The district of Gicumbi has decided to close down some commercial facilities. The objective is to make their owners respect the master plan of the city of Byumba. Some traders are grumbling about this decision.
Traders have been forced by the Gicumbi district authority to leave their trading houses to continue their business on rent.
“We rebuilt our houses in 2010. They were old houses. We were required to build houses with one-sided roofs. We demolished our houses, and we respected the instruction given by the district authority. Afterwards we were told that this kind of construction was outdated, that we had to rebuild in storeys,” says Valens Ntamugabumwe found in a rented business house.
“I had to close my house, two hundred meters from here. I left my house closed to come and rent here. There I had enough space, with a stock, a large space, here I have been renting for more than two years,” Ntamugabumwe laments.
“We have made a big loss because of renting, we have become insolvent because we had applied for bank loans to rebuild our business houses,” he complains.
At Jean de Dieu Damascène Kamanzi’s house, there is only his wife, Mediatrice Mukeshimana by her maiden name. After contacting her husband by phone, she decided to talk to the press. “We had two years left to pay back the bank loan in full. If the district could give us a grace period of three years, we could pay back the loan and find some time to prepare to apply for another loan to build a house in accordance with the town’s master plan. We are not against the development of our town,” pleads Mediatrice Mukeshimana.
For Valens Ntamugabumwe, a grace period of 10 years would be more appropriate. Moreover, he shows that there is no guarantee of finding customers for the multi-storey houses. “We are required to build in floors but it is not sure that there will be customers. For this building I work in, district had to force the tailors in the market to come and occupy the second level,’ he reveals.
Discussions held on the reconstruction of Byumba
According to the mayor of Gicumbi district, Felix Ndayambaje, the traders were not surprised. “When we took the decision to ask the private sector to invest in the construction on the Byumba plateau, we took the time to discuss about it with our partners,” says Mayor Ndayambaje. “We held more than eight meetings,” he says. During the time of Kaboneka Francis, then Minister of Local Government, it was discussed, under Gatabazi Jean Marie Vianney, while he was still governor of the Northern Province, it was discussed again and again, says Mayor Ndayambaje.
“Some of them agreed to embark on the project after signing an agreement with the district. They have committed to continue their business for a certain period of time before complying with the city’s master plan,” says Ndayambaje. The mayor explains that some have started the process of applying for building permits, others have started construction, and an investment company has been set up, the Gicumbi Investment Company.
The mayor refuses any further grace period. “These are old houses,” he says. “We are asking them to demolish them to give the city the face it needs,” he demands.
“This city should develop according to the master plan. For the suburbs, some standards are accepted, but here in the city, the master plan must be respected,” he says firmly in the face of the grumbling of some traders.
Gérard Rugambwa
