Saeed Alam, an investor whose Rwf 50m hotel extension was demolished by Gasabo district, is consulting his legal team in anticipation of a court showdown with the authorities. Last month Gasabo District officials led by district Mayor Claudine Nyinawagaga, accompanied by police demolished part of a hotel building in Nyarutarama worth Rwf50 million. The building belongs to the S.A Hotel Group. The company owned by British nationals had earmarked a Rwf 5bn worth investment in the luxury hotel project based in uptown Kigali suburb. Nyinawagaga supervised as a bulldozer razed two sections of the hotel which were meant to house a spa with a sauna and massage parlour. The district charges that Saeed constructed the extension without following construction rules. The extension, according to the district does not have a proper sewage system. “I am consulting my lawyers,” Saeed said on Monday. “We applied for Plan modification on February, 4 2009. Until now, there is no single response from district authorities,” Saeed complained. Both Gasabo Mayor, Claudine Nyinawagaga and John Rukabu- Director in the Department of Land said the demolition was done because the construction was illegal. However, William Ngabonziza, a private environmental consultant, who also carried out the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), explained that there was no environmental threat the demolished building would have caused. “At first, this plot was meant for residential houses but when this British national bought it, he changed it to a hotel but we tried to compromise and accepted the plan,” Nyinawagaga told The New Times during the demolition. According to the local authorities building a swimming pool and sauna without proper assessment can cause an impact on the environment. Ends
