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00:37 - Chair of the Diplomatic Corps,
00:40 local government leaders, distinguished guests,
00:43 a very good afternoon.
00:44 (audience applauding)
00:49 It is a pleasure for me to join you today
00:53 for this opening ceremony
00:55 of the 10th Commonwealth Local Government Conference.
00:58 I welcome you all to Chigeri, Rwanda,
01:02 and we are very pleased to host you for this conference
01:06 that follows the successful 2016th
01:10 Commonwealth Head of State Government meeting,
01:14 CHOGAM, which took place here in Chigeri
01:17 in June last year.
01:19 The theme of this conference,
01:23 building local resilience across the Commonwealth,
01:28 is timely.
01:30 It is a call to work together
01:33 and overcome the current challenges,
01:36 including the negative effects of COVID-19 pandemic,
01:41 global economic crisis, and other shocks.
01:46 The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change,
01:52 and the conflicts have challenged
01:55 our resilience as a government.
01:56 For instance, some reports indicate
02:02 that the Commonwealth member countries
02:05 suffered a collective loss of 1.15 trillion US dollars
02:10 to their GDP in 2020,
02:14 compared with the pre-pandemic estimate.
02:18 Likewise, in 2019, climate-related disasters
02:24 caused direct economic losses of 70.4 billion US dollars
02:29 in 53 countries,
02:32 with 60% of the losses recorded in agricultural sector.
02:37 On top of that, it is estimated
02:42 that climate change's negative effects
02:45 could push 100 million people
02:49 into extreme poverty by 2030.
02:52 This conference is therefore a good opportunity for us
02:57 to reflect on how to strengthen resilience
03:01 for local governments and explore innovative ways
03:05 to address these challenges.
03:07 Distinguished guests, in Rwanda,
03:11 we have made significant progress
03:14 in building resilience to local government.
03:18 Although there is still a long way to go,
03:22 it's important to acknowledge
03:24 some milestones achieved so far.
03:26 Over the last 29 years,
03:29 the government of Rwanda has been working
03:32 to rebuild a stable, united, and prosperous nation.
03:37 Our strategic priorities have been
03:41 on citizen-centered governance,
03:45 quality service delivery,
03:47 and enforcing the principles of inclusiveness,
03:50 transparency, and accountability.
03:53 Promoting homegrown solutions,
03:57 as well as sectoral decentralization,
04:00 have been the drivers in building
04:03 strong local government entities
04:05 that contribute to national development.
04:09 To increase the citizens' participation,
04:13 accountability, and transparency from the leaders,
04:18 the government of Rwanda put in place
04:21 performance contracts program,
04:24 commonly known as IMHIGO.
04:27 Some of you may have heard about it.
04:30 This program has been a reliable tool
04:33 for evaluating performance at both
04:37 the central and local government levels since 2006.
04:41 As you may know, under this program,
04:47 every year, public servants sign performance contracts
04:51 with their managers or supervisors or heads of institutions.
04:56 This is done at all levels of administration,
05:00 from local districts to ministries and embassies.
05:03 Those who fail to achieve the set targets
05:08 are held accountable.
05:09 Within the framework of reducing transaction costs,
05:16 improving service delivery, and empowering citizens,
05:20 Rwanda has impacted on a complete digitization
05:25 of public services.
05:27 As a result, today, over 90% of our government services
05:32 can be accessed online, and we continue working
05:36 to have all services digitized by 2024,
05:40 meaning by end of next year.
05:41 Distinguished guests, before I conclude,
05:46 I would like to emphasize three key points.
05:50 One, building resilience to local government
05:54 is crucial to cope with emerging challenges and shocks.
05:58 Two, our country's ability to respond effectively
06:04 to various shocks and maintain resilience
06:07 will rely on strengthening governance
06:10 and on strong local entities.
06:13 These are key enablers of socioeconomic transformation.
06:17 Three, it is important to ensure that more than 60%
06:22 of the population age 29 or under
06:27 that live in Commonwealth countries
06:30 are accounted for in our development plan.
06:32 I would like to reiterate the government of Rwanda's
06:37 commitment to the vision and mission of Commonwealth.
06:42 I wish you a very productive conference
06:46 and pleasant stay in our country, Rwanda.
06:49 On this note, it is now my pleasure to declare
06:54 the 10th Commonwealth Conference,
06:56 Local Government Conference, officially open.
06:59 (audience applauding)
07:03 Thank you so much.
07:07 (upbeat music)
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