Ambassador James Kimonyo cautions the public to desist
deviating from the dialogues talking points
The Rwandan government calls on the general public to fully participate in the forthcoming 11th National Dialogue slated for December 6-7.
Speaking at a press conference in Kigali, Ambassador James Kimonyo, Director of Cabinet in Prime Minister’s office, said the public is urged to ask questions in line with the main talking points at the National Dialogue – and not to deviate into irrelevant details.
The two-day National Dialogue (also known as “Umushyikirano” is set to kick off on Friday, under the theme: “The Rwandan Spirit: Foundation for Sustainable Development”.
Forum talks will be around, development and the way to self-reliance – and Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Ambassador Claver Gatete, will be the speaker on this topic.
The second discussion will be delivered by Rwanda’s Minister of Trade and Industry, François Kanimba, and will look into ways and means of fast-tracking Rwanda’s development through entrepreneurship.
While the third topic will be centered on the two previous talking points and will address the “Ndi Umunyarwanda” (“I am Rwandan”) – the few months old initiative that basically seeks to encourage Rwandans to talk about their ill-fated history and prevent factors that can potentially slide the country into chaos again.
As usual, the rest of Rwanda’s estimated 11 million population – and even Rwandans in the Diaspora – will have time to interact with the speakers and participants in the National Dialogue through call-ins, mobile phone short message texts and on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook – but all this in accordance with the main talking points, Ambassador Kimonyo cautioned.
According to Ambassador Kimonyo, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame – who will be chairing the two-day event – has a monthly press conference with local and international journalists and does regular community outreaches to interact with the population and as such, the population should not seek to file all their queries during the National Dialogue, which lasts only two days.
Ambassador Kimonyo said, in response to some of the text messages that were not read out in the previous National Dialogues, that it was because they were just too many to be read out instantaneously. But the Prime Minister’s office deals with such unread messages afterwards.
“The unanswered [questions] are brought to the Prime Minister’s office and a plan to follow up on these questions through institutions that are cited in the questions is put in place.” said Kimonyo.
A peek into the previous National Dialogue
At the 10th National Dialogue held in 2012, a total of 23 resolutions were made.
According to Ambassador Kimonyo, the 23 resolutions were then translated into 39 action items. Out of the 39 action items, Ambassador Kimonyo said, 25 action items were successfully carried out in the outgoing twofold 2012-2013 fiscal year.
This means that 14 action items remain pending.
To this, Ambassador Kimonyo said that the 14 pending action items will be done by the end of the next 2013-2014 financial year, assuring the next National Dialogue will find them already put into concrete, development-driven actions.
About 1,000 officials will be attending the 11th National Dialogue. They include Ministers, MPs, diplomats, members of the private sector, journalists, investors, the local population and representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) operating in Rwanda.
Thousands more will be following the event on the state-run radio and TV, on social media platforms like on #umushyikirano2013, among others.
The National Dialogue, which was first held on the 28th June 2003, is mainly a platform to help “discuss various national issues in order to assess the country’s development progress and plan for the future.” The event is held in the buildings of the Rwandan Parliament at Kimihurura, in Kigali.