It sounds like a simple question. But perhaps we should begin with a more difficult one: How can the city talk about creating jobs while, at the same time, closing businesses that employ people? It is a fair question, right? In just two weeks, 30 factories producing illicit alcoholic beverages have been closed in Kigali, with at least 1,229 employees affected. In addition, 840 bars and 10 liquor stores have been closed for non-compliance. Some may reopen after fulfilling the required conditions. Others may not. Behind these numbers are people. Someone may have lost a salary. Someone may be wondering how to pay rent. Someone has children to feed. A supplier may have lost a customer. Yes. We never talk about enforcement without also thinking about the people whose livelihoods are affected. But here is the difficult question: Should a factory producing something that may endanger people’s health remain open simply because it employs 100 people? Should a bar that does not meet required standards continue operating simply because people work there? If the answer were yes, then almost any harmful or illegal activity could be justified in the name of employment. Can we agree that a job is important, but it cannot come at the expense of someone else’s health, safety or life? And this brings us back to the original question: How does a city create jobs? Mostly, not by hiring everyone. A city creates jobs by creating the conditions in which businesses can invest, grow, and employ people. Take GAMICO, for example. Its mining operations employ more than 1,500 people. Look at RAMBA Hills, currently under construction. Hundreds of people are already earning a living from its construction. And look at the ongoing restoration of Kigali’s five wetlands. Since the works began, they have provided employment opportunities to 12,124 people — 5,213 women and 6,911 men — including labourers, technicians and people involved in landscaping, construction, maintenance and other supporting activities. Then think about the many other construction sites across #KigaliYacu. Later, these completed developments may employ cleaners, receptionists, accountants, technicians, managers, and many others. One investment can create a whole chain of livelihoods because one job can create another. The construction worker buys lunch from someone. The hotel buys vegetables from a farmer. The factory needs transporters. The mining company needs suppliers. The restaurant employs a waiter who pays a tailor, a landlord or a moto rider. Money moves. Opportunities multiply. That is how a city creates jobs. Jobs are created when the city facilitates industries, hotels, restaurants and commercial developments; builds roads and markets; supports entrepreneurs; attracts conferences and major events; promotes tourism; restores our natural ecosystems; and makes it easier for legitimate businesses to operate. But job creation and regulation go hand in hand. Government, including the city, has two responsibilities that must co-exist: Create an environment where legitimate businesses and jobs can grow, and protect the public when economic activities become illegal, unsafe or harmful. Sometimes the second responsibility unfortunately means that jobs are affected. We should acknowledge that. But our response cannot be to protect harmful activities simply because they employ people. Our bigger responsibility is to keep building an economy capable of creating more legitimate opportunities than those we lose through enforcement and economic change. So when we say that a city created thousands of jobs, it does not necessarily mean thousands of people were added to the city payroll. It means that public and private investment, infrastructure, environmental restoration, business facilitation, and economic activity created opportunities for people to earn a living. And perhaps our measure of success should not simply be: “How many jobs did we create?” It should also be: “What kind of jobs did we create?” Jobs that are lawful. Jobs that are sustainable. Jobs that give people dignity. Jobs that contribute to our economy without harming the health and future of our people. Because our ambition cannot simply be more jobs at any cost. Our ambition must be more good jobs, more responsible businesses, and more sustainable opportunities for our people. That is the economy #KigaliYacu must continue building. The writer is a Spokesperson of the City of Kigali.
