Editor, THIS IS with reference to the story “Most cities fail pollution guidelines, says WHO” (The New Times, May 14). This issue is long overdue and needs immediate attention. However, Dr. Rose Mukankomeje should explain just how a media sensitisation campaign will reduce pollution in Kigali. Better results may come from reducing the high customs taxes on importing vehicles into the country. Taxes and import fees usually double the price of a vehicle. People are forced to keep their antiquated polluting cars and trucks on the road because of the impossibility of buying newer and less polluting vehicles. Yes, the police should test vehicles, but what will they do when 90 per cent of the vehicles do not pass the emissions test? The testing should start with government-owned vehicles, many of which are the worst polluters. Include also those buses that contractors recently brought into the country to solve Kigali’s transportation problem. I am sure that not a single one of them can pass any credible pollution test. What we need from politicians and bureaucrats is decisive action to reduce the level of air pollution in Kigali—a city that prides itself on its environmental beauty. TJ Expat, Rwanda
