Calls James Kabarebe, the Rwandan Minister of Defense, commended the developers working on low-cost houses to partner with the land-owners since this would solve the problem of development of slums. He urged the real estate developers of low-cost housing to come up with methods. He said these in Gako, Masaka sector in Kicukiro District during the launch of 32 affordable houses constructed by Abadahigwa ku Ntego Limited, a subsidiary company of Kigali Veterans Co-operative Society (KVCS). He appealed to Willy Rukundu who is the managing director of Abadahigwa ku Ntego to be professional in his work by employing proper management skills and avoiding conflicts and other vices that could affect the firm’s operations and contracts. Rwanda Housing Authority channeled funds to enable the construction of the launched houses. Willy Rukundu expressed his gratitude to Rwanda Housing Authority and said that the government’s support enabled the company to connect basic necessities like water and electricity for development of the houses.
Joyce Mukagashugi, a resident of the launched estate, praised the efforts laid by the state in delivering affordable houses to the people. Since the government launched the project of constructing affordable houses in Rwanda, the cost per unit has been Rwf18 million which is lower than the previous price of Rwf25 million. By 2040 it is estimated that the city population will hit 4 million and it is currently 1.2 million, and this would call for more houses. Parfait Busabizwa, the vice-mayor in charge of economic development at the City of Kigali, said that there’s, therefore, need for the government to allocate more funds for development of affordable houses to accommodate the rising population. He also said that the government aimed at constructing ten houses in every district each costing Rwf10 million.
According to Kicukiro District mayor Dr. Jeanne Nyirahabimana, the provision of affordable housing is the government‘s way to ensure that its citizens have safe abodes. Such initiatives require investment in real estate and involvement of various stakeholders for sustainable development of the nation. Peter Rwambala, the chief risk officer at Development Bank of Rwanda, commended that the developers should always conduct market studies to deliver the expectations of the client.
