Local leaders should take advantage of performance contracts (Imihigo) to transform livelihood in their respective communities, a cabinet minister has said.The Minister for Local Government, James Musoni, while officiating in Karongi District’s celebrations on Saturday, also urged local leaders to always work closely with other stakeholders to spur development.Karongi was celebrating its outstanding performance in Imihigo after the district emerged joint winners of the last fiscal year. Karongi scooped the best performance accolade alongside Kamonyi and Kicukiro districts.Specifically, Karongi district excelled in the economic development pillar, after scoring 98 per cent during the fiscal year 2012/2013.The district also stood out in the adherence to community health insurance, commonly known as Mutuelle de Santé, over the years.Minister Musoni said: "As leaders, you cannot work in isolation, you need other stakeholders, the people especially, when setting and working toward achieving your respective objectives.”He also commended Karongi for its performance and challenged other districts to register similar progress or even do better."Karongi has set an exceptional legacy as regards to providing an efficient health insurance service to its residents, we hope other districts will borrow a leaf,” Musoni said.Lauding ImihigoHe also lauded the Imihigo concept, saying it has helped accelerate socio-economic development at the district level."Before the introduction of the Imihigo evaluation system, no district had a practical strategy to implement their goals, but this has since changed because no district wants to be seen as lagging behind,” he said.Musoni also challenged Rwandans to embrace the spirit of self-reliance, blaming previous regimes for perpetuating a culture of dependency."Past governments didn’t empower Rwandans to solve their own problems; this is why they heavily relied on donors for practically everything,” he said.Musoni urged Karongi District officials not to lose their guard, as there is a lot yet to be done.The district mayor, Bernard Kayumba, called for more support from residents so they could continue to perform with distinction.