CITY GOVERNMENT RESCINDS MOTORCYCLE BAN

UNCLAS KIGALI 000868 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL RW SUBJECT: CITY GOVERNMENT RESCINDS MOTORCYCLE BAN REF: KIGALI 836 ¶1. (U) The Kigali City Council on Monday September 4 rescinded its two-week ban on motorcycle taxis. Operating under new licensing requirements, the motorcycles began to return to city streets in small numbers. Each operator is now required to register with his local cell (the next-to-lowest political subdivision in Rwanda),obtain an operator's permit, and wear a proper uniform and helmet. Mayor Aisa Kaycira told us September 5 that the City Council stood ready to re-ban the motorcycles if the operators did not abide by rules of conduct agreed in joint sessions with the police and City Council. ¶2. (U) Comment. While the Mayor stands by her story (of an intentionally brief halt to motorcycle taxis) the City Council appears to have belatedly realized it had angered poorer residents and brought much criticism upon itself (reftel). The intensity of criticism seems to have caught the Council by surprise. Rumors of Presidential involvement in the ban and/or its rescission appear to be just that; contacts at the presidency dismissed the idea that President Kagame would involve himself in a mundane municipal issue. End comment. ARIETTI