Development partners have commended the contribution of the Huye District Council toward the advancement of the socio-economic development.

This was during the last meeting held by the council that will be dissolved this week to pave way for new councillors to be elected at grassroots polls due next month.

The meeting sought to approve the district’s revised budget of Rwf13.6 billion and examining some reports before they wrap up their five-year mandate.

The president of the council, Dr Viateur Ndikumana, said they were grateful that the district registered considerable development during their tenure, a progress he attributed to team spirit between the advisory council and the district’s executive committee.

"We are happy that we are winding up our five-year mandate when our district outclassed other districts in Imihigo (performance contracts) and we received an award [for that]. But what we are most happy with is the excellent working relations between the council and the excutive committee,” Ndikumana said.

Huye emerged the best district in implementing the performance contracts last year.

"Our [Huye] town is in a far better shape than it was three or five years ago,” Ndikumana added.

He thanked the councillors for their commitment to the council’s activities over the last five years.

Crucial organ

The 29-member organ, representing public and private sectors, is the highest organ governing operations of a district.

Its strengths or weaknesses can affect the district’s socio-economic welfare status because its decisions and recommendations are the ones which the district’s executive committee – composed of the mayor, vice-mayors for finance and economic development, and that for social affairs – have to implement.

Huye mayor Eugène Kayiranga Muzuka commended the council for closely following up on their activities and guidance for the last five years, saying this enabled them to achieve a lot, including getting many people from the district out of extreme poverty.

"If you consider the marshlands being cultivated and the crop produce they are generating, the constructed [feeder] roads that are helping people to take their produce to the market, the people who were living in Maraba and Simbi sectors where there was infertile soil, but now there are coffee plantations that they have started to harvest, you realise that there is welfare improvement,” he said.

"In Huye town, there was no bus station for people, but now we have a modern car park. There was no stadium and there were laterite roads, but now there are tarmac roads. The markets have been built, but before people had no [decent] place to retail their products,” Kayiranga said.

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