Political parties forum roots for strong democratic governance

The National Consultative Forum for Political Organisations (NFPO) is committed to upholding strong democratic governance built on Rwanda’s shared cultural and historical values.This was highlighted during a high level seminar that brought together politicians, academics and students last Friday.Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the meeting, Anicet Kayigema, the executive secretary of NFPO, said good cultural and historical values play a key role in building strong institutions.“We cannot say that all our traditional and historical values were good. Some were bad but let us borrow our country’s good traditional values to build a strong democratic nation,” he said.Kayigema noted that the forum is playing a significant role in shaping the country’s politics and building the capacity of member political organisations.NFPO aims at making political parties role models in unity, reconciliation and in the fight against genocide.Tito Rutaremara, from Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), said for Rwanda to achieve self reliance, Rwandans must uphold the country’s cultural and historical values.“Our home-grown solutions are key to nation building. These solutions are derived from our ancient cultural and historical ethics,” he said.The meeting aimed at analysing the political philosophy of ancient administration in Rwanda and making recommendations to strengthen the country’s democratic governance systems.Prof. Joseph Gahama, a lecturer of History at the University of Rwanda (College of Education)- formerly Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) said cultural values lay a foundation for sustainable governance.Agnes Mukabaranga, the chairperson of Democratic Centrist Party (PDC), said political parties should cultivate core values that promote a dignified, self-reliant nation.“We are happy with the governance system in our country but we should borrow a leaf from our cultural and historical values that governed the administration system of our fore fathers,” she noted.The Forum, a platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas among political organisations on the country’s problems and national policies was established following the Constitutional Referendum of May 26, 2003.