ON Friday, President Paul Kagame called upon local leaders to join him and embark on a seven year term of hard work, in order to achieve the country’s development goals. The local leaders who gathered in the parliamentary buildings are best placed to understand the development needs of the local people they lead. Indeed, they are the bridge between the centre and the population in many instances. With decentralization, powers have devolved from the centre with provincial, district and sector leaders now carrying a lot of responsibilities in relation to service delivery and participation in the development process at the local levels. Thus the local leaders at different levels are central to the success of the next seven years under the Rwanda Patriotic Front. And they ought to bear in mind that the population is firmly united behind the leadership of the country as demonstrated in the presidential elections. The people of Rwanda demonstrated to the rest of the world, that they know what they want and how to get it. The election process put that to rest. Nevertheless, those who would like to see failure, will certainly realize that the determination of the people to decide their own choices goes beyond the electoral process. Ends
