When Mohammed Hersi travelled to Rwanda a month ago, he not only noticed the beautiful girls whom Kenyans have been serenading online, but also a few more important things.
He penned a discourse on his Journey to Rwanda. Here are his insights:
Journey to Rwanda
As you enjoy your Sunday I want to share a few insights about this simple picture I took early morning at 6.30am as I was set to depart Kigali and Rwanda.
✅️1. They do not allow 14 seater matatus into any city. Those ones serve mashambani even then strict traffic rules apply.
✅️2. The main mode of transport are the 25 Rosa seaters as you can see in the images. Every route has a name and only licensed rosas will ply that route.
Boda Bodas are allowed everywhere and is a popular mode of transport. One rider one passenger and both MUST wear helmet. No discussion. Their BodaBodas from India and more than half are now electric. They look better than the Chinese stuff we get here. They say they have more than 1 millions boda bodas..
✅️3. Their bus stops in Kigali are wifi enabled so are are many parks with comfy seating areas.
✅️4. Women do most of the street cleaning and many of them are widows mainly from the genocide. The dedication of this women in keeping Rwanda clean is unparalleled not that they are paid alot but the love and patriotism they have for their city and country. Please note the discreet dustbin along the roads close to the busstops.
✅️5. Matatus payment is all cashless . You load you card , you swipe your card as you board and no manambas.
✅️6. They don’t have bumps even the old ones are all being removed. Bumps is a sign of broken down system.
✅️7. Speed limit is STRICTLY 80 countryside and 60Kmh in the city. They have both fixed and mobile speed cameras. Well you want a date with cops then please jump a red light or violate the speed limit. You will get a love message on your phone from traffic department.
✅️8. I covered close to 1500KM during my stay I never saw a single accident nor a single pothole.
✅️9. Street lights connect towns call it highway lights . Darkness is alien even through thick Nyugwe forest street lights and speed cameras all in place.
✅️10. There are NO road blocks in Rwanda. Now I understand why President Kagame is upset with Kenya and our numerous road blocks.
✅️11. At one point a traffic cop stopped us since the vehicle we were using had a fine that had not been paid. The offence was committed by another driver using this same vehicle. He was polite and shared the image of traffic violation. He told the driver he has two more chances to pay if he fails he will be arrested and the fine would even be higher. That day our driver was Kenyan who has lived in Rwanda for 9 years and he was never harassed that he was non Rwandan driving a tour vehicle. As long as you are from EAC then Rwanda is your home . Just respect the law and you’ll enjoy.
✅️12. Education is free both primary and secondary. Private schools just like private security firms are rare since goverment is delivering on their mandate including medical care . No useless private corrupt dispensaries.
Well as always I choose to remain an optimist that we don’t have to go to Singapore to benchmark.
Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa