MUHANGA - A team of legislators have commended steps taken by Muhanga District in promoting democracy and good governance.

The legislators made the comments, on Wednesday, during a public debate on democracy and human rights in Rwanda, held at the Gitarama Cultural Centre. The team included Senator Aloysea Inyumba, and Members of Parliament; Alfred Gasana and Gonzague Rwigema.

"Muhanga District has been able to recover from the past history and managed to work towards development, good governance, which is currently evident in the level of growth and social transformation,” Inyumba said.

She commended the leaders and residents for the good work and called for continued collaboration and teamwork in order to spur development.

"Our goal in democracy should target Rwandans to understand the meaning of democracy, and this should be evident in the local leadership and transformation of lives,” Inyumba added.

The meeting attracted various local government officials, civil society and opinion leaders, who re-affirmed their commitment to changing the history of the district.

"Gitarama region was formerly known as a Paramehutu zone, but this is no longer the case today. We are very committed to changing the poor image of this area and there are so far good signs of change in mentality and a commitment to working hard towards development,” Gérard Ndatsikira, the Executive Secretary of Shyogwe said.

MP Gasana stated that the current state of democracy in Rwanda is commendable, adding that the country needs to build a democracy that responds to the needs of the people and fosters unity and development.

MP Rwigema added that the meaning of democracy in Rwanda has changed over the past 50 years and the country today, built on the pillars of democracy worth emulating by other countries.

The Mayor of Muhanga, Yvonne Mutakwasuku, attributed the transformation and success of the district to the change in mentality and collaboration of residents and local leaders in the government.

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