Research
When flying into the land of a thousand hills, one quickly recognizes why Rwanda was aptly awarded that title. With exotic tourist destinations and industries on the rise, its bustling and rapidly growing economy is no surprise. There is, however, much more that can be done to enhance the experience of Rwanda, and its capital city Kigali.
The Context
"The Rwanda road network has improved through rehabilitation and upgrading during the past years. The total road network covers 2,662 km of paved roads and 11,346 km of unpaved roads, making a total of 14,008 km. Roads are classified into national (2,860 km), District (1,835 km) and gravel roads (3,563 km)"
(Source: Rwanda Transport Development Agency)
Wikipedia (2020) explains that the dirt roads are “with quality varying from smooth hard surfaces with drainage to rutted, extremely uneven tracks passable only with a four-wheel-drive vehicle.”
“Every day [in Rwanda], approximately 450 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) gets dumped in the Nduba sector – that’s 13,500 tonnes every week, or 162,000 tonnes every year. […] On top of not looking nice, municipal solid waste comes along with a host of environmental problems – especially if it ends up in landfills and dumping sites. Plastic, as we all know, can take a thousand years to decompose. This is plenty of time for it to accumulate in waterways, oceans, the stomachs of fish and eventually on our plates” (Plan A, 2019).
The Importance
Roads make a crucial contribution to economic development and growth and bring important social benefits. They are of vital importance in order to make a nation grow and develop.
In addition, providing access to employment, social, health and education services makes a road network crucial in fighting against poverty.
Roads open up more areas and stimulate economic and social development.
For those reasons, road infrastructure is the most important of all public assets.
(World Highways, 2015)
Launching A Solution
In Summary
The Operation 414 approach in Rwanda, the active first of its kind, would:
-
Increase the inner city reach of public transport
-
Significantly cut down pavement construction costs (by over 90%)
-
Improve social cohesion within the city as various communities can participate in constructing their roads (harnessing Umuganda)
-
Reduce accidents on muddy streets and paths (rainy periods)
-
Accelerate the utility of the national budget as more priority roads can be constructed much sooner