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A total of 27 resolutions have been adopted in the just concluded 9th National Dialogue also called Umushyikirano in Kinayarwanda.

The resolutions were categorized into the four pillars of government programs that include Economy, Social welfare, Good governance and Justice.

The resolutions which are expected to be implemented over the next one year, their progress will be evaluate in the expected 10th Umushyikirano to take place in 2012.

The Umushyikirano attracted local and central government leaders, representatives of private sector, civil society, religious groups, as well as members the diplomatic corps and the Rwandan Diaspora.

In his closing remarks, President Paul Kagame noted that the Dialogue provided a platform for Rwandans to engage with their leaders about how to consolidate the country’s progress as well as addressing the existing challenges.

Among the resolutions was the signing of Performance contracts (Imihigo) among senior government officials.

Cabinet ministers will sign the Imihigo with the President of the Republic ambassadors and high commissioners representing Rwanda in different countries signing contracts with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

It was taken due to observation of how instrumental Imihigo played a big role in attaining most of targets and activities as a sign to enhance efficiency, public transparency and accountability.

This was forwarded by someone from Diaspora in US, saying that it is important for ambassadors to make commitments and be accountable to the people they represent.

In this year’s Umushyikirano attracted millions of people participating both in the country and outside in a very interactive dialogue ever through Facebook, phone lines, Twitter and live on both Rwanda Television and Rwanda Radio.

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President Paul Kagame and his family has shared and wished a merry Christmas and New Year to hundreds of senior and junior government leaders and everyone who participated in the 9th National Dialogue.

After concluding the national dialogue sessions, president Kagame welcomed everyone to Village Urugwiro where they jointly shared a cocktail.

“I wished to thanks you for the two days of meeting in a national dialogue we had while working,” Kagame said at Village Urugwiro.

“I welcomed you here to take this chance and my family to extend wishes to all of you here to celebrate with you a merry Christmas and happy new 2012 to come because it wouldn’t be possible to get all of you,” Kagame said.

“May it be prosperous, strong and progress in work and have good life for you all with your families,” He added.

Kagame took an opportunity to advise youth where he called upon them not listen to those parents who teach them hatred, discrimination and Genocide ideologies.

“Normally, no one encourages children to disobey their parents but today I am going to do it but for a positive reason. Many of young generation now did not participate in 1994 Genocide and they should not carry the burden of the history they did not participate in,” he commented.

“Some of these children were young by that time and others had not been born. Those who truly want to come home in their mother land should come freely without barriers,”

Kagame added that young generation can determine their own destiny even though they can’t determine and re-shape their history.

“That is why I am saying that every Rwandan, wherever they are, whatever they are doing should know that their right, dignity and whatever they want is present in their country.

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President Paul Kagame has said that Rwanda’s development is not miracles but sweats from citizens that have worked tirelessly.

Kagame was giving his speech which concluded the 9th National Dialogue which attracted hundreds of executive, judiciary, parliamentarians, members of diplomats, friends of Rwanda and Rwandan from Diaspora.

“The good things we have done are clear to all, we do them for our own good not for appreciation or praises but we should not praise ourselves. When you praise yourself it drags your mind and you become complacent. We don’t want complacency but rather development,” Kagame said.

“These good things gives us hope, due to this massive improvements some see them as miracles, even though we have massive improvement that give hope, they are not miracles they are works of citizens from leaders to the common persons,” He added.

“That woman, that man on his level, in that deep villages and his family and all challenges faced for survival, waking up daily for work which all adds up to these good things the nation attain,a cultivator or livestock famer gets luck when the rain falls but the one who has not done any will never get luck from the rain that will fall,” Kagame explained.

Kagame called upon Rwandans should continue to use their strength, knowledge to be a people and conserve nation’s dignity which makes it the prime principle.

According to Kagame, a society has a culture with a discipline which enables one to conserve a dignity which makes one give dignity to others too.

“I don’t agree why we should not value one another’s dignity, that is why there are those who want to devalue our dignity, we should not allow it but rather should give them their dignity which ends up earning us our own dignity,” Kagame said.

Kagame also said that he has taken criticisms from his critic as a positive thing that keeps him check his leadership.

He said no one should discouraged by criticisms but rather a checking scale and wake up factor to work hard or prevent any reason to be criticized.

“Those who like criticizing they cannot ask question in this kind of forum because they fear to be challenged and fear to know the truth because they don’t want to get the truth. There is a person who decide to be rigged to an extent that if given facts he/she is on a wrong side, he adamantly refuses to accept it,” Kagame said.

“On another side I can get something positive from all these criticisms so as not to be complacent because it gives you pressure which makes you check yourself. It reminds not to be complacent and say what if what they are criticizing me is true. I question if what they are criticizing do exist and should be corrected if they don’t exist then let me work hard to prevent them,” he said.

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Residents of Ngoma Sector in Huye District have commended the issuing of land certificates that began 14th December saying the move will cut down on land related disputes.

While launching the exercise, the Executive Secretary of Ngoma sector Sahundwa Pascal said,“The number of people with land-related problems will be reduced.”

According to Juvenal Bavugirije in charge of the land bureau at Huye district, totally owning a piece of land requires having a land certificate.

Documents which are being offered are “The contract of Emphyteotic lease”, “The certificate of land registration” and “The cadastral extract”.

The activity of issuing land certificates launched in Ngoma sector will continue at cell level facilitating local people in easily accessing Land documents.

President Paul Kagame has urged Ministry of Gender and Family Planning and Central Bank to help Women and Youth to access loans.

Kagame tasked Minister Aloysia Inyumba to implement the available program that paves way to help women and youth access loans.

He said that “The important thing is the implementation of this program at the right time”.

Minister Inyumba said that they’re in discussions with Central Bank to get a proper way to help them access loans through Business Development Fund(BDF).

Amb. Claver Gatete the Governor of Central Bank said that they’re processing all required channels to have it achieved in the near future.

He added that there is a problem where Women and Youth don’t equally access loans on the same percentage.

“Before we had faced many challenges to differentiate the way women and youth should access loans because women are in different categories and we hope to get a solution sooner,” said Gatete.

On other hand youth who didn’t have the security to access loans, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Francois Kanimba said that however his ministry started a program seeking 50 young entrepreneurs in a competition to be recommended for BDF.

Kanimba added that there’s a way they can make a big number of entrepreneurs in the ongoing program called Hanga Umurimo hence creating jobs.

In these days youth especially young graduates cry lack of security to access loans in Rwandan banks to start their own businesses in time of failing to get jobs.

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The staff of United Kingdom based global Network of Independent Accounting Firms PKF international with a local branch has donated Rwf 700,000 to an orphanage home in Gatsabo District.

PKF International Limited (PKFI) administers the PKF network of legally independent member firms. There are over 245 member firms and correspondents in 440 locations in 125 countries providing accounting and business advisory services.

It has member firms with US $2.4 billion aggregate fee income (year end June 2010) and the network is a member of the Forum of Firms – an organisation dedicated to consistent and high quality standards of financial reporting and auditing practices worldwide.

Emma Mujawabikira, caretaker of the orphanage commended their support and urged the society to not only think of assisting them but also use the will to help those who are needy.

Murtuza Dalal a PKF Rwanda partner, noted that the auditing firm had formed an East African foundation to assist the needy in the region. The assistance include scholarships, food etc.

His colleague Boniface Mutua the PKF Country Director added that continuous assistance is essential.

“The amount we gave them was just a start, next year we intend to meet with university students residing in this orphanage and find ways to upgrade their skills either by working with them as interns or offer them scholarships,” he promised.

However, Mujawabikira cautioned groups of people who have shown interest to support them but later fade away.

“There are these people from Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) for example, they came took photos promised wonders then later kept quiet,” she said adding.

“We really struggle to take care of over 250 children including 14 infants, feeding them for instance is our biggest challenge especially pupils who study in our primary school enclosed in the compound, PKF support is a major boost and pray for them blessings for their will to continued support in our orphanage.”

The orphanage was started by catholic priests in the year 1978 in Gikogoro district then later shifted to the city in 1991; currently their biggest donations come from the Italian Catholic church.

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The government has a challenge to recover over Rwf 1bn from the cases it won arrested officials for embezzling state funds.

This was mentioned by Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi while presenting a report of the last National Dialogue during the two-day 9th National Dialogue that commenced at the lower chamber of parliament.

Habumuremyi’s presentation highlighted resolutions adopted from the last National Dialogue which recorded achievements in different sectors that included Judiciary, education, financial, security and good governance among others.

The prime Minister said that over 1030 cases filed for embezzling state funds only 779 cases have been closed categorized in crimes that cripple the country economy.

He also said that on the side of genocide fugitives only USA and a few countries in European community have accepted to arrest and try the suspects.

Despite having noted that more efforts were still needed, prime minister said that a lot had been achieved but still called for joint efforts among ministries to seek solutions to the challenges in the country.

According to the prime minister, the National Dialogue is the right forum that can have positive results saying that 83% of the issues highlighted in the last Dialogue were accomplished.

Habumuremyi said that an issue of Umurenge Sacco was highlighted in the last Dialogue and accomplished with better results.

He said that to date the increased 1.3m members have saved over Rwf 23.3bn from Rwf 6bn in the previous year.

Habumuremyi added that 1166 houses for Genocide survivors were built including intensive fight of Genocide ideologies and over 34000 houses built in an effort to fight Nyakatsi.

Because of the involvement of residents to contribute towards 9 year basic education and other relevant partners, 66% of the whole budget of Rwf 102bn was covered to build additional needed class rooms.

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Referring to the repeated question about the term limit, President Paul Kagame said the author of the opinion should be the one to respond to journalists who have over asked him about it.

Recently, while addressing a press conference in Kampala, Uganda journalists asked President Paul Kagame whether he is not bothered by people suggesting him to run for third term.

The journalists referred to the view which was forwarded by Sheikh Musa Fazil Harerimana the Minister of Internal security.

For two times, Minister Harerimana from Idealist Democratic Party (PDI)has publicly expressed his view to amend Rwandan constitution to remove presidential term limits to allow Kagame run for a third term of office.

According to Article 101 of the 2003 Rwandan Constitution, the President of the Republic of Rwanda is elected for a term of seven years renewable only once.

“There’s contradiction, on one hand you say people should have freedom to express themselves. On the other hand, you start questioning somebody expressing himself.” President Kagame said recently in Uganda referring to his critics who say there is no freedom of expression in Rwanda an issue he repeatedly commented on in his speech while opening the 9th National Dialogue.

“There is this question I have kept on answering, and keeps coming back asking me if I am comfortable with people saying to amend the constitution for me to run for the third term, I begin to answer what I never suggested. Fazil who said it is here,” he said.

“I can serve my country whether I am in this office or out of this office. I actually served my country even before I came to this office but people keep on accusing me for the offence I have not committed. I think Fazil needs to carry his own cross,”Kagame said.

Kagame added, “This is not serious and some of us are used to serious issues, members of the press misunderstand us. They draw cartoon of me that when they asked me I was vague, I have never been vague in my life,” Kagame concluded his speech.

In an interview with a local newspaper The Chronicles, Prof. Shyka Anastase, the executive director of Rwanda Governance Advisory Council, a national body that promotes and monitors good governance in Rwanda, described Harerimana’s comments as a joke.

“I think he was probably trying to be funny. He was just saying out what was in his mind but nobody in Rwanda is actually interested in following him,” he said.

“President Kagame has stated clearly that he shouldn’t be counted in if anyone ever wants him for another term because he is not interested in that game,” Prof. Shyaka added.

The Professor said there is no such momentum building up in the country to delete term limits, stating that had the comments come from inside the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front or two years before the next election due in 2017, or if Kagame says I’ ll think about it, then people would be worried.

Only Uganda in this region has no presidential term limits which turned around since 2005.

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