EASTERN PROVINCE

KAYONZA—The district Mayor Damascene Muhororo has said the district has made positive strides ever since the RPF government came to power.

Talking to The New Times about this year’s Liberation Day celebrations slated for July 4, Muhororo said, "The district has undergone tremendous development after the liberation of the country. We shall celebrate the day with a lot of joy.

Our key to sustainable development is education; both formal and informal. We are putting our children in schools while the adults are being given fundamental life skills.”

There are visible signs of development in the district. The district town tells volumes. Kayonza is strategically located at the junction of two highways; connecting Kigali to two neighbouring countries of Uganda and Tanzania.

This is a town that emerged in the last few years from a small trading centre without any significant importance, to a reasonable town.

"Before the 1994 liberation of Rwanda that ushered in fundamental changes, Kayonza was a small village – trading centre like. But today the speed with which the town is developing amazes us all,” Janvier Kayinamura, a long time resident of the place observed.

It is noticed that there are new standard commercial and residential buildings being erected. A town formerly dominated by ‘rust decorated’ houses, now shines with admirable buildings, constructed with modern materials.

15 years ago, a visitor to the area could not get lodging facilities when travelling- no hotels were there.

Ironically, the town is frequented by business men to and from Uganda and Tanzania.

Visitors could seek accommodation in the neighbouring Rwamagana town. The district thus never reaped the fruits of its strategic location- getting revenue from the visitors.

The town hence lost revenue in different forms- the local administration and the population remained in perpetual poverty unable to develop the town.

However, this kind of isolation and state of hopelessness is steadily reversing with a new beginning.

There is hope as some wealthy powerful persons in the area and from other parts of the country have started building hotels.

One of such hotels is Homeland Hotel.
The hotels benefit not only individual investors, but also area residents and the whole country.

The hotels have provided employment and as commercial entities they all pay taxes to the local government.

"Travellers passing through our town no longer face accommodation problems. We actually need bigger hotels because we are sometimes overwhelmed by the number of visitors, we get everyday,” Jean de Dieu Nkurunziza, the Director Homeland Hotel says.

"Even local people need halls to conduct meetings and workshops of various kinds. We are doing our best to offer good services. We employ quality staff and pay them well, but we can’t meet the demands of the market.”

Kayonza residents however, say there is a long way to go since there is practically only one hotel in the whole town.

"We need many more halls for conducting meetings. As you see we have inadequate space. But of course, it is giving us hope. In the past we used to conduct such meetings under tree shades or inconvenience schools,” Scolastique Mujawamariya, a health counsellor working with the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) said recently, while conducting a two-day seminar.

The town has also remarkably constructed streets which are clearly marked. 

Convicts serving their sentences under Community work commonly referred to as TIG, have been very instrumental in the construction of the roads.

"We intend to upgrade roads all over the district- infrastructure development is one of the most important nuts and bolts for development,” the Mayor emphasised.

On challenges, he said population control remains a big challenge due to ignorance.

"Issues to do with population control have much to do with education which is why we are giving it a priority. We sensitise residents to produce children they can afford to raise,” the Mayor added.

The district has also managed to improve agriculture in order to maintain food security.  Available terraces on hilly slopes attest to this observation.

Though there seems a long way to go, as residents say, the existing mechanisms spell hope for the district.

There is good will from the local leaders, the government and women are being empowered to play a key role in development, officials say.

Ends