Sun at 15:48 | Edit note | Delete
BY GEORGE KAGAME
".........good for workshops not investments."
Two colleagues of mine would choke if you spoke about your optimism about Kigali's ways of doing things. To introduce you to the controversy, Kigali is reputed for its tidiness and high nich for order and tranquility that borders on sleepy.
The two colleagues, one from Uganda the other from South Africa are the face of cynicism when it comes to observing Rwanda's current political economy and the fanfare it raises in many low key bars and discussions. If Andrew Mwenda listened to the arguments of these two men, he would slap himself in the face. Yet unlike Mwenda, these two African 'pundits' earn their bread and live their lives in Kigali.
Pundit one comes from Johannesburg, as such he will jump to any opportunity to defend his home city whenever the words crime, violence and car jacks is mentioned. (Even if this great city will host the world cup the afore mentioned words are normally used used while describing it.)
Johannesburg is Africa's biggest city, it has more investments than any other centre on the continent and where this development was unfair and unequal in its distribution, it has become inevitable that some felt cheated and resorted to getting what they otherwise deserved. The South African is quick to point out that there are very little investments in our city so as first to attract many people in the 'ville' and two there is very little to rob. (As if robbing is now a virtue.) So it is easy to keep boarding school type order.
But he is not done, he says that his country having taken care of apartheid in the 90s, the early 2000s presented a major challenge to most urban centres as the 'beautiful' and wealthy in the country moved to places yonder. Some entered deeper into Botswana others drifting further to New Zealand, this ensured apartheid fighters never found any resources in Johannesburg to redistribute amongst themselves. Many continued in their violent ways. And todate they are still moving around unabated.
Yet the new economic empowerment programs did very little to address these unequal relationships and so violence presented the only chance at a car, a fridge, a radio and later a mobile phone. Since apartheid had categorically and systematically limited blacks from accessing career opportunities, many of them became very good at the arts, they became musicians, movie creators, painters and writers.
Pundit says Black South Africans are among the most ingenious people you will meet and even if many have not attended formal educational institutions, they are very good story tellers and fashion designers and despite Johannesburg and Cape Town being risky places to visit, the blacks there are some of the funniest and genial people to hang out with.
As you can tell, the man is not exactly answering queries why his hometown remains with a reputation of crime and muggings, but he raises one subtle concept. In a city where there's an active population, participating or propagating a busy social life, it is inevitable that some undesirable people who may rightly or wrongly feel cheated will create havoc at one point sooner or later. He gives Nairobi our good old neighbours to the east as the perfect example. Although East Africa's party city remains by far Kampala in Uganda, Nairobi is the real economic hub of the region. All the 'good' things might be happening in Kampala but all the serious businesses and organizations are in Nairobi.
And there's also a very elaborate artisan and showbiz industry there too, this city also has some of the highest crime incidences along with higher corruption tendencies among law enforcement agencies in the region. To drive his point home he states that Nairobi hosts some of the world's biggest slums and when you walk in its streets you are scared of a cop as much as a street thug. Little wonder therefore that they now have a new term-PEV.
Pundit number two is maddened by the brightness of Kigali especially if the comparison is to his hometown Kampala (which has a somewhat bad reputation of piling huge amounts of smelly garbage in exclusive residential areas as well as commercial hubs,) says the cleanliness of Kigali is down to the fact that most businesses in the city are owned by one entity or interest. He states also that a city which has no busy commercial hub is very easy to clean. "If all you clean are NGO offices and residential lanes", you can as well keep the city clean all year long," he adds with murkiness; "Kigali is a clean city for workshops not investments."
With businesses increasing in downtown Kigali, it is prudent to learn from the two gentlemen above about the direction that our great city is likely to take. Whether Kigali's peacefulness and tidiness is due to the fact that there are few private businesses Or due to the fact that there's really no active active social, is stuff for sociologists.
The moral of this story -if you have been patient enough to read upto here- is to start the debate in Kigali. With the increase in arrests of public officials involved in corruption, and most recently the Rwandan police being named (By the Ombudsman) as being among the most corrupt institutions in the country, are we headed to being the new SA or Kenya? Shall Rwanda also become corrupt and lose its new found position among many as a darling of good governance? A sort of new girl on the block cliche?
Updated on Sunday ·
Comment · Like
Gregory Mabele;
Look on the bright side - at least you're arresting corrupt public officials, very much unlike in Nairobi. This gives a good façade to investors who will soon start flocking once their confidence levels become optimum.
Mon at 01:09 · Delete
George Kagame;
Yo Greg,
They have indeed started flocking to Kigali. Problem is that the public officials being caught are fleecing gov't money which is actually donor funds-and thats deadly because our 'good' old donors will go away/they will discourage investors in their backyards.
Lucky you, you have the Indians and akina Lord Cholemondely-his name is so hard to spell-who will never go away.......before they chase you all from their ranches...
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