On 14th August 2019, Rwanda Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA) concluded a series of training sessions on “Empowering Local Councilors in promoting Accountable Governance and Citizen Participation” for councilors and staff from 8 Districts. The last two sessions involved participants from Gicumbi District in two batches, the last one taking place on 12th and 13th November 2019 at Hilltop Hotel in Kigali. The Mayor of Gicumbi District attended both the opening and the closing sessions and engaged participants extensively. The other beneficiary districts for this round were Gisagara, Huye, Rusizi, Rutsiro, Musanze, Rubavu and Rulindo districts.
The training sessions were meant for Sector and Cell Executive Secretaries, Chairpersons of Cell Councils and members of the Sector Council Bureaus. They were organized by RALGA in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) and support from the German Cooperation agency (GIZ) through the Decentralization and Good Governance (DGG) project. Over the 1,732 participants expected, 1,682 attended, ie 97% participation rate.
Various themes were discussed during the training session. They include the law governing decentralized entities, the roles and responsibilities of local leaders at Sector and Cell levels and Citizen Centered Leadership. Participants also assessed factors affecting their performance, including self-assessment as well as their working environment.
Through their testimonies, participants to the training sessions committed to improve their performance and service delivery through better planning, legal decisions, team work, improved communication mainly using available ICT tools for efficiency and cost effectiveness, better and timely reporting as well as monitoring and evaluation.
The training sessions were highly participatory
Participants were motivated
Participants from Gatsibo District alongside their Mayor and the Secretary General for RALGA
Group work
RALGA's Secretary General addressing participants
The Mayor of Gisagara District engaging participants