The RPF Chairman, President Paul Kagame on Friday, May 10, 2019, concluded his three-day Citizen Outreach programme in Northern and Western provinces, which saw him traverse three districts where he addressed residents of over six districts.
The Chairman started his tour on Wednesday in Burera District, followed by Musanze on Thursday where he addressed residents of both Musanze and Nyabihu districts and on Friday concluded the tour from Nyundo sector in Rubavu District.
At Nyundo, he met and interacted with over 100,000 residents from both Rubavu and Rutsiro districts in Western Province.
At all the venues, the Chairman made it known that the citizens, who all overwhelmingly voted for RPF-Inkotanyi’s flagbearer Paul Kagame in the 2017 presidential elections, had the right to demand services from the leadership, saying they put those leaders in place.
He also said that holding local leaders and central government officials to account will continue to be a hallmark of his leadership, saying a key duty of these officials is supporting citizens to solve their problems.
“Leaders should understand that instead of praising those who want to give Rwandans leftovers they should create job opportunities to ensure that we achieve self-reliance," the Chairman told Burera residents on Day one of his tour.
Reacting to the different challenges that districts still face and were brought to his attention, he said: “The issues we are discussing here are not new and they are not insurmountable. We discuss them, we agree on how they will be solved but when you come back you find the problem has not been solved or has gotten worse.”
In Musanze, he urged residents of both Musanze and Nyabihu districts to double efforts towards maintaining proper hygiene, ensure security, and work towards accelerated development of the region starting from households.
He reminded the residents that they need to keep their communities safe, underlining that tourists don’t go to places that are unsafe.
“Our security is where we draw a red line; whoever crosses this line will face consequences. You should not allow anyone from inside or outside the country to jeopardise our security,” he said.
To the residents of Rubavu and Rutsiro – both districts bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, the head of state urged them to leverage the good relations between the two countries to maximize on cross-border trade.
“Being at the border is an opportunity to work together and trade with each other. You should not waste the opportunity this location provides,” he told the residents, urging the private sector not to be satisfied with doing the minimum.
“Serving a small number of people for a high price just because you make a profit is not enough. You should be aiming to grow your business and reach a maximum number of people. We want you to take opportunities offered on the local and regional market. Our role will be to work to facilitate you, easing trade with other countries and maintaining freedom of movement to our country,” he added.
