Page 93 - Volume 2_CHANGES_merged_with links

Rwanda

Uncomfortable Truths

crosses' grid. Others ram the mix into the grid, which is capable of moulding perhaps 9 or
12 paving bricks. When all is complete, the bricks are turned out to dry out in the sun.

According to my calculations, a small team which had 4 people 'ramming' the mix into

the moulds, could produce perhaps 500 paving bricks per person per day. A team output of
̩
ɡ
perhaps 2,000 per day. But I'm a m'zuŋ u. An African might have a higher figure!
At the road itself, the only piece of heavy machinery, a large earth mover will have
cleared the road surface to the required depth and then moved, shoved into place the

necessary layers of different sized aggregate. Each layer 'blinded' with sand.

And then perhaps the only skilled worker in the whole process does his bit. Using the
minimum of tools he puts in place the wooden form-work that will delineate path from

road. Always being careful to drop the height for places where vehicles will need to cross

the path in order to access their own property.
Some time afterwards, the now 'sun-dried' paving bricks are dropped off. Piled up at

intervals close to where they will be needed. And then the paving takes place.

It’s a simple system that has many virtues
 It by-passes the large cost, fat-cat business that essentially builds in a long-term
dependency on heavy machinery and the like
 It makes use of as much local material as possible, minimising the need for transportation
costs and the like
 It creates work for a lot of ordinary Africans

 It’s highly sustainable. Removing some paving bricks and digging out below to execute
some sort of utility installation or repair is a lot less both, and a lot less expense, than f the
̩
ɡ
road was built using a typical m'zuŋ u road building technique.
 Its low cost sustainability goes as far as can be expected to 'guarantee' the future road-
worthiness
Threaded throughout the above, not always visible, are the robust institutions that make all

these aspects of daily life possible.
ɡ
̩
It’s the lack of robust institutions in other African countries that many m'zuŋ u aid
donors and their Bretton Woods Institutions descry.

When I think of Rwanda, I visualise roads and people. And robust institutions.
Institutions which are set up to help sustainable economic development that betters the

quality of life for ordinary Africans. Robust institutions which are actually helping a

population to absorb changes faster than the '3 generation' rule of thumb might be
expected to deliver.