A Rwandan cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame on Tuesday has approved plans to relocate some headquarters of ministries and government agencies across six secondary cities.
According to a statement released on Tuesday, the transfers are meant to boost economic activity in these remote urban areas.
The Rwandan government has identified six cities to become green secondary cities: namely Huye (south), Muhanga (central south), Nyagatare (northeast), Rubavu (northwest), Musanze (north) and Rusizi (southwest).
According to the government, the move also aims to kick start meaningful decentralisation, address the high rate of rural-urban migration and boost economic activity in those cities.
The decision comes after latest official statistics indicated that 60 percent of Rwandan population who migrate in search of jobs end up in Kigali due to easy accessibility to infrastructure, investment opportunities, and other socio-economic benefits.
In the meanwhile, reports by the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) indicate that the proposed cities will double as economic poles of growth for the country with improved roads and water networks, electricity, tourism development, schools and health centers.
One of the strategic institution is the University of Rwanda, which has various campuses in different districts of the country, where by it should have a constituent college in each secondary city, while the location of its national headquarters will be determined by its management.
So far, the World Bank, together with the Ministry of Infrastructure, prepared a Country Support Programme for Urban Development, to be implemented over four years (2016-2020) to the tune of $95 million specifically to finance the implementation of prioritised infrastructure investment projects in Kigali and the secondary cities.
With the urban population growing at 4.5 percent a year, more than double the global average, Rwandan officials are now emphasising the need to develop secondary cities as poles of growth as the country has set a target to achieve a 35 percent urban population by 2034, it said.
CU/as/APA