This year marks the 28th anniversary of the Liberation – Kwibohora28, an important milestone in Rwanda’s history.
Rwandans made three important decisions after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, and the Liberation War. To stay together, To be accountable and to think big. These decisions have been at the core of the country’s ongoing renewal.
Under the theme “Together We Prosper” Kwibohora28 is another opportunity to celebrate a peaceful, unitedAnd prosperous nation.
We remember the contribution of uniformed men and women to the peace and security that we enjoy today and their participation in the socio-economic growth of Rwanda as we celebrate our liberation.
Engineering Brigade in roads construction works.
Each year, the Rwanda Defence Force works in partnership with government institutions to implement a number socio-economical development projects across the country.
Role in Socio-Economic Development
As with any army, the Rwanda Defence Force’s primary responsibility is to defend Rwanda’s territorial integrity as well as to safeguard its national sovereignty.
However, the constitution of the Republic of Rwanda assigns RDF a secondary role, to support the development aspirations of the country and actively to participate in ensuring human security and Rwanda’s socio-economic development.
Underlying the assignment of RDF, this secondary role is the idea that the Force’s primary constitutional mandate of defending the country’s territorial integrity and safeguarding its sovereignty would become much more challenging in a context of widespread poverty and deprivation.
Medical outreach.
The recruitment of young men into insurgents or other criminal or violent groups is a major driver of poverty.
It is against this background that since 2009 RDF has been formally involved in a wide range of activities in support of the government’s socio-economic development efforts through the RDF Citizen Outreach Program (COP).
Its activities are divided into two categories. Some are income-generating and job-creating and form part of Rwanda’s private sector landscape. Others are part its acclaimed COP activities, which are direct responses to the challenges faced by ordinary citizens.
RDF repairs and builds major roads using its in-house engineers. In this way it has made a great contribution for growing the stock of Rwanda’s well maintained urban and rural roads, as well as the number of bridges across the country. This has made it possible to move freely in areas where the infrastructure is not in place or in need of rehabilitation.
This year, new classrooms were built at Groupe Scolaire Munini, Nyaruguru District.
Other RDF interventions have included engagement in house and school’s construction and RDF remains at the forefront of building schools, health facilities and housing for genocide survivors and for ordinary citizens who are unable to meet their own housing needs because of affordability and in need of low-cost housing.
RDF has constructed 88,873 homes for the vulnerable/ Genocide victims, 86 Model Villages and 284,318km roads including paved, unpaved, and 465 bridges in the past 28 years.
Distributed clean water to 80.533 families and electricity for 294,077 families. Other housing projects (hospitals/health centres, schools, etc.) have also been completed.
Agriculture and Environmental Protection
RDF also has a significant impact on the agricultural sector.
Soldiers and ordinary citizens work together to protect the environment. This includes planting trees, building terraces high up to prevent soil erosion, and building flood defences. These actions were all done on 84 617 Ha.
Nyabikenke Hospital now operational was constructed by RDF Reserve Force in Muhanga District.
They are also involved in environmental protection by wetland management, and the development of irrigation facilities. RDF has constructed coffee in some coffee growing regions.
Washing facilities that allow farmers to clean their coffee, and dry it in improved sanitary conditions, will help increase its marketable price.
RDF is also at forefront of developing pesticides as well as animal drugs.
Health
RDF operates one of Rwanda’s largest and best equipped referral hospitals, Rwanda Military Hospital (RMH). Of the hospital’s total patients treated, 80 per cent are civilians.
They come to seek healthcare that includes simple and complex conditions as well as more complicated conditions such cancer. The hospital has a highly developed Oncology Unit.
Rubagabaga Bridge located on Ngororero-Nyakinama-Musanze-Cyanika road.
RDF has several annual clinics that it conducts in communities as part its medical outreach activities. This allows people to access health services where they live. Many people living in the local community don’t actively seek out the medical care they need. They develop chronic conditions as a result. The RDF’s outreach activities are able to attend to such cases. This category has treated 579,771 patients.
Corona Virus 19 (Covid -19 Pandemic) was an outbreak that prevented normal COP activities. However, RDF supported the government institutions to set up isolation and treatment facilities in order to combat the spread of the virus.
Other COP activities include renovation and construction of health facilities by Reserve Forces under contract with Ministry of Health.
Liberation is a long and difficult process. Before 4th July 1994, the focus was on the armed struggle but now we have embarked on the struggle to stabilize our country, to restore our dignity and to take it to greater heights both socially and economically.
Happy Liberation Day
editor@newtimesrwanda.com
Source: rnewtimes
