Authorities are working on a five-year strategy to consolidate the activities of all the districts that make up the City of Kigali. This is the first strategy since the introduction of the reforms that give the City of Kigali the responsibility to coordinate the planning functions of its three districts namely Nyarugenge, Gasabo and Kicukiro. Speaking at a validation of the integrated development strategy on Tuesday, City Mayor Pudence Rubingisa said the strategy is critical in the process to centralise all activities in Kigali. Under the strategy, city authorities plan to spend Rwf100 billion in the first year with 70 per cent of it allocated to infrastructure development. “We now have one budget for the city as a whole, which means we are consolidating efforts. The city will determine the budget for each district. The districts will be acting as implementing agencies,” he explained. The strategy, which runs through 2024, places a strong emphasis on providing decent affordable accommodation and convenient transportation for citizens as city authorities try to keep pace with the changing demands of the population. It also seeks to ensure safety and security for both the residents and investors and to make Kigali a more vibrant city. “The strategy will also help us to easily approach investors, banks and other stakeholders in case we need them (for financing) while implementing the city’s development projects,” he said. Jean de Dieu Musoni, the City’s Director-General for Planning, said the City of Kigali, was keen on addressing the persistent challenges in project implementation. “For instance, there were projects that used to be implemented to benefit the community of one district but end up causing problems to the community from a neighbouring district,” he said. “Since the planning is about the City as a whole, we believe such kinds of issues won’t happen again because there won’t be limits or borders while implementing certain projects.” The strategy also proposes approaches to ensure better coordination and communication, monitoring and evaluation in addition to guidelines that will ensure proper use of existing resource and mobilise even more resources. The strategy awaits the City Council’s approval before its implementation and it is expected to come into force January next year. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
