Traders operating various businesses in Musanze town have received with mixed feelings  the directive by district officials asking them to vacate dilapidated commercial buildings.

The directive also asks building owners to either refurbish or rebuild their structures in accordance with the master plan.

Businesses in the buildings in question had been given up to September 30 to relocate either to the new modern market or other places.

However, some traders and owners of the buildings in question have said that while the concept is good, the implementation raises concerns because it is likely to affect their business.

Several buildings were closed last weekend following the decision.

They said the best alternative was for them as private sector to sit with the authorities to come up with a win-win solution, whereby modernisation of the town will not disrupt business.

Building owners also said they need more time to put resources together to be able to carry out the required renovation works.

"We are not against the beautification of our town, it is in our interest as well...but we were not given enough time and building owners simply do not have the resources to make the modifications,” said Assuman Mbaraga, one of the property owners in Musanze town.

He said they held meetings with officials and raised their concerns because very few of the owners had capacity to raise the money for renovation works.

Another businessman, who only identified himself as Saul, said the decision is harsh.

"We are told to go to the modern market but the district has failed to negotiate with owners to rent to us space at a much lower price. If in the old building I was paying Rwf50,000 and shared space with one or two people, it will not be possible in the new market,” he said

One square metre is rented for Rwf9,000 in the new market which traders say is high.

However, district officials said the decision was taken after several meetings and consultation with traders and representatives of the Private Sector Federation (PSF) in the district.

Work in cooperatives

According to Pierre Claver Bagirishya, the Musanze District executive secretary, the decision in part aims at ensuring that Musanze consolidates its position as one of the secondary cities in the country.

"We want to have a clean and a developed city…the traders were informed beforehand and a deadline was put in place. You will never get anything done if you are to sit and wait for traders to develop the city whenever they want,” he said.

He said that the September 30 deadline was a position agreed upon through dialogue with the business operators, adding that some have actually started construction works.

"We discussed various strategies, of course we cannot put infrastructure ahead of our people; for instance, we engaged banks to help them easily acquire loans, we encouraged them to form cooperatives and work together on bigger projects,” he added.

Elie Nduwayesu, the PSF president in Musanze District, said while it is not easy for every property owner to raise the funds required for the reconstruction of the buildings, it is important for them to change mindset and think of forming synergies to embark on bigger and more lucrative projects.

"We need a developed city with modern infrastructure that will benefit us and the country in general. Investors have to be innovative when they are building houses, for instance we don’t have big meeting halls, exhibition facilities and stores for wholesale traders, these are all business opportunities,” he said.

The concept has worked well in the City of Kigali, where former property owners came together and formed joint ventures and are now owners of some of the ultra-modern housing complexes in the city.

Examples include the multiple commercial complexes in the Agakiriro Trading Centre, Champion Investment Group (CHIC), and Muhima Investment Company buildings, among others.

Musanze is the country’s main tourist town, owing to the thousands of visitors who annually throng the Virunga National Park to track mountain gorillas.

In Musanze town, there are over 2000 members of Private Sector Federation.

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