The Kigali lessons

KIGALI, Rwanda’s capital, like the rest of the country, has come a long way in the last two decades or so. It is not one of the regional big boys (or girls) yet, but it is on its way and on a balanced scorecard, it would score quite impressively. It definitely has a glorious future. Naturally, a bi-decade journey has lessons learnt (that can be taught) and lessons to learn.The first thing a visitor notices about Kigali is just how neat and orderly it is. This is even more striking from the air where it is evident that buildings are planned in such a way that they are easily accessible. Now this is supposed to be ordinary, but one look at our part of the world would open one’s eyes to the fact on the ground and why this is worth mentioning. On the ground, you encounter a neat city with manicured flowers and lawns with without the mushrooming kiosks that is the bane of most African cities. The night is even better (Kigali is one of the most beautiful cities at night!). But Kigali has not always been this orderly.None other than the Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, whilst on a visit to Kigali, expressed surprise at seeing ladies walking quite comfortably at night in what would otherwise be ‘lonely spots’ without incidents reported. Security in Kigali, as in other parts of the country, is the envy of many a city worldwide. Modestly speaking, Kigali must be among the top three of Africa’s safest cities. Yet Kigali has not always been so safe.Being a young city, Kigali is yet to develop a distinct character (in the way New York is the ‘city that never sleeps’ or Nairobi is a safari capital). A few things must be done to make this work. First, we must leave space for organic growth. We tend to overregulate. A place like Nyamirambo, with its vibrant nature would have given Kigalians a place to let their hair loose. But we got it ‘orderly’ just as we ‘tamed’ Pasadena club (the Salsa place) and closed down Papyrus in Kacyiru. There has to be a ‘venting’ place or else people will work in Kigali and play in Kampala and/or Bujumbura. Regulations are not bad but anything overdone is. Two, the private sector needs to step up. Kigali has quite a bit of what economists call price inefficiencies. An incident that comes to mind is when I needed a document of less than 20 pages spiral bound. At one shop, I was told it would cost me Rwf5, 000 (that’s almost 10 dollars). I moved on to the second shop and paid a tenth of the price. These ridiculous pricing strategies give the city its ‘expensive’ tag and makes many a potential customers give it a bye. Closely related to this is the omnipresent customer service question. The simple but quintessential question is; if we are so good at receiving guests in our homes (and believe me, we are!), what is our excuse for the current state of customer service? There are many answers to this (and even more excuses!) But it revolves around ownership. The private sector must start acting like champions and jointly and separately take the bull by the horns. But these are good problems.Two decades or so ago, Kigali like the rest of Rwanda, was a basket case, forlorn and forgotten and suffering a genocide. To even think of being where it is today and, better still, where it wants to be, is a huge lesson in itself. It is a lesson in courage, and determination. That nothing is out of our grasp if we keep trying. The key is to keep trying. Perhaps, learning from our past would involve such lessons too.Kigali, as Americans would say, you’ve come a long way, baby! Stay inspired!