This is RSSB Tower in Rwamagana district
The Auditor General’s 2024 has raised concerns about the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB), Rwanda’s largest pension fund, for keeping vast pieces of land in different parts of the country.
RSSB, entrusted with managing the country’s social security and investment assets, is sitting on 144 undeveloped plots of prime land worth a staggering Rwf 105.61 billion—despite an urgent national need for affordable housing.
The land, largely acquired for development purposes, has remained idle for years, according to the audit findings released last week before a joint session of Parliament.
For example, in Rwamagana district, RSSB bought over 20 hectares several years ago. The local population was moved off the land, but also compensated.
The problem, though, by end last year, the land was still idle. The district has engaged RSSB to refund the money to the Board, and reallocate the land for other development purposes.
Local officials say RSSB is asking for over Rwf 1.2 billion to return the land, and they are willing to repay it back – indication of the seriousness of their concerns.
RSSB’s own 2020–2025 strategic plan identifies affordable housing as a priority investment area in different regions of the country, mainly the capital Kigali.
Yet, as the Auditor General pointed out, not a single affordable housing project was initiated during that period.
The Board’s portfolio of projects has instead focused on high-cost, large-scale commercial and residential developments, such as Batsinda II, where the cost of construction spiraled from Rwf 15.5 billion to Frw 41.29 billion, rendering the units unaffordable for ordinary Rwandans.
The mismatch between housing supply and demand is glaring. A study by the International Growth Centre (IGC) in 2018 projected that the City of Kigali alone would need 700,000 new homes by 2028, 70% of which must fall under the affordable housing category.
While that demand has only grown over time, public investment has focused on the higher-income bracket, leaving the vast majority of the population underserved.
The audit further reveals that RSSB failed to conduct updated market assessments before expanding or repricing its developments.
This has resulted in a glut of mid- to high-cost units, many of which go unoccupied, while low-income citizens are priced out entirely.
Affordable housing initiatives such as the Rugarama project, intended to deliver 2,700 units, have stalled despite the government transferring 33 hectares of land to a developer in 2019.
Similarly, the Gahanga Riverside Estate, meant to produce 100 units, was only halfway complete as of early 2025.
The Auditor General has urged RSSB to “design and implement strategies to provide shelter, as stipulated in Article 8 of the Law establishing the Fund.”
This includes leveraging the undeveloped plots to fulfill social investment obligations—particularly affordable housing.
