LOCAL LEADERS in the Southern Province have been urged to work closely with media professionals to sensitise the population about the country’s various development programmes.

The call was made on Tuesday as leaders from Southern Province met with journalists during a media literacy campaign in Nyanza District.

The campaign, organised by the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), aimed at building a working relationship between the media and local government authorities.

Speaking at the function, Gerald Mbanda, RGB’s Head of media affairs and communication division, told local leaders that media are wonderful avenues through which to communicate with the public.

He told them that both leaders and the media serve the public and "should endeavour to work together.”

He reminded leaders that they had a responsibility to help journalists access information while media practitioners had a responsibility to report objectively.

Nyanza mayor Abdallah Murenzi noted that leaders should consider journalists as partners in development and help them access information.

While the media is a channel to reach the population, it is also a platform to learn of their (the people) grievances and challenges and come up with appropriate and timely solutions to address them, Murenzi observed.