Besides technical planning, City of Kigali councillors should take time off to analyse the threats ahead and involve their respective constituents.The call was made at the weekend by the Minister of Local Government, James Musoni, at a two-day retreat in Kigali.The minister said it was their duty to help define the kind of city the country needs, that is, orderly and business-friendly environment that promotes entertainment, a city where everything is in its designated place.“We have heard people in the past complaining about what they called harshness of some measures by the city, especially concerning entertainment; it should be understood that people should have a place where they can sleep as they wish, separate from a noisy place,” Musoni said.Involving ‘outsiders’He also challenged the councillors to bring on board those who do not fit into the plan, such as street vendors and the delinquent.Referring to the city master plan, which is technically ready, Musoni said councillors should have the capacity to break it down to the citizenry to convince them on its advantage.They should also be able to have answers to queries raised by their constituents on different aspects, and not to wait for the top leadership to make field visits to provide the answers, giving an example of the call for people to relocate from areas which are prone to disasters.“Their failure to understand means yourself you failed at some point,” he said, urging the councillors to make periodic assessment of their activities for proper planning.Discussing master plan Dieudonnée Sebashongore, the president of the City Council, said they managed to achieve various things, including the Kigali Employment Service Centre that was launched early this month.In one of the sessions, the city councillors took an entire afternoon to discuss the components of the master plan, which is to be launched in August.Alphonse Nzeyimana, the vice mayor in charge of economic affairs, said the master plan is not about houses, but all physical activities planned to be developed on a given land.He explained major development already on course, such as in construction of roads and houses, and said the implementation of the master plan will follow phases.
