Nyabihu District Council has approved the allocation of Rwf800 million towards the construction of new district headquarters starting with this fiscal year 2015/2016.

Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Emmanuel Uwizeyimana, the district’s Director of Planning, said the current premises lack enough space for employees, hence affecting service delivery.

The three-storey building will be constructed in Rubaya Cell, Mukamira Sector, the location of the current offices.

"We are planning to construct modern district headquarters which will have all the needed facilities. Each unit will have its own department so that anyone seeking service will get it in one place,” said Uwizeyimana.

He added that the district had allocated Rwf200 million in the current fiscal year to begin construction, while the rest will be provided in the 2016/2017 fiscal year. The money will come from Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA) .

The district will spend another Rwf800 million in construction of feeder roads, Rwf700 million in infrastructure development, such as water and electricity distribution, and construction of modern villages.

Part of the budget has also been allocated to agriculture and health education, among other sectors.

"We have allocated a big part of our next fiscal year’s budget to infrastructure development. We want to build feeder roads in Gishwati and other roads to help farmers transport their milk and other goods from farms to markets easily,” he said.

The budget will also cater for staff salaries and other daily activities of the district.

Residents said allocating more money to infrastructure development will spur their own development, as well as that of the district and the country as a whole.

"Our district building is very old. It has seen no renovation for many years, but we are grateful for the new building. We hope it will improve service delivery, while changing the image of our district,” said Michel Ruterana, an area resident. editorial@newtimes.co.rw