Ganshoren: good transparency for a small municipality

A small municipality with good practices

Ganshoren is a small municipality of 25,500 inhabitants led by Jean-Paul Van Laethem (Les Engagés) in coalition with the PS. Despite its modest size, it achieves a good transparency score.

Transparency: 5 out of 6 criteria

The budget and council minutes (dedicated page with agendas) are published online, the council is broadcast via livestream (YouTube and social media since 2020), the mandate registry is accessible, and the municipality uses Fluicity for citizen participation with a participatory budget. No Open Data portal.

Citizen participation: Fluicity

Ganshoren launched its citizen participation platform via Fluicity, including a participatory budget allowing residents to propose and vote on municipal projects.

Budget tensions and political conflict

The property tax was raised by 20% (3,240 → 3,880 additional centimes). This increase provoked the anger of the opposition: Open-MR councillors walked out of the municipal council, calling the majority "dictators". Paid parking has been extended to new neighbourhoods.

Avenue Broustin: end of the blockage, permit issued (18 May 2026)

After years of blockage, an urban planning permit was issued on 18 May 2026 for the redevelopment of Avenue Broustin, on the border of Ganshoren and Jette: removal of the concrete blocks, two reopened access points, redevelopment of two squares, and safety improvements at a junction ranked among the 40 most accident-prone in the Region. Mayor Jean-Paul Van Laethem welcomed the fact that "Ganshoren insisted from the start of the project on minimising the impact on residents' parking, and we were heard".

Les Bruyères school: reconstruction contract awarded

The "Design & Build" contract for the reconstruction of Les Bruyères school (Clos Jacques Wagner) was awarded to the Hooyberghs / Brebuild / POLO Architecten consortium: 4 nursery classrooms and 12 primary classrooms across 3,710 m², for a cost of approximately EUR 9 million (including around EUR 5.3 million in subsidy from the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles). Works are planned for summer 2028, lasting 18 months, with delivery targeted for the 2030 school year.

Sources: DH, La Libre, BX1 (18 May 2026, Avenue Broustin); DH (9 April 2026, Les Bruyères school).

A municipal councillor charged in a cannabis trafficking investigation (18 August 2026)

On Tuesday 18 August 2026, in the late afternoon, the federal judicial police intervened on avenue des Neuf Provinces in Ganshoren, as part of an operation targeting a dealing spot, following a tip-off from Zaventem customs. One hundred kilos of cannabis were seized in a garage and five people were arrested, of whom four were placed under arrest warrants.

The fifth is Gaël Mukiza, a Ganshoren municipal councillor elected at nineteen in October 2024 on the PS+Citoyens list, which is part of the municipal majority. He spent the night in a cell and was released the following day under conditions. He says he helped a neighbour move boxes without knowing what they contained.

The sequence, in the right order

This case has been reported in two contradictory ways, and the order of events matters.

He first told the press he had "proved his innocence". The Brussels prosecutor's office then confirmed that he is charged with importing narcotics in association and with membership of a criminal organisation.

A release under conditions is not a dismissal: the charge stands and the investigation continues. The two pieces of information do not contradict each other; they describe two different things.

A charge is not a conviction. The presumption of innocence applies in full, and nothing above prejudges the outcome.

The mayor of Ganshoren did not comment on the substance of the case, saying only that he is pleased the judicial police are active on the municipality's territory. Neither the councillor nor the Ganshoren PS group could be reached by the newsrooms.

Sources differ on his exact affiliation: several newsrooms describe him as a PS councillor, others as an independent candidate on the PS+Citoyens list without being a party member. BGM keeps to the wording verifiable in every source: elected on the PS+Citoyens list.

Sources: RTBF (21 August 2026) ; BRUZZ (22 August 2026), on confirmation from the Brussels prosecutor's office ; BX1, La DH, L'Avenir (21 August 2026). Confidence: official for the charge and for the facts confirmed by the prosecutor's office; unconfirmed for his exact role, which is a matter for the ongoing investigation.