From 25th to 27th September 2019, Sector & Cell Executive Secretaries, Chairpersons of Cell Councils and members of the Sector Council Bureaus attended a training session at Saint André Hotel in Kabgayi , Muhanga District. The training was in the context of RALGA’s initiative of “Empowering Local Councilors in promoting Accountable Governance and Citizen Participation” in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) and support from the German Cooperation agency (GIZ) through the Decentralization and Good Governance (DGG) project. It was attended by 202 participants over the targeted 210 local leaders.
According to Ms Innocente MURASI, Director for RALGA’s Local Government Institute (LGI) Department which facilitates the initiative, the training sessions aim at helping participants to well understand their crucial roles and responsibilities and in fostering citizen participation.
Participants very willing to implement skills acquired
From testimonies by participants, they learned a lot from the training. Key aspects they particularly appreciated include the clear understanding of their duties, roles and responsibilities, and the understanding of how to run local affairs and fulfil their responsibilities as per the law. They committed that when back to their constituencies, they will put in place mechanisms to gather accurate data on citizens’ real needs with the purpose of addressing them. They also committed to build a team work and collaboration spirit for better performance, as well as to more frequently visit their citizens to discuss ways of improving their participation.
RALGA SG to participants : you shall lead the way to performance as opinion leaders
In his closing remarks, RALGA’s Secretary General, Mr. Ladislas Ngendahimana, requested councilors, as opinion leaders, to play a big role in allowing their entities to successfully address issues facing their citizens. He urged them to act as role models for the people they lead. He particularly encouraged them to quickly identify and address Human Security issues in their constituencies including teenagers’ pregnancies, hygiene and sanitation issues as well as school dropouts among other things.
Next beneficiaries
As per RALGA’s agenda, the next districts to benefit from the training sessions for this round are Rusizi, Rutsiro, Musanze, Rubavu, and Rulindo.
