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By Annonciata Byukusenge
Passengers, merchants, and farmers in the Nyaruguru District treated the Nyagisozi-Remera-Nshili border road as little more than a seasonal obstacle, a difficulty that was unclear in the rains and a dust storm in the dry months. Now, with construction finally underway, the people who depend on it daily say they can hardly believe the change is real.
Innocent Murwanashyaka runs a milk trading business in Cyahinda Sector, Rutobwe Cell, collecting milk from local livestock farmers by motorcycle and delivering it to the MCC of Ngoma, a way that runs directly through the deteriorated road.
“This road has caused us serious losses. Just last February, I was carrying 30 liters of milk when my motorcycle slewed on the surface, and the container fell. All the milk was lost.”
Murwanashyaka said many motorbike owners had grown hesitant to use the road at all, fearing the wear and tear on their vehicles. But his mood has shifted since construction began.
“We now have real confidence that this road will be properly built. We believe it will accelerate rural development. Farmers who used to struggle to get their production to market will finally be able to do so with ease.”
At a restaurant in Viro Center, the owner, Niragire Grace, described a different but equally costly problem. During the dry season, dust sweeps into her dining room, driving away customers.
“When clients are eating, and dust gets into their food, they leave, and they tell others not to come. To cope, we close the door facing the road and ask customers to eat with it closed, but even then, those willing to stay have to endure both the dust and the temperature.”
She already has plans for what comes next. Once the road is paved, she intends to renovate, new white tablecloths, fresh paint on the wall, and changes, she says, would have been useless before.
“There would have been no use spending money on white linen with this much dust.”
The Mayor of Nyaruguru district, Dr. Emmanuel Murwanashyaka, said the project aligns with the district’s development commitments to bring infrastructure closer to residents.
“Construction on the 18-kilometer Nyagisozi-Remera-Nshili border road began in June 2025. The road will receive a chip-seal surface and is expected to be completed by December 2026.”
The project, funded at 16 billion Rwandan francs, was among the works highlighted this week during an open day for district councilors and development partners in Nyaruguru district.
