Regional Centre, Kasarani, Nairobi

Established in 1975 as a non-profit intergovernmental organization under auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the then Organization of African Unity (now African Union), the Regional Centre at Kasarani enjoyed a dominant presence. Founded to provide services in surveying and mapping to its member states in Eastern and Southern Africa, this Centre’s original name mutated to the current “Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD)”. It’s here that the current Vihiga County Governor, Dr Wilbur Ottichilo, cut his teeth as he served as the Centre’s Director General.

Dominance

By year 2000, and after, the Centre’s dominant presence diminished significantly as the skyline changed. It ceased to be the only landmark to bespeak. Training needs around the region had also changed. With various training institutions emerging in member states, the Center was losing its niche. Seemingly, it had hit its pinnacle. Furthermore, parts of its prime land lay idle, making it a good target for suave city land grabbers.

But the Regional Centre is back. Its infrastructure and training strategy have been lately re-engineered to restore its niche as a regional training hub on geospatial skills. In the last six years, the institution has experienced tremendous, near unbelievable growth. I witnessed it recently. The place looks refreshed and pleasant. The once exquisite looking single-storey original blocks now look rather mundane. They now house the Centre’s constituent college, known as the Regional Center Training Institute (RCTI), providing continuous professional development training modules for geospatial experts from the region, and diploma courses in applied geospatial technologies.

New infrastructure

Next to the old blocks stand new modern high-rise buildings, the pride and envy of students and visiting dignitaries. One serves as the Administration block, complete with modern conference facilities. The other houses a students’ hostel and some executive suites. Local and foreign students have the discretion to take up accommodation in the hostel, while visiting bigwigs are accommodated in the executive wing.

A panoramic view of the Centre from the rooftop cafeteria on the new administrative block reveals the genius in the lay of the Centre. The new buildings have been deliberately positioned to the west of the old blocks, with interconnecting driveways close to the perimeter walls, ring-fencing the Center’s land and therefore cushioning it from possible encroachment and grabbing. In between the new and the old blocks lies pristine grounds used for games and conferencing. As I visited, three parallel high-level regional conferences, housed in giant dome tents pitched on the grounds, were ongoing.

Good lesson

Hats off to the management for the transformation. In his typical modesty, the Centre’s Director General, Dr Emmanuel Nkurunziza, a man I first met while on working missions in Rwanda where he worked for his government, underplays the feat, saying that nothing less was expected of his team. This turnaround serves as a good lesson in how the prudent application and optimization of limited human and financial resources could inform institutional sustainability.