Rwanda | Nyaruguru district: Leaders end a two-day retreat
Grassroot leaders in Nyaruguru district, Southern Rwanda, on Tuesday concluded a two-day retreat at Sovu in neighbouring Huye district in a bid to make final touches on the district’s performance contracts (locally known as imihigo) for the 2012-2013 fiscal/budget year, which has already kicked off with the month of July.
The retreat, which attracted executive secretaries for Nyaruguru’s 14 sectors and leaders at the district level, looked into the implementation plan of performance contracts, defined activities to be carried out and set a feasible time frame – this news website has reliably learnt.
“It was such a fruitful retreatâ€, said Nyaruguru district mayor, François Habitegeko.
“It was an opportunity to polish our performance contracts, which will focus on rural development and economyâ€, added Habitegeko, whose district has got an estimated 10,500 bn Rwf budget earmarked for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
According to mayor Habitegeko, projects related to boosting the economy of Nyaruguru district will, all alone, account for a half of the performance contracts. Other sectors expected to attract a particular attention include health and enhancing the quality of education in schools across Nyaruguru districts.
One of the participants is Claire Niragire, a customer care officer in the Nyaruguru district administration. She credits the retreat.
“There’s been some improvement in the way the retreat was organized compared to the last retreats. We have adopted new strategies to help us best meet our performance contracts’ goalsâ€, said Niragire, admitting that the retreat has been her busiest ever – having slept at 2 in the morning on the first day.
Results on how Rwanda’s 30 districts achieved the 2011-2012 are yet to trickle in. But a year before, in the 2010-2011 performance contracts, Nyaruguru was in a seemingly bad posture – having come in the 29th position.
Nevertheless, for more than once, Nyaruguru district mayor has told this news website that the last 29th ranking is likely to change for the better in the 2011-2012 performance contracts.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame rolled out the performance contracts in 2006, as a way of swifting the country’s development pace through acknowledging and rewarding best performing leaders, among others.
