charge of Socio-Economic Affairs at the City of Kigali, Nadine Umutoni Gatsinzi said the house was also meant to facilitate women’s access to training for knitting and crafts, and serve exhibition purposes.

Talking about the delay in its utilisation, she said that there was not thorough study on how it would be put to good use. Initially, she said, it was realised the location of the house was not easily accessible by the beneficiaries as it was far from them, which involved transport cost issue.

MP Anita Mutesi said that based on the current situation, the house would not be as productive as expected, unless an improvement is achieved.

"Houses such as this one are intended to facilitate residents to get profit. It is good that the house was designed for Agaseke (traditional coned basket); but, it should be located in a strategic place where the people who will work from it have easy access to buyers,” she said.

Currently, she said that the location of the house is easily accessible thanks to the development in the City, adding that it is in the vicinity of the Kigali Cultural Village.

She added that the City of Kigali seeks to further partnership with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) on how to use the place as a tourist destination in the City.