Religious leaders urged to take part in poverty eradication

Religious leaders have been called upon to stop being passive on government strategic programmes but also be actors in the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) 11.The call was made by the Minister of Local Government, James Musoni, in a meeting with all religious denominations in the country.“Now that we are in the EDPRS2, there is need for joint efforts between the government and religious denominations to achieve the targets as our country moves to become a middle income economy,” said Musoni.With a 12 per cent reduction in poverty recorded over the last first five years, an equivalent of one million Rwandans (or 200,000 households), Rwanda will be seeking to set more ambitious targets to ensure that 45 percent of its citizens are out of poverty under EDPRS 2.Musoni urged the religious leaders to always impart the government strategic programmes to their followers.Meanwhile, it emerged in the same meeting that several religious organisations were operating without legal instruments, a tendency religious leaders attributed to the delay of issuance of the legal personalities by the local government. It is alleged that over sixty religious organisations are still stranded due to lack of proper legal documents.On the issue, Musoni said there would be no obstacles as all religious issues will be handled by Rwanda Governance Board. Previously religious matters were handled by the local government authorities.The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Internal Security, Musa Fazil Harerimana and Minister of Youth, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, who both urged religious leaders to always tackle the issue of drugs among the youth.

National

Religious leaders urged to take part in poverty eradication