Editor,

RE: "WASAC’s state-of-the-art head office nears completion” (The New Times, October 7).

WASAC needs to justify this move due to several reasons. First, WASAC, as a basic service provider, probably has a breakeven spreadsheet (I stand to be corrected) and I would be surprised if it has good profit margins, especially given the heavy investments in the last several years in Nzove water treatment plants, overhaul of Kigali water supply systems, planning of a state of the art Kigali sewage system…

I doubt this is the time to rent expensive and prime real estate location.

Secondly, given this is a renting agreement, was there public procurement conducted to identify the place?

Thirdly, WASAC would do well to see as many services decentralised to branches, hence bringing services closer to the people and keeping a light headquarters office that would concentrate on strategic issues and very complex cases that require top-level decisions. 

Moving headquarters without decentralising more services is self defeatist.

Thirdly, Rwanda Housing Authority should have worked more closely with WASAC to identify existing Government buildings that would have saved the rent. Government agencies that should rent must be those which are revenue-generating, and hence do not need to burden the Government coffers with rent.

Fourth, the location of this building on a major highway means that there is likely to be traffic jams at this point as people try to access it. And the road behind is also a narrow neighbourhood road and can hardly ease traffic jam on the highway.

Hope my concerns will be looked into.

Concerned citizen