One morning Pontien Nkinzingabo, a resident of Agatare Cell, Nyarugenge Sector in Nyarugenge District woke up and found that the City of Kigali had suddenly begun constructing a new stony road in his neighborhood.

The new road was part of the city’s move to upgrade some of the most congested and hardly accessible neighborhoods, commonly known as "informal settlements” in the City of Kigali.

"We had no clue about the first phase of the road construction. It was a sort of a shock. When the implementers realised that residents were not happy with the way things were being done, they decided to bring Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development (RISD) to inform us on the land rights as well as educate us on the importance of the upgrading project, which we embraced.

"We felt involved and that information helped us to be part of the project; my wife got a job in the construction project while others got fair compensation,” Nkinzingabo said.

He was speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on urbanisation and informal settlement upgrading in Kigali on Wednesday.

The Executive Secretary of Nyarugenge Sector, Charles Havuguziga, said that, "it is right to engage the citizens first before any project is implemented, after all they are the one to experience the outcomes of the exercise.”

He said that, at a later stage, residents were engaged in subsequent activities in Agatare Cell.

The meeting, organised by RISD, used ‘upgrading of informal settlements’ in Agatare Cell as a case study showcasing how various stakeholders – such as the civil society and the private sector – are involved in the area of community participation.

The Chairperson of RISD Board of Directors, Bishop Nathan Gasatura, said as the informal upgrading expands alongside the development of the secondary cities, "it is hoped that the government strengthens even further community participation in deciding the upgrading priorities, for the success of the process.”

"Today, most Rwandans understand and appreciate the benefits of urbanisation, but there’s a challenge of upgrading many existing informal settlements if the target of 35 per cent urbanisation is to be achieved,” he said.

He observed that upgrading is still understood by many to mean moving and expropriation of the population, which is not necessarily the case.

The City of Kigali engineer, Dr Aplhonse Nkurunziza, hailed the timing of the discussion, noting that it comes at a time when the City of Kigali is implementing various transformational projects, which require public participation.

"All we do is for the good of the community,” he noted.

In handling issues related to urbanisation and upgrading process, Nkurunziza emphasised that, decisions should be agreed with community and implemented, within the agreed timeframe, to avoid any misunderstanding.

The Government has stepped up efforts to promote urbanisation, which is among the priorities of the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy-2(EDPRS 2).

It aims to increase urbanisation from 19 per cent to 35 per cent by 2020, so as to match rapid population growth with economic development and poverty reduction in urban areas.

The director of RISD, Annie Kairaba, said that as the government moves to implement this vision, it is imperative that the latter seeks support from the civil society for seamless implementation.

"As we move into the full implementation of urbanisation across all cities, we commit more support and partnership from civil society, with broader engagement through LandNet Rwanda Chapter,” Kairaba said.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw