Members of the Chamber of Deputies will today begin a month-long nationwide tour that will see them meet the beneficiaries and implementers of development programme to review and assess the gaps. They will also make recommendations on how the gaps can be closed. The Acting Director of the Parliamentary Outreach Programme, Cleophas Nzeyimana, told The New Times that the tour was informed by the MPs’ interest in knowing why some socio-economic transformation programmes were falling short on their target. “The MPs felt it was important to get to as many places as they could to assess how these programmes are working and what is being done to contribute to elevating the masses out of poverty, how they are changing their livelihoods and contributing to financial independence,” he said. MP Frank Habineza said that this tour will be an eye-opener for most new lawmakers, giving them an opportunity to get first-hand information from their constituents. “It is an exciting opportunity for most of us and we are keen on knowing the challenges that citizens face and to exchange ideas with them and their local leaders on how best they can be fixed,” he said. The tour follows the release of the Fifth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV5), which indicate that poverty levels reduced slightly, at just 0.9 per cent. According to the MPs, this signals that the Government could be off the pace to reduce the number of Rwandans living under the poverty line to 30 per cent by 2020. Nzeyimana said that the MPs will meet members of district advisory committees, the district administrative committee, district labour officers, and security agency representatives, including the Police, Rwanda Investigation Bureau, Reserve Forces, among others, private sector representatives, religious leaders, Business Development Fund representatives, among others. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
