On 16th and 17th February 2019 at Muhazi Beach Hotel in Rwamagana District, Rwanda Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA) organized a technical forum for Districts and City of Kigali Mayors. The forum was officially opened by the Governor of the Eastern Province, Fred MUFULUKYE and was officially closed by Honorable Anastase SHYAKA, Minister of Local Government. It was also attended by RALGA’s Secretary General, Mr. Ladislas NGENDAHIMANA. Province Governors also attended the closing session.
In his opening remarks, after the introductory remarks by Cllr. Richard GASANA, Dean of the Mayors’ Forum, Governor Mufulukye highlighted the fact that coordinating the efforts of staff and partners for common delivery is a very challenging task for Mayors.
RALGA’s Secretary General briefly introduced the association in general and the technical forums in particular. He highlighted RALGA’s mandate to advocate for its members, build their capacity and represent them. He also reminded to participants that the technical forums are platforms bringing together local leaders or staff holding the same positions, with the purpose of allowing them to assess their performance, share experience on best practices and identify issues for advocacy.
The self-assessment session was prompted by two presentations. Mr. Yves Bernard NINGABIRE, the Director General for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Ministry of Local Government facilitated the session to review the implementation status of last year’s national leadership retreat resolutions especially those concerning local government.
Senator Apollinaire MUSHINZIMANA facilitated the session on self-assessment and critical analysis of the implementation of Government programs in Local Governments, focusing on achievements, challenges and way forward.
During his closing remarks, Honorable Professor Anastase Shyaka recognized the efforts by Mayors to implement government programs. He also commended RALGA’s contribution in building the capacity of local leaders. He took the opportunity to advise the mayors on the ways to improve their performance. Among other things, he encouraged them to adopt practical innovations by peers for better service delivery as an effective way of sharing experience.
The technical forum was concluded by a visit to the “Situation Room” of Rwamagana District. As explained by Cllr. Radjab MBONYUMUVUNYI, Mayor for Rwamagana District and his team, the situation room aims at monitoring the achievements in addressing human security issues, as well as achievements of performance contract targets. The visiting mayors commended the team spirit and high level of commitment which allowed the implementation of targets as well as the gathering of factual information from Village level. They committed to emulate the best practice guided by principles of integrity, precision and efficiency.
