Parliamentary election perspectives: They want food and security!

On 15 September, Rwanda will hold parliamentary elections and campaigns to that effect are in full gear. Whirlwind surveys we have carried out this week proved the importance, Rwandans attach to this crucial election. Indeed parliament is central to the democratic freedoms and peace in any country and Rwanda is not unique, which is why the government gives the elections the importance they deserve. The bottom-line being the ultimate role of parliament, as an elected body representing the people’s will. A key pillar of democracy together with the executive and the judiciary; a balance in the functions of the three being a foundation of good governance. Therefore, parliament should actually be fully representative of all Rwandan aspirations across, race, class and ethnicity. It is imperative to note that, such is the principle guiding the on-going electoral process in Rwanda; in a race that pits the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) and coalition partners against the opposition groups - the Labour Party (LP) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), respectively. In fact, when one is elected to the August -House they are obligated not only to the individuals who elected them, but to parliament as an institution. In other words, they are expected to represent all the electorate. All people, matter equally, and must be served with the deserving diligence. Consequently, the electorate will elect its leaders based on what it believes they will deliver in terms of their day-to-day bread and butter issues and how they are to be governed. To this end the needs of voting Rwandans are so simple. Food and security! “I have been listening to what party representatives are saying and I think I know who helped me to live the way I do today. I am a stone excavator’s chair-person in this area. We organized ourselves in a way that allows us to determine the prices for our customers and pay government taxes.” “This has helped us earn enough wages compared to what we used to get when we were so disorganized. Some boys you see here used to spend most of their time drinking and fighting only, after a day’s hard work. Now some own very big houses and are married (says jokingly)”, remarked Habyalimana Damascene, of the Rwamagana district in the eastern Province, on the level of development post-genocide in 1994. The week long survey’s by The New Times, found that ordinary people seem appreciative of the government’s achievements in the past few years and hence feel the RPF should be rewarded through a renewed mandate. “I am trying to pay my workers quickly so that I attend an RPF meeting. We cannot forget that the party helped us live peacefully. Yes, if it was not peace, I wouldn’t be working here,” remarks Claver Kayumba, a 50-year-old site supervisor. For their personal development these people have been provided with an interactive set of tools that engages them with Rwanda’s socio- political processes. The excavation project focuses them on healing but also places them at the centre of the country’s economic reconstruction efforts. Meaning a good legislator must have the ability to engage with all people, the young included. Unfortunately, in some countries, most young people do not care much for politics (to a society’s detriment), and no one listens to them either. One way to deal with this is to provide them with the opportunities for their voice to be heard and by keeping them aware of key national developments. The tentacles of such initiatives should touch all the youth- from the less educated to the educated --from the rural to the urban ones and so on so forth. There are certain small things that go unresolved when they could have taken a minute to end. The need there-fore for the next legislative assembly to have streamlined working methods that cater for our small business people. This will serve us from calling what is not a problem - a problem! “I feel like removing my shirt, this place is damn hot! I do not mind getting a few clients in a good environment. We are so congested in this room with many people and poor ventilation. We want this changed so that we may get better working conditions”, Chantal, a business-person in Kigali’s Nyarugenge complained. Nevertheless, some areas have been greatly developed either through personal initiatives or with the help of the concerned authorities or both. One exiting experience is the encounter we had with a young 23 year old Alice Kazarwa. She managed to take the necessary life skills and more specifically studded carpentry. She is a charismatic person who is full of praises for the government. “I owe a lot to this government, for it picked me from the ashes. I had forgotten all about good life, when I dropped out of school to supplement my mother’s income. But the government helped me get the skills and I am now a promising person like others. Come election, I will vote for RPF”.Such appreciations from ordinary people holds a lot of water and in an election where every vote counts, they influence greatly on the outcomes. Contact: mugitoni@yahoo.com