{"id":33676,"date":"2023-01-18T17:52:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T17:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone"},"modified":"2023-01-18T18:24:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T18:24:48","slug":"what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone","title":{"rendered":"What will it take to revive Gisimenti car-free zone?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The once lively car-free area in Gisimenti, Kigali, where people would go to relax, socialise, and share drinks and food, is not as active as it used to be.<\/p>\n

Business owners in Gisimenti, a place that was closed for bars and eateries over the weekends since February 2022, had their best days in June during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).<\/p>\n

But some of the businesses there, mainly bars, have now closed their doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started, and during CHOGM days, we had a huge clientele. But business has since slowed down. And the owners are frustrated,\u201d said Daddy Niyonshuti, a businessman and member of the Private Sector Federation in Remera.<\/p>\n

He said one of the factors that led to the reduction in clientele is a remarkable increase of unruly people in the area, which led to cases of indecency, not seen in other car-free zones in the city centre and Nyamirambo area.<\/p>\n

He said, however, that the \u2018anti-campaign\u2019 on social media about Gisimenti car-free zone has made it worse.<\/p>\n

A deserted view of Gisimenti weekend car-free zone at 7pm on a Friday evening. Photo by Willy Mucyo<\/p>\n

Other issues include the lack of a parking area and what is seen as a cultural tendency to not consume foods and drinks in the open.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason is not necessarily cultural, because people in neighbourhoods consume alcohol. What is needed is to have more complementary services available for different customers, be it young and adults,\u201d Teddy Kaberuka, an economic analyst, told national television.<\/p>\n

The business owners in Gisimenti need to be more creative to attract more customers, Marie Solange Muhirwa, Chief of Urban Planning in the City of Kigali, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Gisimenti, we want to develop a place where people can enjoy Kigali nightlife. We want the city to work 24\/7 and support job creation,\u201d Muhirwa said.<\/p>\n

She added that they advised the business owners and PSF to look for a plot that can be turned into a parking area, and officials are ready to help.<\/p>\n

A deserted view of Gisimenti car free zone that was designated in 2022 to allow bars and eateries to expand their outdoor seating areas to accommodate more revelers. Willy Mucyo<\/p>\n

Niyonshuti said one of the things that can revive Gisimenti car-free zone included organising sports activities, like on car-free days, around the area.<\/p>\n

Freddy Muhirwa, another business owner, said that the idea of the Gisimenti car-free zone was good, but the fact that it\u2019s weekly has made their business less creative.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the authorities can make a car-free zone once every month, every bar owner can organise a specialty, like inviting a DJ to play music, or a dance troupe or band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clients at a busy Gisimenti car free zone just after one week of the inauguration in Feb 2022. Craish Bahizi<\/p>\n

He added that free internet connection should be available in the place.<\/p>\n

Kaberuka said business operators should rebrand their activities, couple it with promotional bonuses, and make sure people have a better image of the Gisimenti car-free zone. \u201cYou cannot work for one year without rebranding your business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe car-free zone remains a good idea and it needs everyone\u2019s support, including authorities, to make sure that its image is enhanced and people can go there for recreation,\u201d said Emmanuel Mugabe, who is in charge of consumer protection at the Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA).<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. The once lively car-free area in Gisimenti, Kigali, where people would go to relax, socialise, and share drinks and food, is not as active as it used to be. Business owners in Gisimenti, a place that was closed for bars and eateries over the weekends since February 2022, had their best days […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":33675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[760,763,758],"class_list":["post-33676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat will it take to revive Gisimenti car-free zone? - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The once lively car-free area in Gisimenti, Kigali, where people would go to relax, socialise, and share drinks and food ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What will it take to revive Gisimenti car-free zone?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The once lively car-free area in Gisimenti, Kigali, where people would go to relax, socialise, and share drinks and food ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-18T17:52:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-18T18:24:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1674051820.77.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"What will it take to revive Gisimenti car-free zone?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-18T17:52:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-18T18:24:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone\"},\"wordCount\":586,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1674051820.77.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/what-will-it-take-to-revive-gisimenti-car-free-zone\",\"name\":\"What will it take to revive Gisimenti car-free zone? 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