FROM THE HAMMOCK:It’s now cool to live downtown

Recently I announced to one of my friends that I had moved out of my outskirts suburb to down town Nyamirambo. The friend put her hand to her mouth and looked genuinely surprised. She said, “Urumoji?” I wondered whether her reaction was based on the fact that she had never lived downtown, or in a neighbourhood as busy and diverse as Nyimirambo. I never understood her reaction. And yet because of the historical political economy of suburbs like Nyamirambo, it is right that the reputation is highly dubious. The tiny business hub is also an enduring example of how diverse Kigali is. And for all the ugly past of Rwanda, the fanatical mistrust and hatred of Rwandans never invaded the social fabric of Nyamirambo, say like Kimiruhura. Downtown suburbs in developed countries bring together a group of achievers instead of privileged kids living in the most affluent neighbourhoods in Kigali and other capitals in the region. Apparently to many in Kigali, a neighbourhood like Nyamirambo and any other Kabagari is not expected to be a prospective choice of suburb to reside in, if you can afford rent elsewhere. The story is similar across Africa. In many capitals neighbouring Kigali the pattern of settlement is identical. I say it smells and is an indicator of corruption. If you happen to be a resident of Nairobi, you will notice that the residents of Karen, and Muthaiga-with the exception of Westlands, are not very different from each other. If they are not heirs to a long fortune or establishment in the country, they are expatriates mostly from the same countries. Walk down to Kibera and all the various parts of the country are represented. Muyenga and Kololo go for Kampala while Msanani and Oyster Bay in Dar Salaam, and clearly Kimiruhura and Nyarutarama represent Kigali. The residents of these suburbs normally frown upon the dwellers of suburbs like Nyamirambo, their story and image is unanimously summed up in the term, ‘Ndagasqwi.’ I don’t know what Ndagasqwi means but I think it is not something flattering. It is a term that residents of Kibagabaga, Remera, Kiyovu use while describing the lower part of Kacyiru, the former Kimikyanga and Nyamirambo. The residents of the affluent neighbourhoods in our countries in all the major cities neighbouring Rwanda are usually similar, they could all be from the same home town or are working for the same company and therefore making these neighbourhoods a symbol of one thing or another. Yet it is these neighbourhoods that normally identify the true picture of a city, usually they are more multi culturally mixed, more cosmopolitan, and diverse parts of the city, the most enduring identities of any city worth a name. In very developed countries, living downtown is an achievement. The closer an individual in a western country lives to downtown; the more independent, the more skilled and higher they are on the economic or intellectual ladder. The rich run away from such suburbs as Black, Jewish, Italian, Asian suburbs and their trademarks to a more diverse downtown. With more emphasis put to the words individual and ladder. Here you are discouraged as much as possible not to buy a vehicle. And it is normal; to have a vehicle in the west is not a sign of “I have arrived” as it is in East Africa. It is a burden. The city administrations and government ensure that the public transport is very efficient for those that can afford to pay for it. The price is also fixed basing on the living standards of the lowest income earners of each city. This way not everyone with a job is forced to buy a car to get them to work as his/her first priority upon being employed, the transport network is planned to reach all areas of the city with human settlement and services. The price is affordable to anyone that has a reason to move from one part of the city to another. In comparison, if you are a Jean Claude Safari, and happen to be living in Nairobi, Dar Salaam and especially Kigali, the first item to occupy your immediate attention upon getting a job is buying a personal car. Then you need a fence and a security guard therefore a higher salary than those without vehicles. If your salary cannot cover these costs you have extra incentive to take a bribe. Enshrining and sustaining the vice of corruption. This state of affairs will also continue the talk of capacity building. Because a few people with skills keep the money within themselves and the rest are left with none. The areas where these same people reside are developed at the expense of the centres where many make their money from. The Safaris of East Africa are in most cases related in many African countries, and as I indicated earlier it is hard to find new entrants if they are not related to the established circles or the expatriate communities. Interestingly, Kigali is being rebuilt. The downtown centres of Nyamirambo, Kacyiru and Kimikyanga are all being redesigned, residents of Kimikyanga, Nyamirambo and Kacyiru being forced to vacate to create room for new structures in the city. Kigali is now moving towards a real city worth of a beautiful country. It remains to be seen that when the construction of the new structures in these suburbs is completed, the new residents of these once cultural hotspots in Kigali are as dynamic, more diverse and industrious as their former occupants. And when I tell you that I stay in Nyamirambo you’ll not be shocked anymore. Ends