The Executive Secretary of the Governance Advisory Council, Prof. Anastase Shyaka, has said that a recent survey conducted by the council found that there had been major improvements in the country in terms of governance.

More than 50 percent of Rwandans interviewed think the country has undergone major improvements in terms of governance since the 1994 Genocide.

He said this Monday at parliament while presenting the outcome of a survey carried out countrywide which showed that 56 percent of respondents believe the way Rwanda is governed has greatly improved.

Shyaka who was contributing to a debate on democracy and political tolerance organised to mark the Democracy Day at parliament yesterday, emphasized that democracy regulates and legitimizes political power to spur social, political and economic development.

He added that democracy cannot flourish without political tolerance which he said is among other things occasioned by dominant ideologies of the political parties.

"Political tolerance entails political cleavages and political party systems,” he said in the presentation.

He argued that lack of political tolerance was among the reasons that plunged the country into the catastrophes of 1959 and 1994 in which millions of lives were lost.

He said it was unfortunate that in most Sub Saharan African states, waves of democracy were followed by killings and destruction.

"In 1959 democratization waves came with massive killings while in 1994 we had more parties and genocide,” he said.

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