It is that time of the year again, when Rwandans from all walks of life convene for the annual National Dialogue (Umushyikirano) that will be clocking its 20th appearance on our national calendar. Umushyikirano is one of those home-grown solutions that have been crucial in fueling the country’s development agenda; and this year’s will be no different. The theme of this year’s edition will evolve around family values as pillars of building a strong society; economically and socially. Last year’s meeting had set its sights on 26 programmes of which 23 were fulfilled while the remaining are also well on the way. One of them was the burning issue of the creation of a maternity guarantee fund whose idea has been floated around for some time. The issue of maternity leave with full benefits has caused some confusion ever since it was announced that it would be a victim of a major overhaul. The timely and urgent step to clear the air on how the fund will operate, will go a long way in helping allay fears of expectant working mothers. The same could be said for the other two residual fields discussed last year that are yet to be implemented; revising the pension payments to meet the current inflation levels as well as encouraging volunteerism. Previous Imishyikirano (plural) have proven to be very productive. They have charted the country’s successful course in matters of national importance, so the end of this week’s seating should be no different.
