Towns cash in on movement of agencies’ head offices
Friday January 31 2020
City of Rubavu. So far about four out of more than eight institutions that were supposed to move their headquarters out of Kigali to cities. PHOTO | Cyril Ndegeya
Kigali is already benefiting from relocation of state agencies’ headquarters to satellite cities, which have seen seamless flow of traffic in the country’s capital.
So far about four out of more than eight institutions that were supposed to move their headquarters out of Kigali to cities like Huye, Musanze, Muhanga and Karongi have relocated.
Institute of National Museums of Rwanda and Rwanda Agriculture Board moved their headquarters to Huye in December, while the National Rehabilitation Service has moved to Karongi.
Other state agencies that have moved headquarters in the ongoing decongestion of Kigali are a section of the National Industrial Research and Development Agency, which is tied to the University of Rwanda Colleges.
Rwanda Co-operative Agency and the Workforce Development Authority are in final preparations to move to Muhanga and Huye respectively.
Emmanuel Nziraguhunga, head of the private sector in Huye said the announcement of the relocation in July had already seen business people who had quit the city come back, with new ones opening shops.
Huye is the biggest beneficiary as it will host headquarters of over five state institutions, alongside being home for several academies and a big section of the University of Rwanda.
Mr Nziraguhunga said the relocation alone has been driving demand for accommodation for the staff of the institutions that have or are concluding the relocation process.
“The shortage is on the houses that can serve as accommodation for the senior officials but we hope that it will not take long because many people have embarked on rehabilitating the existing structures while structures under construction are being completed,” he said.