Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF)Inkotanyi cadres in Ngoma District have pledged to undertake concerted effort to address all human security issues before July 4, a day Rwandans will be celebrating the 25th National Liberation. The same day marks the end of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which was stopped by RPA, the armed wing of RPF-Inkotanyi. Ngoma, one of the seven districts of Eastern Province, is credited with promoting innovations, including administrative unit below village level, Isibo, and Umujyanama mu Baturage (community mobilisers) who reach out to residents to solve different problems affecting them. This is one of the resolutions by party members in the district after their retreat that was held to discuss the role of individual cadres in the implementation of the RPF manifesto presented by the party chairman in the run up to the 2017 presidential elections. President Paul Kagame, who was the RPF-Inkotanyi flagbearer, won the vote by a landslide Jean Marie Vianney Rwiririza, the chairman of RPF in Ngoma District, who is also the district vice mayor for economic affairs, said that human security is a concern for the country, most especially for them as RPF cadres. In a survey conducted last year, the district had around 2,600 children in a state of malnutrition. In December last year, there were 231 malnourished children, and in mid-January this year, there are 168 malnourished children. “We have decided that by Liberation Day, this issue will have been addressed. We will then have the task to raise awareness on child stunting, which requires us as RPF cadres to encourage parents to play their role in the prevention of stunting, he said. Child stunting rate in Ngoma is at 36 per cent, according to the latest survey. “And this is where the battle is, any child can be stunted if parents do not take care of them, this is regardless of whether there is food abundance at home or not, he warned. In preparation of the Liberation Day, they decided that they will embark on a sensitisation drive on different issues affecting communities, construct at least 14 houses for needy families, provide cows to vulnerable families and build latrines, among other human security concerns. Fred Mufulukye, the chairman of RPF in Eastern Province urged the party members to promote the spirit and ideology of RPF-Inkotanyi. These virtues, he said, have been with the party since its inception and have been key to every achievement registered, some seemingly insurmountable. It is a journey that still goes on as we speak, because we still see child malnutrition, hygiene issues, school dropouts in our people, this is an issue that we must fight and its within our means to win,” said Mufulukye, who is also the provincial governor. The retreat follows the provincial general assembly by party members earlier this month and the party’s Bureau Politique last month where human security concerns featured prominently. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
