The City of Kigali has been selected to host the 41st General Assembly of the Association Internationale de Maires Francophones (AIMF) that brings together mayors in the French-speaking countries. The meeting will explore the role the civil society can play in developing urban planning policies. According to Pudence Rubingisa, the Mayor of the City of Kigali, due to the Covid pandemic, the meeting will be held in a hybrid fashion, from July 18 to 22. “The meeting will be both physical and virtual with 80 per cent confirmed attendances so far,” Topics to be discussed, the mayor said, include the structure of local governance and access of citizens to good governance in addition to youth and women participation in urban development. Rubingisa also said that they will discuss ways to develop working relationships among cross-border activities carried out in cities such as Rusizi with Bujumbura and Bukavu as well as Rubavu with Goma. Previously, the assembly was held in Tunisia. According to the mayor, Kigali was selected “based on preparedness as a country in terms of security, infrastructure, hospitality and tourism activities outside Kigali that visitors can enjoy.” During the assembly, he said, “there are some projects we draw according to our policies and embed them in our action plan and its implementation as a city. The association invests funds in some proficient projects.” AIMF was established in 1979 and Rwanda joined in 1987 initially with Kigali city. Since then three other Rwandan cities, including Rubavu, Rusizi and Nyanza have joined the group. With Rwanda developing more secondary cities, Rubingisa said they expect Muhanga, Huye and Nyagatare to join during this year’s meeting. The association seeks to promote exchanges with local communities and other cultural areas and their networks, involving them in the discussion and signing agreements with them in partnership to strengthen local democracy and support decentralization policies.
