Martine Urujeni has been elected the Vice Mayor in charge of Socio-Economic Affairs in the City of Kigali. She pledged to tackle the problem of street children, improving welfare of City dwellers, and ensuring social justice.
During an election held on Friday, March 25, 2022 in Kigali, she got 298 votes, representing 77.6 percent of the total 384 votes from the electorate which consisted of councilors of the City of Kigali Council and the sectors making up the City. (Overall, the electorate consisted of 397 voters, but 13 became null (spoilt votes).
She was vying for the vice mayor position with one candidate - Rose Rutera. Rutera got 86 or 22.4 percent of the total votes.
Urujeni replaces Nadine Umutoni Gatsinzi who is the Director General of the National Child Development Agency since October 2021 following her appointment by the cabinet meeting last year.
Those who were eligible to campaign for the position must be councilors in the City of Kigali Council. Earlier on the same day, Urujeni was among two councilors elected to the City Council.
"My priority is to work together with other members of the City Executive Committee to take care of the residents’ welfare with a citizen-centred leadership, and ensuring that citizens have a say in the services rendered to them,” she said.
"We are going to put efforts in economic development, further help residents to have income-generating micro projects,” she said, pledging to address people’s problems in a timely manner for justice purposes.
She indicated that when residents have increased income, it will make them absorb the effects of the rising cost of living induced by the increase in prices of basic commodities such as foods.
Also, she said she will "put efforts in tackling family conflicts because they are the main cause for street children. And, again, we will fight anything that can make children live on the streets.”
"We will fight the sale, circulation and use of drugs (addictive substances) because it is one of the issues facing not only our youth but also the adults,” she said.
Local Government Minister, Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi said he believes the new Vice Mayor in charge of Socio-Economic Affairs will effectively accomplish her responsibilities as she has the required experience based on the works she has done in line with social affairs through dispensing justice.
Increasing income for residents
Minister Gatabazi said the City leadership should focus on supporting the needy through job creation and income-generating activities for them to be able to provide for their families.
The City of Kigali, he said, has rural areas whose inhabitants need to carry out agriculture and livestock farming so that they supply food to the urban dwellers.
He expressed concern that some rural areas in the City of Kigali such as Bumbogo and Rutunga, were lacking commercial agriculture projects, and quality roads, which can help supply food to the urban residents.
According to him, people should be coming from those rural areas to supply commodities to the City Centre and go back with money from their sales.
"Indeed, residents of the City of Kigali’s rural sectors have great opportunities because what they can produce has a market – those who can raise goats, chicken or grow vegetables can have buyers,” he observed.
"The vice mayor in charge of infrastructures should be thinking about the availability of roads to those areas, and the one in charge of socio-economic affairs should work on their living conditions so that they supply the produce here [to the City Centre]” he said.
Now, the City has a complete council
The elections started with 12 candidates from Nyarugenge District contending for two positions to fill vacancies in the City of Kigali's Council. Here, the electorate was councilors from 10 sectors making up Nyarugenge District.
That was the case because the City of Kigali lacked two councilors both of whom are from Nyarugenge District.
Such a situation was a result of former councilors Antoine Mutsinzi, and Nadine Umutoni Gatsinzi who got positions elsewhere.
Mutsinzi currently serves as the Vice Mayor in charge of Economic Development in Rulindo District, while Umutoni – who was the Vice Mayor in charge of Socio-Economic Affairs in the City of Kigali – and is the current Director General of the National Child Development Agency.
It is Hamiss Bizimana and Martine Urujeni who were elected councilors to the City of Kigali Council, making it have the required 11 councilors.
After completing the City council, the election of the Vice Mayor in charge of Socio-Economic Affairs was held in order to fill the gap in the City's Executive Committee.