Rwamagana–Nyagatare town has been earmarked as the main city in Eastern Province.The Director General of Rwanda Housing Authority, Esther Mutamba, made the disclosure, while addressing district mayors in Rwamagana, on Monday. Musanze, Rubavu and Huye are some of the other districts expected to be the headquarters of their respective provinces. Mutamba said Nyagatare fulfilled most of the required factors that include among others existing structures, economic activities, industries and services.She said that the new capitals would not affect the current administrative locations, adding that other towns would also continue to grow.She noted that the country was struggling to be a middle income nation, noting that the development of urban areas was part of government’s efforts to meet the threshold.“The provincial headquarters (of Eastern Province) will remain in Rwamagana, though we want an even distribution of towns. Nyagatare has an average population of the youth at 64 percent and this represents a potential human resource base.”There was, however, mixed reaction among members of the public after the pronouncement to relocate the main city from Rwamagana to Nyagatare.James Gatete, a resident of Matimba, said the move to shift the principal city to Nyagatare was a good idea.“This is a new district with vast unexploited resources. The district is also sparsely populated and thus convenient for expansion.” Jean Claude Mugabo, a resident of Kayonza, differed saying Nyagatare was not strategically located, insisting that the main city ought to instead be the political, social and economic hub of the province.“Such a city must have among others; a strategic location in close proximity to all major markets of the province, an extraordinary quality of life with a mix of suburban rural communities, which Nyagatare presently lacks.”
