The first 360 households from Kigali’s largest slum locally known as Bannyahe will be relocated to a new housing estate in Busanza in November this year, city of Kigali officials have announced. Speaking during the press conference on Wednesday, Pudence Rubingisa, the new Kigali City Mayor, said that by then the first dwelling units will have been completed. The project in Busanza where 1,024 units will be built by Savannah Creek Development Company will benefit residents from Bannyahe that occupies three villages of Kangondo I, Kangondo II, and Kibiraro I in Gasabo District. “We want households from informal settlements, slums and high-risk zones to understand the reason why they have to relocate and the related benefits. Households from that slum have even gone to court to oppose the relocation but by raising more awareness on the benefits, they will end up understanding them,” he said. The households had been seeking to be given money as compensation instead of new homes. The mayor said that part of the residents to be relocated were also living in wetlands. Figures show that over 13,000 households are supposed to be relocated from high-risk zones and another 7,222 have also to be evicted from the city’s wetlands. “We will continue to relocate them to model villages and other dwelling units that have to be developed,” he said. Dr. Ernest Nsabimana, the Vice Mayor of the City in charge of Urbanisation and Infrastructure said the city master plan had been reviewed to ensure low-income earners are not excluded. “The master plan must be inclusive so that all levels of people live together and that is why there are model villages and efforts to attract the private sector to invest in affordable housing projects,” he said. He stressed measures will continue to be strengthened to ensure that illegal construction is not tolerated by closely working with local leaders to avoid further slums. “We have to punish corruption among local leaders who allow illegal construction as it causes a lot of slums,” he warned. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
