RALGA organizes six month internships for university female graduates
On 28th November 2019 at Grand Legacy Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA) launched the second phase of internships for fresh university women graduates which will last six months. The purpose of the program which started in 2018 is to contribute to bridge the gender equality gap in Local Government. The activity is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) and support from the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ).
The ceremony was graced by various high level authorities including RALGA’s Secretary General, Mr. Ladislas Ngendahimana; Amb. Dr. Charles Muligande, Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Institutional Advancement at the University of Rwanda; Mr. Ulrich Berdelmann, Director for the Decentralization and Good Governance (DGG) program at GIZ; and Mr. Yves Bernard Ningabire, Director General in charge of Local Government Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation who represented the Minister of Local Government as the Guest of Honour.
Internees encouraged to maximally benefit from the opportunity
In their interventions, RALGA’ s Secretary General, GIZ’s DDG Director and the Guest of Honour highlighted the importance of the internships and encouraged the fresh university graduates to take advantage of the opportunity. They were advised to make themselves relevant through hard work, discipline and dedication. It was explained to the internees that the acquisition of experience in local government will give them a comparative advantage for passing recruitment tests in local government. In addition, participants were reminded that their experience in working with districts will expose them to the various district partners for possible employment. They were requested to contribute to good service delivery to citizens in the districts thanks to the fact that they are young and have brilliantly completed their studies.
The role of stakeholders recognized
All actors who played a role in the preparations of the internships were recognized. RALGA was recognized for consistently striving to bridge the gender equality gap in local government through capacity building, advocacy, the establishment of the Local Government Women Network and the consistent support to the network. As for the University of Rwanda, it was recognized for availing young, dynamic and brilliant internees. On its side, MINALOC was commended for its dedication in promoting gender equality in local government. The support from GIZ was also highly appreciated as good ideas cannot be implemented without required resources.
The internship opening session was also attended by representatives of Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), the National Women’s Council, UN Women, as well as the districts of the City of Kigali, namely Kicukiro, Gasabo and Nyarugenge.