SOUTHERN PROVINCE Muhanga district has awarded local leaders who scored well in service delivery in 2008 and criticized the worst performers, challenging them to improve their services this year. The award ceremony was done during the evaluation of 2008-09 district performance contracts held at the district cultural center on Saturday. The awards included medals, certificates and symbols of leadership given within four categories which included the best directors of departments, sector executive secretaries, security councils, and selected residents. Those that scooped prizes included officials working for the education department, Nyamabuye and Nyabinoni Sectors, police, army, immigration and prisons officers. The worst performers according to the evaluation were the officials working for the district’s human resource department, Shogwe and Muhanga Sectors. They were given a black costume as a symbol of ‘negligence’ and urged to improve on their performance. Meanwhile, the district set the 2009 performance targets highlighting a number of goals. Top on their targets included efforts to boost hygiene, planned settlements, fighting genocide ideology, corruption and gender based violence. District officials said they will also focus on better service delivery while making greater efforts at constructing major roads. They also vowed to facilitate the construction of 12 storey commercial buildings while at the same time they set out to increase access to family planning services by at least 40%. The officials also set a target of increasing access and by extension channeling the number of pregnant women who give birth from health centres to 70%. In the same breath the district projects to rise over Rwf.242 million in the next six months as revenue to fund its projects. François-Xavier Mbabazi, the chairman of the district council, said he expected better performance in all sectors and encouraged competitiveness and team work among local leaders. Ends
