Editor,

RE: "Construction sector on the spot over environmentally uncompliant structures” (The New Times, February 13).

This is a commendable move by Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA). However, like pretty much of new efforts, it’s easier to focus on quick wins.

They include (though not exhaustive):

1. Establishment of a green building council. Seeing that Rwanda is mainly government-driven due to a small private sector, this council would likely be initially funded by government/and or donors. Given the legal framework process (from policy to law to cabinet approval) which may take a good year or more, I would suggest RHA to host and assign a staff to kick-start the council as the framework process comes about.

2. The second quick win is that of training professionals and awareness raising in the education sector. Currently Rwanda has associations of engineers, architects…which form a good basis for stakeholder engagement. The University of Rwanda, School of Architecture is a key stakeholder in engaging them in emphasizing green building design curricula.

3. Development of green building guidelines and standards. I would advise that Rwanda should not invent the wheel in developing own standards. Key consideration in adopting a standard, is its ease in access to training materials and cost of certifications in order to quickly build critical mass of certified professionals in the country.

4. Start with government buildings. Currently a lot of infrastructure development is going in including schools, hospitals, health centers, police offices, judiciary offices etc. This can be a key and quick intervention which would have key support from the ministry of finance, as green buildings tend to be cheaper to construct and cheaper to maintain in the long run.

5. Another quick win is for RHA to commission a study on existing government buildings to plan a gradual move to a sustainable way of promoting them to be greener (more installation of solar for electricity…)

6. Rwanda has made headlines in its commitment to environment efforts. Green buildings all over the world also serve as an investment at traction feature, as more investors and the world become more environmentally conscious in the wake of climate change and are proud to be associated with reducing carbon print.

With a focus on some of the quick wins in the next couple of years Rwanda will, in my opinion, become a leader in green building standards in Africa, as has come to be expected of this great country.

Kigali Girl