Rwanda’s Minister for Infrastructure, Ms. Linda Bihire, in July, joined some 200 business leaders, local authorities, non governmental organisations and other experts at the country’s first National Urban Forum in the capital, Kigali. The participants at the two-day meeting cited concern at rising rents, the cost of living and increasing poverty in most urban areas. They called for a concerted effort by all development partners to accelerate their efforts on programmes and projects that would help countries such as Rwanda to achieve their Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
Ms. Bihire said the National Urban Forum would act as an efficient mechanism for the implementation of recommendations made last year at the national conference on Poverty Reduction and Good Governance through Sustainable Urban Development in Rwanda.