Running a clean city: Lessons from Kigali

A number of tour operators from Kenya recently visited Kigali, Rwanda, to benchmark their products against those from the region. For some, this was their first time to visit this East African country.

Like other first timers to Kigali, the Kenyans were awestruck by a number of things that seem to keep the city of more than a million people on the world map.

“Things work here and businesses are thriving. Old buildings are being torn down in favour of new, more efficient ones. Security presence is felt everywhere and the law works. Kigali has the potential to be the next big thing in Africa,” said Charity Kamau, a PR practitioner in Nairobi who was part of the delegation.

Others had similar sentiments. But one thing stood out. Kigali is arguably the cleanest city in Africa - so clean that newlyweds have been seen rushing to the town’s roundabouts for photo shoots.

Cleanliness was one of the factors that saw the city bestowed the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award in 2008.

“From 1998, the authorities in Kigali began restoring the city’s lost glory. They targeted garbage collection, and banned the use of plastic bags. The streets and pavements were beautified, and public transport was upgraded. Other areas included improvement of the sewerage system and slum upgrading. In just one decade, Kigali has been transformed into a place to which people come from all corners of the world to see and learn how they can replicate the Kigali modernisation and urban conservation model at home,” read the UN Habitat citation on the award.

Umuganda

Every last Saturday of the month, everyone in the country sets aside their personal engagements to carry out a communal cleaning activity known as Umuganda. No one between 18 and 65-years-old is spared.

So serious is Umuganda that President Paul Kagame has been spotted several times digging up trenches and mixing concrete for the construction and rehabilitation of the city’s drainage system.

Kigali City In Rwanda. Cleanliness and conservation of the environment is taken seriously with a day set aside every month for communal cleaning activities. (PHOTO: PETER MUIRURI AND FILE / STANDARD)

How does Nairobi compare with Kigali on this score? When he assumed office in 2013, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero promised to restore the city’s lost glory.

“We must have a clean environment. We want Nairobi to be a world-class city and this begins with ensuring we maintain cleanliness,” said Kidero shortly after assuming office in April 2013.

In January this year, Kidero followed up on his words by initiating what was to become a weekly clean-up exercise of the city.

The governor had a ready and willing disciple in the cleanup exercise. In June 2013, President Uhuru Kenyatta led other high-ranking Government officials in cleaning up a street in Huruma following the Kigali model. The media was awash with images of a jovial president, broom in hand taking the lead in the exercise.

And then all went quiet. For a city that generates over 2,000 metric tonnes of waste every day, it will be a tall order for the county authorities to rid the city of the filth.

The closest the city came to a cleanup was during the recent visit of US president Barack Obama when the now famous “Kidero grass” was planted.

 Car-free streets

But it was not just Kigali’s high level of cleanliness that appealed to the Kenyan delegation. In order to decongest the city centre, the government there has established a car-free portion of the city centre by closing some streets. Effective August 24, no vehicles are allowed in some sections of Kigali’s CBD, except emergency services such as the police, fire trucks and ambulances.

In addition, the city has come up with an efficient public transport system where Wi-Fi enabled smart buses will ferry people to and from the city.

The idea of the car-free policy is said to have emanated from a tweet sent out by President Kagame in response to a journalist who wrote about the subject in a local paper. Kagame tweeted: “... I agree with him (the writer). Will check with the Mayor!”

However, Kigali Mayor Fidele Ndayisaba said the policy was not an afterthought. For new buildings to be approved, they must include an underground parking so as to keep the streets free of traffic as much as possible.

“The CBD must become a car-free zone where even motorcycles will be restricted so that pedestrians can move around freely,” said Ndayisaba.

“Nairobi is trying to sell the city tour package but this is yet to bear fruit. Street closures in some sections of the CBD will allow tourists to sample the city’s beauty. As it is, the CBD is not even accessible to residents who would rather keep away from it if given the chance,” stated another tour operator.