The City of Kigali has once again demonstrated why it remains one of Africa’s most forward-looking urban centres. The introduction of modern road cleaning technology including advanced machines that will sweep, wash, and maintain the city’s roads, is a welcome and necessary step for a capital city whose global stature continues to rise. This move was long overdue. Modern cities rely on automation not just for efficiency, but for sustainability, hygiene, and cost-effectiveness in the long term. Kigali must continue to embrace these modern standards as part of its broader vision of becoming a truly smart city. However, as we celebrate this important milestone, we must not ignore the thousands of men and women whose livelihoods have been built around cleaning the city streets manually. These are hardworking citizens who have diligently kept our city clean, often under difficult conditions — exposed to dust, pollution, accidents, and sometimes exploitation by some unscrupulous contractors. For many of them, street cleaning has been a source of daily bread, sustaining entire families. But let us be honest: while this work has provided employment, it is not the kind of dignified, forward-looking employment that an ambitious, modern Rwanda aspires to offer its citizens. These are not decent, long-term jobs that align with our national development agenda. Our people deserve safer, healthier, and more rewarding work opportunities that allow them to build careers, not just survive day-to-day. Therefore, as Kigali moves toward automation, city authorities have a moral obligation to ensure that these workers are not left behind. Safety nets must be strengthened. Skills retraining programmes should be introduced to help these workers transition into new, better-paying sectors. The same energy and innovation that is driving the city’s modernisation must also be applied to protecting the welfare of its vulnerable workforce. Modernity and compassion can coexist, and this has been characteristic of most of our policies. Kigali can be a beacon of innovation while also setting an example in responsible, inclusive development. As the machines take over the streets, let us make sure that no human being is abandoned in the process.
