MPs discuss Rubavu retreat

BUGESERA - Members of the Lower Chamber of Parliament met yesterday to assess their role in the ensuring the implementation of the resolutions of the National Leadership Retreat held early this year. The lawmakers, who met in Gashora, Bugesera District, also discussed a number of issues pertaining to the daily operations of Parliament. They consulted on the most feasible way to engage Rwandans in fostering unity and reconciliation. Opening the retreat, Speaker Rose Mukantabana, emphasised the need to set targets for the remaining two years of the House’s mandate. She stressed that lawmakers should formulate their own Imihigo ( performance contracts) model akin to that of other civil servants, which should also be accountable to the electorate. “Why can’t we as lawmakers, then, have Imihigo before our employers who are the people who elected us? I feel that there should be no reason not to, and I believe this is how everyone sees it,” Mukantabana noted. The deputy speakers ; Dr. Jean Damascene Ntawukuliryayo and Denis Polisi, presided over the first two interactive and open parts of the session. Ntawukuliryayo briefed the lawmakers on the national leaders’ retreat, putting emphasis on its resolutions in various areas, including education, good governance, energy, ICT, and the rule of law. According to Mukantabana, as one of the topmost institutions of governance, Parliament has the responsibility to implement the retreat’s resolutions, by means of its lawmaking role. Meanwhile, the legislators also discussed their respective roles in the promotion of unity and reconciliation. Ends