Rwamagana - The Ministry of Infrastructure is the process of decentralising road maintenance, handing over the responsibility to districts.

The Minister of State in charge of transportation, Dr. Alexis Nzahabwanimana, made the announcement during a consultative meeting with local leaders in the Eastern Province.

He told the leaders that it was practically impossible for engineers in his ministry to identify the right roads for repair or construction at the district level.

Nzahabwanimana lamented that the ministry spends a lot of money constructing and rehabilitating roads, which are not durable.

He noted that it was imperative for road maintenance to be owned by the local population, who are the prime beneficiaries of the infrastructure.

"There is need to decentralise the road network distribution in the country...there is inequality in the distribution of roads. Let the Province study and give us the priority roads. It should be done in line with the general development of the country,” he said.

The minister challenged local leaders to handle roads as one of their priorities, stressing their importance to development.

"We want the local population to do the maintenance and earn from it. Let local cooperatives be initiated to do the work, which is done poorly today by classical entrepreneurs”.

The Governor of the Eastern Province, Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, said road maintenance in Bugesera and Rwamagana districts needed more attention due to their proximity to Kigali.

Ambrose Ruboneza, the Mayor of Gatsibo District, said that decentralisation of road maintenance was long overdue.

"The current method of repairing roads is not done in a sustainable manner. Contractors in many cases only destroy the environment. Local cooperatives may thus bring to an end the issue of poor roads,” he advised.

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