Every family urged to own a phone, radio

Government has appealed to the general public to acquire mobile phones and radios for efficient communication between them and the government.

Saturday, April 28, 2012
Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi (L), with the Minister for Cabinet Affairs, Protais Muson, after yesterdayu2019s Public Accountability Day session. The New Times / John Mbanda.

Government has appealed to the general public to acquire mobile phones and radios for efficient communication between them and the government.The call was made yesterday by Prime Minister Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi during the third monthly government accountability day held at his office.The meeting that was broadcast live on national radio and television, as well as social networking sites, was led by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Cabinet Affairs,  Protais Musoni, brought together government officials and the media.Members of the public participated through social media networks, phones or text messages."We want every family to own a mobile phone and a radio to enable the government communicate efficiently to its citizens. Radios and mobile phones enable the public know government-related information and services,” he said.Habumuremyi stated that in a society where the public own phones and radios, there is more contact between the government and its citizens which promotes social and economic development."The government will ensure that call rates are reduced to enable people use mobile phones without any burden,” he said.According to figures released last month by Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA), mobile phone users in the country increased by 0.71 per cent in the month of March, after a drop in the months of January and February this year. Rwanda’s mobile phone users increased to 4,453,711 million in March up from 4,422,181 million at the end of February, representing 41.6 percent of the entire population.The premier stated that in the last three months, the government put much emphasis on infrastructure development, electricity generation, land consolidation and adherence to community health insurance programmes.During the meeting, the Habumuremyi spoke about a wide range of issues that the government wants to implement in the areas of social and economic development that directly benefit its citizens.Many questions raised focussed on access to land, quality services in administration, health insurance schemes, education, performance contracts and cultivation in wetlands among others.He appealed to Rwandans to use energy saving bulbs in their homes and places of work to save the little energy the country generates.