The Anglican Church of Rwanda, Sunday, enthroned Samuel Mugisha Mugiraneza as the new Bishop of Shyira Diocese, replacing Dr Laurent Mbanda, who was elected as the next Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda.

The current Archbishop of Anglican Church in Rwanda, Onesphore Rwaje, assisted by bishops from other dioceses presided over the installation ceremony at Muhabura Integrated Polytechnic College playground in Musanze District.

During his inaugural speech, Mugisha said that he will focus on development projects to ensure spiritual and physical development, not only for their congregation but also the entire community.

He stated that he intends to set up a Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) to inculcate a savings culture among the Christians of Shyira Diocese, which would lead to an inclusive development.

"We have more than 3,000 small groups which are doing savings and all these people have more than three hundred million francs, if put together, you can start Shyira Diocese SACCO,” Mugisha said.

He said that they will establish a company that will take on the business section so that the church can concentrate on their core mandate of evangelism.

The new Bishop of Shyira Diocese also vowed to boost the quality of education in schools that are managed by the diocese by recruiting qualified and professional teachers.

In his remarks, Dr Mbanda, who has been at the helm of Shyira Diocese since 2010, said that,  during his era, Christians achieved more spiritually and holistically as a result of collaborative efforts of both the church and Christians.

"It is an honour to have served here and we look with great anticipation how God is going to use us going forward. A lot has been accomplished in the last eight years,” he said.

Addressing thousands of the faithful, Francis Kaboneka, the Minister for Local Government, appreciated the significant contribution that churches provide toward the country’s development.

He asked the new Bishop to help curb drug abuse among the youth as Shyira Diocese is located in the area prone to the trafficking of drugs, as well as address disputes in families.

The Anglican Church has Mothers and Fathers Unions which uphold family values through marriage counselling, improving maternal and child health, and nutrition awareness campaigns.

"If we put together all these efforts we can play a greater role in transforming our families, more specially our children,” he said.

The Governor of Northern Province, Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi, hailed Bishop Mbanda for having contributed a lot to the development and well-being of the people of the province through the various development initiatives in the education sector, construction and hotel industry, social welfare as well as unity and reconciliation.

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