President Kagame tasked the new Senate to focus on the issues of the citizens and hold institutions accountable. Photos/Urugwiro Village.
President Paul Kagame has tasked newly sworn-in members of the Senate to work towards meeting the high expectations Rwandans have in them, by among other things, providing oversight and ensuring accountability, to safeguard the limited resources the country has, which should be efficiently put to use to benefit citizens.
The Head of State, who oversaw the swearing-in of 20 Senators, who joined the Six whose mandates are still valid, said that the mandate of the upper chamber of parliament is outlined and they should get back to work and work together to ensure that the high expectations are met.
President Kagame congratulated the newly elected bureau, which is composed of Francois Xavier Kalinda, who was reelected President of the Senate, Senator Solina Nyirahabimana, who is the new Vice President in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, and Sen. Mukabaramba Alvera, who was reelected the Vice President in charge of Finance and Administration, pointing out that their track record is well-known and speaks for itself.
“What is even more important is that you as leaders, and the Senate inclusive, commit to work together as a team because the work we have before us is very serious because of the unique challenges we have, which are linked to our history, to our politics, or how we even live with others in the region,”
President Kagame observing the national anthem.
“We are a country without a port, so we are required to work twice harder, to achieve what we want to achieve and the Senate has a great role to play in this, especially when it works closely with other institution. This cooperation results in solving problems that otherwise appear impossible to solve,” President Kagame said.
The Head of State said that when people think together and have a shared ambition, they can achieve whatever they want to achieve, reminding leaders in the house that the main objective is to ensure that no Rwandan is left behind.
“Every Rwandan should see themselves in the solutions that are being sought or achieved to solve the challenges we face as a country and they participate in that process, in order for us to continue with the progress, rather than backtrack on these gains,” he said.
An Engendered Senate
President Kagame commended the gender composition of the newly-sworn in Senate, pointing out that a considerable number of women in the upper house is a good achievement, just it is in other institutions, pointing out that for Rwanda is not just putting women in these positions simply because they are women but rather because they are capable.
Francois Xavier Kalinda was reelected President of the Senate.
He tasked the Senate to ensure accountability because Rwanda as a country has no luxury of losing resources to mismanagement, not because it doesn’t have a lot, but rather because it is not right, reminding the legislators that they have a duty to ensure that the available resources are utilised well.
President Kagame also asked the newly sworn-in senators to follow up on the challenges the citizens face, adding that they should not wait for people to get to social media in order to have their voices heard, in regard to the challenges they face.
Senators digitally elected the bureau.
