Cabinet has passed a ministerial decree sanctioning to lease the land currently occupied by the Republican Guards at Kimihurura to private investors. The State Minister in Charge of Industry and Investment Promotion, Vincent Karega said that the prepared land is set to be leased to Nakumatt investors from Kenya. He said his ministry has been in touch with the group that has already showed interest in leasing the public land. “Setting a legal framework for the issuance of public land is crucial to pave way for private investments,” Karega said on Thursday. The legal move is also seen as a major support to direct foreign investment’s efforts to reform the country’s economy, as well as a boost to land ownership credentials. By enacting a Prime Minister’s decree on Wednesday, cabinet was aiming to escalate investment schemes planned for the cleared land for private tenancy. The decree permits the Office of the Registrar of Land Titles to issue private lease status for the land, which is adjacent the proposed site of the Kigali Convention Centre. This will enable investors to lease the land for 30 years before they get freehold titles, said Eugene Rurangwa, the Registrar of Land Titles in the Ministry of Lands and Environment. “Now, we have been authorised to provide legal ownership documents to the said investors; it only necessitates them to bring key needed requirements for that,” he said. Some of the needed requirements he mentioned include investment plan, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and application for land acquisition.Ends
