Rwanda: Increasing Population, City Expansion, the Need for Sustainable Living and Tourism

Africa’s demographic growth is having a considerable impact on the continent’s capital cities. Kigali, for example, is set to double its population by 2050. In one of the most densely populated areas in the world, authorities are trying to organise this growth in terms of urban planning and economics. Rwanda, which holds great ambitions on the continent, has plans to turn Kigali into Africa’s major international hub of business and finance. – FRANCE 24 English

Rwandan Fast Facts:

• Size of the resident population for year 2021: 12,955,736; an increase of 2.31% from previous year 2020
• Life expectancy at birth: 67.8; an increase of 4.31% from 2014
• 75% of Rwandans are farming households
• Gross Domestic Product for year 2021: 9,799 (billions RFW); an increase of 10.90% from previous year 2020
• Consumer Price Index (February 2014 = 100): 142.2 April 2022 an increase of 9.89 % from previous year April 2021
• One of the world’s cleanest countries and cleanest cities, Kigali, Rwanda

Source: National Institute for Statistics of Rwanda

Mentioned Institutions, Organizations and Individuals:

• Fonerwa | Fonerwa Rwanda Green Fund
• Felix Rurangwa | Senior Official Rwanda Water and Forestry Authority
• Dr. Merard Mpabwanamaguru | Vice Mayor of Urbanization and Infrastructure for the City of Kigali, Rwanda
• Sous Chef at The Nyurah School Restaurant | Training Rwandans in European chef skills
• Vatel Hotel & Tourism Business School

Blafrokan Reflections:

• Is Rwanda facing “over” population or simply national growth and sustainability challenges? There has been a western school of thought, “the world is overpopulated” and the demographic of “overpopulation”, or “undesirables” are relegated to Black Africans and other people of color around the world. How should we reframe our approach to challenges away from colonial thought?
• Is the Rwandan government complicit in a form of gentrification towards its economically poorer class of citizenry? Is suburban public housing the best solution for optimal living when there are clear examples of the negative ramifications from United States high rise public housing?
• How might diaspora African institutions, geologists, urban and city planners, economists, tech innovators and other professionals assist in the sustainable building of Rwanda in mutually beneficial exchange?
• What youth exchange and volunteer programs could be set up to assist Rwanda’s Fonerwa Rwanda Green Fund?
• Should African nations continue expanding their imaginations when tourism is rooted in western culture and accommodation rather than the promotion of Rwandan culture? A tourism experience that expands tourists palate to Rwandan cuisine, culture, dance, wisdom and traditions should be the main attraction, not a European experience in Africa.
  Is any Rwandan’s highest dream and ambition to work in hospitality as the wage servants of western multinational corporations and their tourists?
• The west refers to Rwanda as a “dictatorship” rather than a monarchy to slant it’s characterization of Paul Kagame. However the trajectory of the Rwandan government appears to move its economy towards growth and development. The economic model seems capitalist, “to increase the middle class” yet somewhat focused on sustainability. How might this country further move its economic approach to an African center whose national ambitions embody ever increasing holistic goals and indicators of own definition determining the nation’s “success” on the global stage?
• Africa is NOW. What role will you play its bright future?

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