Stakeholders Convene to Address Urban Governance Challenges in Rubavu Secondary City

Elias Hakizimana May 30, 2024 0 Comments

By Fils Mutabazi.

The Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) Rwanda organized a stakeholders’ meeting today in Rubavu District to discuss urban governance challenges and devise solutions to address them.

This forum is part of a research project implemented by IPAR Rwanda in collaboration with the Partnership for Africa Social Governance Research (PASGR), focusing on urban governance challenges in Rwanda’s secondary cities.

The convening in Rubavu brought together various stakeholders, including district officials responsible for urbanization, infrastructure, and governance, representatives from other government institutions based in Rubavu District, higher learning institutions, civil society, the private sector, and the media.

During the meeting, participants were briefed on the project’s approach, which involves bringing stakeholders together to identify challenges and devise solutions collaboratively, thereby connecting research with policy.

“Our approach is to connect research with policymakers because we have identified serious gaps between the two players. We have realized that most of the time, researchers do their work, but it gets difficult for policymakers to exploit them because they are busy and have not been involved in the process,” said Dr. Innocent, a Senior Researcher at IPAR Rwanda.

Key challenges identified during previous meetings were revisited to assess their persistence. These issues included volcanic eruptions, the lack of modern building technologies to counter the impact of such eruptions on storied buildings, the absence of a city master plan, unfair expropriation of families and property to pave the way for development, inadequate public infrastructure, and insufficient agricultural land.

Progress has been made in addressing some of these issues, such as the development and approval of a master plan currently guiding the city’s development. However, new challenges were identified through stakeholders’ discussions. These include a lack of water, sewage, and waste management systems leading to floods and the pollution of Lake Kivu’s waters.

Participants also noted that the master plan does not include measures to mitigate volcanic eruptions. Other issues raised include the absence of an industrial park, unemployment, insufficient hotel rooms, lack of coordination in infrastructure project planning, unplanned settlements, lack of affordable housing for low-income citizens, and limited citizen awareness of the master plan.

Stakeholders in Rubavu District specifically requested IPAR’s support in conducting specific research on preventing Lake Kivu pollution and assessing the limitations imposed by the law that restricts building infrastructures within 50 meters of Lake Kivu.

Similar dialogues are planned in other secondary cities to compile a consolidated report for various policy organs to take appropriate actions.

The Rubavu convening follows an earlier meeting in Musanze on April 18, 2024, where the primary challenge identified was the lack of effective public transport, with a survey revealing that 84% of residents rely on walking as their primary mode of transportation.

The Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR-Rwanda) is Rwanda’s leading independent think tank known for high-quality, cutting-edge research and policy publications. IPAR Rwanda’s mission is to enhance evidence-based policymaking through research and policy analysis, promote a culture of dialogue and debate to improve policy, and impact change in Rwanda.

IPAR-Rwanda became fully operational in May 2008. Since its establishment, it has conducted and published research across five main themes: Economic Growth & Transformation, Environment and Natural Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development, Social Development, and Governance.