Dear Editor,

In the issue of the New Times of the 3rd December 2008 in the article entitled "Batsinda housing estate in tenure controversy”, the reporter laments on the so called controversy over the acquisition of the new houses.

Kigali city wishes to shed light on this issue; as part of the city renewal it is inevitable that we relocate some of the city residents from existing slums to well planned neighborhoods.

The conditions in the slums are poor and in 2006 in lower Kiyovu we lost 33 lives because of land slides and poor drainage systems.

Kigali city council together with other partners developed a project to move the slum residents into decent affordable homes with all services provided.

In continued collaboration with our stakeholders and beneficiaries we developed the Batsinda Low Cost Housing. This was initiated through several meetings with the residents.

In October 2006 after Kigali city had held the first meeting with the population, they elected their representatives to liaise with stakeholders on the development of the project.

The initial phase of the project was the construction of a model house. This house was built in Kimisange in Kicukiro District. In January 2007 the representatives made a site visit and appreciated the proposed model house.

They also visited the future location for the Batsinda housing estate. This site was selected as a future development node with a link road connecting the main Byumba highway to the new Gacuriro constructed road through the Batsinda estate.

These homes were targeted to provide water, electricity, proper roads, drainage system and biogas for cooking needs. The City then through a Memorandum of Understanding engaged the Social Security Fund to fund the project and Housing Bank of Rwanda as a future affordable loan provider.

March 2007, construction works in Batsinda commenced whereas the valuation of the properties in Muhima was initiated in July 2007.

During the entire expropriation and construction exercise, the City continued to liaise with the locals through their representatives and occasional community meetings. This was to ensure that the beneficiaries were given an opportunity to continue to monitor the progress of the project.

The final value for the houses is recorded at Rwf3.5 million with Kigali City providing infrastructure (roads, drainage, electricity, water and biogas) at no cost to the residents.

Kigali City continues to play a facilitating role through negotiations with the Housing bank to provide a guarantee on behalf of the beneficiaries and to request for reduced interest rate on their loans.

The City has also actively engaged in income generating projects to enable them to service these loans and also derive a livelihood from their work.

Women have been trained in basket weaving and the youth in hydro foam brick making. More of the economic and social projects are being introduced in the housing estate like a telecentre and a community centre. All these are with the aim of introducing a livable environment.

As was communicated to the beneficiaries, individual cases of the extremely poor and old who cannot work will be considered under the vulnerable groups schemes.

For a sense of ownership and responsibility to their properties, it is required that the beneficiaries apply the compensation funds awarded to them to purchase rights to these homes.

The City will then facilitate them in obtaining all legal documentation. This project is part of a bigger scheme to develop a residential hub in Kinyinya Sector an area of over 440 hectares.

This is a continued partnership that involves a range of stakeholders and it is important that we work together for the success of this project for it seeks to provide decent living conditions for our slum dwellers.

RANGIRA BRUNO
DIRECTOR OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION
KIGALI CITY COUNCIL