How Kigali became the Cleanest City in Africa: Rwanda's success story

How Kigali became the cleanest city in Africa? What comes to your mind when you hear the name Rwanda? Probably you remember the chilling 1994 genocide that left millions dead within 100 days. Apart from the genocide, however, there's a better and brighter side. Did you know that the nation is regarded as one of Africa's greatest countries because of its high and fast internet connectivity? The Rwandan government has invested a lot to provide internet services such as fiber optic installation across the nation. In addition to its numerous amazing characteristics, Rwanda offers Africa's cleanest city, Kigali. How did the city surpass all other capital cities in other 53 nations in Africa in terms of cleanliness? In today's video, we'll find out how they just did that. Before we go on, if you're new to the channel, subscribe and turn on the notification bell so you can be notified every time we upload a new video. Let's get started. Kigali is Rwanda's stunning and contemporary capital. With undulating hills, peaks, and large valleys, the city is both beautiful and technologically advanced. Kigali also has a distinct personality, both in terms of the people and the way the city is maintained. Kigali offers one of the greatest and most dynamic light life scenes in Africa with an unlimited number of restaurants and pubs that stay up till the wee hours of the morning. Kigali is a city that prides itself on keeping its streets and public spaces spotless and professionally presenting itself. The city also avoids mass advertising off of its roads and buildings so that they seem smooth and friendly. While driving through the city, you are unlikely to stumble across billboards for all sorts of insurance companies. It has set a high bar for other African towns to follow in its footsteps and it serves as a wonderful example of how keeping a city clean can make a huge impact. It is regarded not just for being the cleanest city in Africa, but also for being the safest. How did Kigali become the cleanest city in Africa so quickly? Rwanda's amazing transformation from a country with a dreadful past to one of the continent's most powerful economic engines is outstanding. And one would anticipate headlines about how Rwanda is a repressive nation under the leadership of its president Paul Kagame to be included in that narrative. But what's more astonishing is how the East African nation has managed to become one of Africa's cleanest. The following is what the country did to attain a spot-free city. The ban on plastic bags According to the United Nations Environment Programme, one small action in 2008 prohibiting the use of single-use plastic bags in Rwanda made a significant effect. Plastic bags presented a major danger to agricultural productivity and polluted the water, killing fish and generating pollution, according to a report commissioned by the Rwandan Ministry of Environment. Rwanda's efforts did not end with single-use plastic shopping bags. Plastic packaging materials were also prohibited in the nation. Rwandans now carry bags made biodegradable materials such as paper, linen, banana leaves, and papyrus. This sets Rwanda apart from the rest of the world that still is battling with plastic waste accumulating on the land and in the oceans. Penalties on lawbreakers Rwanda is a country that takes this cleanliness issue seriously. According to the New York Times, anybody who breaks the prohibition might face substantial penalties and perhaps prison time. Enforcing the programme, on the other hand, has paid off. In 2008, UN Habitat named Rwanda's capital city of Kigali as one of Africa's cleanest cities, owing in large part to the lack of plastic garbage. Rwanda is transforming itself via investment and innovation to become cleaner and more environmentally friendly. Environmental entrepreneurial opportunities Good entrepreneurs can see service and product gaps and develop new goods to address them. This is beneficial to both the economy and the environment. After all, someone had to come up with and produce all of those alternate packaging materials after plastic was outlawed in Rwanda. According to Rwanda's major daily newspaper, The New Times, investors viewed this as an opportunity and built alternative packaging companies as well as plastics recycling operations. Increasing forest cover According to the World Economic Forum, Rwanda has become one of the cleanest countries on the planet and as a result of its ambitious environmental target of increasing forest cover to 30% of total land area by 2020. To do so, the nation embarked on a vast reforestation and tree planting campaign. In addition, new initiatives such as agroforestry and forest management training programmes are being adopted. These measures, together with the Plastic Bag Ban, helped Rwanda win the World Future Policy Award in 2011. Planting trees to clean up a country Thanks to the 2018-2019 planting season, the forest cover objective has already been practically fulfilled. 38,119 hectares of agroforestry, 4,800 hectares of classical forestry, and 225,440 fruit trees were planted throughout Rwanda, according to The New Times. This is on top of the 670 hectares of damaged woods that have been restored. Rwanda is now covered with forest on 29.8% of its land. Rwanda is cleaner than nearly any nation on the planet, making it one of the safest places on the planet. Umuganda Rwanda has a community cleaning policy famously known as the Umuganda. The Umuganda is a Kinyarwanda term which means coming together in one purpose. It is conducted on the last Saturday of each month. According to NPR, one reason Rwanda is famed in Africa for its cleanliness is because of this comprehensive communal effort to clean up the nation. Cleaning up Rwanda, on the other hand, is not a volunteer endeavor. On paper, Umuganda seems to be a utopian communal dream project in which people gather once a month to clean up their neighborhood, town, city, and nation. Police monitor the streets and may halt Rwandans who are not participating and force them clean up on the spot, according to NPR. For Rwandans, the consequences of not participating in Umuganda are serious. Fines of up to 5,000 Rwandan francs, almost $6, may be imposed. When the average monthly wage is about $150, that's not a little sum for one to not participate in the activity. Green energy and tourism So, let's recap. There's no plastic in the country and the streets and public parks are clean. That's not all, however. According to EcoAge, there are also several eco-lodges and green hotel options around Rwanda. This includes a 100% solar-powered hotel in the capital with sustainable teak wood furnishings. All these make Kigali the cleanest city in Africa. Ecosystem Restoration Rwanda has also become one of the cleanest countries on the planet, thanks to improvements in its parks. However, believe it or not, the government is now seeking assistance from people who labored to devastate the natural environment. Reformed poachers now preserve endangered mountain gorillas and other species that they use to kill, according to EcoAge. Other former poachers now work as porters and guides, carefully transporting visitors into the jungle to observe gorillas. National Park Upgrades Rwanda is demonstrating what the majority of informed people already know. National parks and maintained open green areas benefit the environment and the economy. According to the World Economic Forum, forests like Nyungwe, Kishuati, and Mukura have been rehabilitated and elevated into national parks. The end outcome has been a financial bonanza. The parks, which have a diverse range of flora and animals, have proven popular with visitors, bringing in more than $300 million in income in both 2014 and 2015. Building a Green Economy Rwanda is particularly sensitive and it is working to mitigate its effects. The African nation's drive to construct a low-carbon, climate-resilient green economy by 2050 includes the establishment of an investment fund that funds both governmental and private sector initiatives. The Green Fund has raised over $100 million, making it Africa's biggest eco-focused investment fund. Investing in green energy has made Rwanda have the cleanest city, Kigali, in Africa. A Buzzing New Economy Entrepreneurial activities, environmental policies, and green investment are all thrown into the mix. According to the UN, following the government's instruction to stop using up the forest, eight cooperatives were founded in the Nyabihu area in 2016 to produce more honey. They began working together on a project to help villagers create alternative livelihoods away from the logging and animal rearing sectors, with the backing of the UN Environment and Rwanda's Environmental Management Authority. For the people of Rwanda, beekeeping has progressed from a side job to a viable professional choice. Green Politics Because no statewide effort can be maintained without a fundamental shift in the mindset, Rwanda has had to prioritize environmental and climate change issues in its growth. Rwanda's Ministry of Natural Resources was recently recognized by the International Green Climate Fund, demonstrating that this strategy has already paid off. According to the World Economic Forum, this designation will help the country attract enough new finance to enable it to maintain rapid economic growth on a resource-efficient, low-carbon, and climate-resilient path. Countries must make significant changes to protect the environment, which is exactly what Rwanda has done by involving itself in green politics that aim to campaign for other better sources of livelihood. Cleaner and with more gorillas Environmental measures have not only helped Rwanda become one of the cleanest countries on the planet, but the shift in mindset on the ground and policy at the national level may also be benefiting mountain gorillas. Conservation efforts to conserve endangered mountain gorillas are succeeding according to The New Times, and there are now more than 1,000 of these animals up from 800 in 2011. G equals a cleaner country While there have been some financial issues, the Green Climate Vehicle is expected to grant $25 million to an off-grid solar energy project in East Africa via a new investment fund called Kawisafi, which translates to clean energy. Rwanda is rapidly expanding, and the chance exists for the country to forego outdated technology in favor of developing an economy that can withstand a changing environment and deliver wealth for future generations. That marks the end of the things that Rwanda has done to have its capital city named the cleanest in the continent. Having reached that point, we have sadly come to the end of this video about the cleanest city in Africa. I hope you liked the video, and if you did, please give it a thumbs up and leave us a comment. If you enjoyed the video and would like to get more content of this nature, subscribe and turn on the notification bell. Explore the channel for more videos on facts about Africa that you probably never knew. And with that folks, we hope to see you again in the new video. Bless.