5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6 Conclusion
As the main objective of this research was to assess the
challenges in the transition from unplanned settlement to new housing
development in Kigali city, variables such as residents' perception and
awareness were measured against expropriation policy in line with the
implementation of the Kigali conceptual master plan. Amahoro cell in Muhima
sector where this research was carried out is one of the quarters planned for
the development of the CBD1. Residents were asked about what they think is the
master plan & its importance, expropriation process and relocation with
regards to the experience of their neighboring Ubumwe cell.
Household survey revealed that 73% of the respondents
recognize that the nature of housing in their neighborhood is not good in terms
of planning and the durability of the building materials. They said that at
least they have heard about the master plan and the planning implications of
their area since their properties were surveyed for expropriation in 2008 but
they were not expropriated and the survey lost validity to date. Constructing a
new residential house in this area is not easily acceptable until residents are
expropriated and the land is developed for commercial purposes.
Concerning the effect of implementing the master plan in their
area, 47% of the surveyed households revealed that they will be evicted.
However, these are tenants who have no immovable properties in the area. 33%
have the perception that they will be expropriated to allow the government
implement the master plan. But 20% of the surveyed residents showed a strong
belief and hope that during expropriation the government will provide them new
decent houses in another area better than the ones they are living in. people
with this perception are those with little monthly income and relatively
families in poor housing.
About 50% said that they would prefer compensation of their
properties and helped to get a new house if susceptible to relocation because
re-establishment in 90 days provided by the law to have shifted after
expropriation would not be easy for them. Another 12% said that they would
prefer expropriation of their properties and assisted to get a serviced plot
where they can build a house of their choice relative to their financial
capacity and family size. And 35% said that they would prefer compensation
alone and re-establish themselves in a new area of their choice, while 3% said
that they would refuse any attempts to relocate them because they have the
rights on their land.
Also results showed that 67% of the surveyed households
regarded the expropriation prices in Kigali city to be low by considering the
experience in Ubumwe cell. They added that the prices seem to be fixed while
the land and housing costs increase frequently in the city.
Regarding the impacts of implementing the new housing
development on unplanned settlement dwellers, research revealed that there are
both positive and negative impacts: positively, residents expect improved
lifestyle and sanitary conditions as a result of new housing development.
Negatively, relocation to a new area for new developments will affect residents
who already have their jobs in the current area of residence by losing them or
by increased transport costs.
Lastly, the results showed that the main challenges to the new
housing development in Kigali city are lack of enough capital to expropriate
residents in informal settlements and help them get new residences, poverty
among residents, poor terrain in some areas and resistance to change by some
residents.
6.1
Recommendations
As Kigali city is undergoing renewal and upgrading projects,
it is important to take into consideration the needs and expectations of its
residents; low, medium and high income classes. Before carrying out
expropriation, prior consultation of the stakeholders should be held to raise
people's awareness about the importance of the project. Surveyed residents gave
the following as recommendations to Kigali city council and other housing
partners in the housing development:
Kigali city council should build houses of different standards
instead of single-fashioned category of houses so that expropriated persons may
make choice depending on the family size and financial status. This would
reduce dissatisfaction of expropriated persons.
If a certain area is planned for a given land use and the
occupants must be expropriated, expropriation should be carried out when the
city or other investors are ready to develop the land. This would avoid
relocating people in a hurry saying that the land is going to be developed in
public interest, and the land takes more than two years without development-
like the case of Ubumwe cell.
In order to prevent new developments of informal settlements
in the city's periphery, poor expropriated persons should be helped to get
already built houses in appropriate serviced residential area. This can be
helpful if they can pay back in installments when assisted to get a source of
income.
Since there are a big number of tenants in informal
settlements susceptible to displacement as a result of expropriation of houses
of their landlords, the Kigali city or expropriators should build multi-storey
apartments to accommodate tenants and other expropriated persons that may wish
to settle in apartments. This would also reduce the built surface area.
Zones planned for residential purpose should be prepared by
constructing basic amenities such as schools, health centers, roads, markets,
electricity connections and water supply and other basic services to attract
people. In this case plots should be left vacant so that people build standards
of their choice according to the zoning plan.
Thorough mobilization of the residents should be done before
expropriating them to raise their awareness and should be informed earlier
before expropriation so that they may be able to appraise among the
alternatives.
Expropriation prices should be revised each year in order to
match with the current costs of building materials and the cost of land.
To interested researchers, more research should be done to
analyze how expropriation procedures in Kigali city affect urban planning and
development.
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