The newly elected district councillors have been warned against complacency upon commencing their leadership term that will end in 2026. Eight additional councillors were on Tuesday, November 16, elected in 27 districts, completing the district advisory council made up of 17 councillors. The elections were held in all districts except the three that make up the City of Kigali, where these councils were dissolved under a new law governing the capital city. Before the elections, each councillor was given time to campaign in front of the electoral college that was made up of members of the sector advisory councils, executive committees for special interest groups and representatives of the private sector. After the campaign, each member of the college was given a ballot paper and used a private room to tick on the photo of their preferred candidate before they proceeded to cast their vote. The Minister of Local Government, Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi, who was touring different districts of Eastern Province, urged the leaders not to be complacent and be ready to get their hands dirty to deliver to the people. “We do not want councillors in rural areas who will spend most of their time in the capital or at their workplaces and only wait for meetings to get to know what is happening in their districts. You must be grounded,” he said. Gatabazi also added that they should look beyond the major milestones in the country, and come up with innovative ideas and build on them to advance their districts. “There are a lot of developments that new leaders will find in place; be it infrastructure, education and other sectors, but this should not translate into celebration and complacency, but rather building on those achievements with new and innovative projects,” he added. “This election mean the voice of citizens have been entrusted in 17 individuals (advisory council), which means they will be the intermediaries between citizens district executive leaders,” he said. Elected leaders said that this new term is an encouragement, which pushes them to do more, and build on the achievements. “This exercise signifies a pact between us and the people who voted us, that we did a good job, but that we have to expand on the efforts, and get down in the population to address their day to day issues,” commented Radjab Mbonyumuvunyi, the former Mayor of Rwamagana district who was re-elected as one of the councillors. The elected councillors in each district will select the Executive Committee from among themselves on Saturday, November 19.
