Editor,

Reference is made to the article, "Global brands rush for rental space as Kigali Heights nears completion” (The New Times, February 12).

The excitement of seeing a city’s skyline change from a semi slum to an organised metropolis with potentially a 5-star status cannot be measured. Kigali is no doubt a city on the move and hardly stops amazing even the most skeptical.

One of the critical question Kigalians may keep asking is whether the infrastructure development and transformation around them reflect household economic changes. The excitement of having a new modern shopping mall with world class business names is indeed good news, but will our spending power be commensurate with the world class level expected of these world class retail business services?

The answer to this question may depend on a lot of factors which I would not want to delve into now. Nevertheless, I would like to add one key element: Our authorities and Kigalians must facilitate the creation of jobs at the grassroots and invest more in agricultural productivity to ensure an increase in value added agricultural exports that will reduce our trade deficit.

Recent reports show that the agriculture sector employs over 75 per cent of Rwandans, so we are likely to improve our spending power and enable a good majority of Rwandans to shop in Simba, Nakumatt and the famous Woolworths, not mentioning T2000, if we focus on our agricultural productivity.

I am optimistic this is achievable. However, if we are unable to improve our purchasing power by creating jobs and adding value to our agricultural products, Nakumatt, Woolworths, Simba and the rest may close their doors and move to other East African cities where the purchasing power is higher and the cost of running business relatively low.

Let’s be excited, but there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that more high-level world class retail business moguls invest in the country. Rwandans have to work, create jobs and save money to be able to have that critical spending power reminiscent of middle class economies.

Daoud

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Daoud has raised some good points, but in my point of view, there is nothing to worry about.

The Government of Rwanda has done a lot in the agriculture sector and has many good projects in the offing. Just think when you last heard about famine in any part of the country, which used to be a common occurrence in the past.

If philanthropist (American) Warren Buffet is ready to spend half a billion dollar in agriculture in Rwanda, it’s not by chance. Lots of ground work had to be done for Rwanda to be eligible, and results of this investment and others are only going toward fulfilling your wishes.

Believe me, businesses in general and international chains in particular do not set up shops by chance. When you see them expanding by opening new branches, it only means the market is there. Otherwise Simba, Nakumatt, Sawa City…wouldn’t be opening or about to open new branches. They surely do market and feasibility studies before investing.

It is good news that Woolworths is about to open shop in Kigali; it brings to our market higher end shopping experience that was still lacking in Kigali and I am sure they too did their homework before contemplating to come.

Charles