Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente has said that 81 per cent of last year’s Umunshyikirano resolutions were achieved while 12 per cent remain on watch. He made the disclosure during a presentation on how the 10 resolutions of the 16th National Umushyikirano Council were implemented. He was addressing Rwandans yesterday at the 17 Umushyikirano at Kigali Convention Centre. Ten resolutions that were adopted in last year’s Umushyikirano were revolving around citizens’ welfare, agriculture sector, education, savings culture, and Made-in-Rwanda policy. They were split into 58 milestones. Forty-seven of them were successfully achieved while eight are still ongoing, the PM said. This is how they were implemented: 1. Citizens’ welfare Regarding people’s welfare, the Prime Minister took stock of how problems in Umurenge Vision Programme support funds and Umurenge SACCO’s operations were tackled. In 2019, he said, Rwf435,439,200 of Umurenge Vision Programme support funds were disbursed to 158,554 households. Over 4,000 projects were also funded. He, however, added that they are still exploring options of how to fund more projects. On the Umurenge SACCO operations, 267 SACCOs were audited and 143 were inspected for risks. He noted that 85 per cent of the National Bank of Rwanda recommendations on Umurenge SACCO was implemented. In line with curbing malnutrition and stunting in children, over 86,000 children under the age of 2 and over 19,000 pregnant and lactating women received fortified blended food. Nearly 458,000 children were given milk under the one-cup of milk-per-child program. Over 20,000 poor families were granted Girinka cows while over 65,000 pigs and poultry were distributed to 30 cooperatives. 2. Agriculture and education Ngirente revealed that post-harvest facilities were established in various ways. At least 24 maize warehouses were built in 8 districts including Muhanga, Nyagatare, Gatsibo, Ruhango and Nyanza. 15 mobile maize dryers were installed in 5 districts of which 16 were completed. In addition, some 7 cassava collections, 10 vegetable cold rooms, 31 potato collection centres were installed in 14 districts overall. The 16th Umushyikirano resolved that strategies to remove all challenges impeding the quality of education at all levels should be put in place. To achieve this, the PM said, almost 2 million print textbooks were distributed to schools and 1,993 teachers were trained on ICT pedagogy. The 2018 Umushyikirano adopted two resolutions concerning youth education on the history of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi and maintaining its memorials. On the matter, the Prime Minister said that 275 talk shows and sensitization campaigns were conducted in lower and higher learning institutions. Regarding the preservation, 4,640 bodies and other physical evidence were preserved and 546 CNLG staff were trained on preservation process and trauma management. 3. Made-in-Rwanda The Prime Minister disclosed that 102 new locally made products were certified. He was responding to a resolution that demanded to increase the quality and quantity of those products and adopt strategies to make their prices affordable and competitive compared to imported products. He said that new 57 products received Made in Rwanda logo and 12 companies signed up for garment and banana value chains. The 16th National Umushyikirano Council took place on December 13-14, 2018. It discussed topics such as partnering in growth, upholding Rwandan values, and promoting saving culture. On the latter, the Prime Minister informed the participants that the long-term saving scheme, Ejo Heza has so far 280,272 subscribers with 979,2 million in savings.
