President Paul Kagame has called on members of his cabinet to promote coordination and communication among themselves if they are to deliver the country’s next development agenda. According to a statement released following Tuesday’s extraordinary cabinet meeting at Village Urugwiro in Kigali, the President urged cabinet members to ensure “coordination of each and everyone’s activities under the stewardship of the Right Honorable Prime Minister”. This was the first cabinet meeting following the installation of the new cabinet. The statement, signed by the Minister in charge of Cabinet Affairs Marie Solange Kayisire, says Kagame also urged his cabinet to exercise “humility” and put “citizens first” in their day-to-day work. The Head of State provided guidance to the cabinet on what will help them spearhead transformation that Rwandans need and how to work together towards achieving this common goal, the statement said. The cabinet was briefed on the new seven-year Government programme (A National Strategy for Transformation (NSTP 1) 2017-2024) and the meeting approved it after some adjustments, the statement added. The blueprint is the result of the governing Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) campaign manifesto which helped return Kagame to the helm during theAugust 4 elections. In the weeks that followed the poll and Kagame’s inauguration, the President appointed former World Bank technocrat, Edouard Ngirente, 44, as prime minister, replacing Anastase Murekezi, now the Chief Ombudsman. Kagame retained most members of his previous cabinet. In a related development, the cabinet approved several Prime Minister’s Orders determining the mission, functions, organisational structure, salaries and fringe benefits for employees of newly created or recently restructured public institutions. They include the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Land and Forestry, the Ministry of Information Technology and Communication, the Ministry of Youth, the National Rehabilitation Service, and the Rwanda Information Society Authority. Meanwhile, the cabinet approved several Ambassadors-Designate to Rwanda, including Oliver Wonekha (Uganda, with residence in Kigali), Oumar Daou (Mali, with residence in Kigali), Adamu Onoze Shuaibu (Nigeria, with residence in Kigali) and Fernando Estellita Lins de Salvo Coimbra (Brazil, with residence in Nairobi, Kenya). Others are Alison Helena Chartres (The Government of Commonwealth of Australia, with residence in Nairobi, Kenya), and Nguyen Kim Doanh (The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with residence in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania). editorial@newtimes.co.rw
