Part of the model village houses in Gikomero sector
More than 324 people formerly homeless and living in high risk zones could now start relocating to the newly constructed model village in Gikomero sector, Gasabo district in the capital Kigali.
The 8 in 1 houses are constructed in 5 blocks with the capacity to accommodate 64 households, according to the district Mayor, Stephen Rwamurangwa.
“All they (beneficiaries) need is to be identified by local leaders and the community where they live. The rest will be relocating to this modern village,” Rwamurangwa told KT Press.
Constructed by the Rwanda Defence Reserve Force, the houses were constructed in a period of 10 months, roughly costing Rwf930 million, according to Rwamurangwa.
On Saturday morning, top government officials including Senate President Bernard Makuza, Speaker of the lower chamber of Deputies, Donathile Mukabarisa, Ministers and members of the Pan-African Parliament currently holding their session in Rwanda, descended to Gikomero sector to join residents for the monthly community work (Umuganda) where they planted trees around the village, which coincided with the national tree planting season and 43rd anniversary of the National Tree Planting Day.
The houses, according to Mayor Rwamurangwa, “are fully equipped with everything including food stuff we provide to beneficiaries for at least 2 months.”
Rwanda’s Vision 2020 intends a proportion of at least 70 % of households living in rural areas to settle in integrated viable settlements and these planned settlements offer economic opportunities, favor rational land use and management and accelerate servicing with basic social economic and physical infrastructures in rural areas.
One of the challenges that the Government intends to overcome is to assist households living in high risk zone from severely land slides and flooding.
Government has set a plan to construct a model village in each of the country’s 416 sectors.
Addressing the crowd shortly after the community work, the Speaker of Parliament told Gikomero residents to take good use of the village and protect its environment.
This is the second phase of similar model village in Gikomero sector.
Roger Nkodo Dang – the president of the Pan-African Parliament planting a tree.
Roger Nkodo Dang – the president of the Pan-African Parliament expressed his admiration for the model village and said what Rwanda is doing to uplift the welfare of its people should be a similar model across Africa.
