Kigali City Council officials have found Gatsata suburb’s sanitation standards wanting.In Gatsata, according to city officials, there are no bins and people litter waste in unauthorised places. The suburb is located along the Kigali-Gatuna road.When inspection officials visited the area on Thursday they realised that there was waste dumped on roadsides and shop owners had no litter bins. The officials noticed that although there was a slight improvement in sanitation compared to their previous tour, further checks showed that shop owners had failed to set up green gardens in front of their business premises as required.The tour aimed at assessing sanitation standards in business premises.The Mayor of Kigali City, Fidele Ndayisaba, told journalists that they reached a conclusion after careful analysis of the various areas they had inspected.“We still have cases of disorganised parking in this place and people don’t have litter bins. We must work hand in hand with the local authorities to address this problem,” said Ndayisaba.The mayor challenged the local authorities, especially from Gasabo District where Gatsata is located, to undertake sensitisation campaign on sanitation issues.Residents who spoke to The New Times said cleanliness is only witnessed in people’s homes but it was still wanting in public places.“The focus should now be on public places. Sometimes traders are unmindful because it’s not their homes,” said a shopkeeper in Nyabugogo who gave her name only as Nyiraneza.Kigali City officials conduct routine inspection across city suburbs, especially over hygiene, sanitation issues.Thursday’s tour was mainly to assess environmental status.According to the instructions, tarmac roads must have well-maintained gardens, paved spaces on entrances of houses be linked by the pavement or the garden and every shop must have a trash bin.
