The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion has said that it was on course to fully implement all programmes for which funds were allocated in the 2013/2014 national budget. In a briefing to the budget committee of the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday, the minister, Oda Gasinzigwa, said despite shortage of funds, the ministry had achieved most of targets, two months to the end of the financial year. She, however, said that change of mindset among Rwandan families remains the number one challenge in uplifting the standard of living of women and families in general. Figures show that about 47 per cent of women live below the poverty line yet women account for 51.8 per cent of the Rwandan population. The committee headed by Adolphe Bazatoha adopted the report that showed that MIGEPROF had implemented 71 percent of its programmes while the National Women’s Council reported 68 percent success rate. The National Council for Children, the ministry said, has so far achieved 89 percent of its 2013/2014 targets. Officials told the MPs that the rest of the targets would be achieved in the next two months to the end of the fiscal year on June 30. “There is no reason not to be satisfied, following the action plan on how they use the budget is clear and significant,” Bazatoha said. MPs said MIGEPROF’s mandate is cross-cutting and urged the ministry to evaluate the challenges in other sectors. Gasinzigwa pointed out that development starts from the Rwandan family, saying nothing can be achieved if a woman is not uplifted. “We focus on EDPRS II; we have boosted the women’s capacity. We stress on the specific programs to empower women in all sectors to achieve economic growth,” she said. She however added that there was need “to think big” so as to empower women in all sectors. Last year, at least 5,000 women have been trained to create small businesses and 30 percent of the trainees started their own income generating projects. According to Christine Tuyisenge, the Executive Secretary of National Women’s Council, more women need to be trained in business skills so that they can access loans in microfinance institutions.
