{"id":55003,"date":"2025-07-24T15:44:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T15:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/minister-mugenzi-highlights-regional-integration-and-cooperation-as-key-pillars\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T15:40:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T15:40:56","slug":"minister-mugenzi-highlights-regional-integration-and-cooperation-as-key-pillars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/minister-mugenzi-highlights-regional-integration-and-cooperation-as-key-pillars\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister Mugenzi highlights regional integration and cooperation as key pillars for sustainable development"},"content":{"rendered":"

He made the remarks at the East African Local Government Forum (EALGF) Strategic Planning Meeting, held in Kigali from July 22 to 24, 2025. <\/p>\n

The gathering brought together senior government officials, governors, local government associations, and development partners from across the East African Community (EAC), under the theme: \u201cStrengthening the Role of County and Local Governments in Regional Integration and Cross-Border Cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highlighting Rwanda\u2019s commitment to regional integration, Mugenzi noted initiatives like cross-border markets and infrastructure improvements designed to enhance citizens\u2019 quality of life. <\/p>\n

\u201cRegional integration and cooperation are essential for sustainable development, economic growth, and regional stability,\u201d he stated, underscoring the need for empowered local governments to drive these efforts. <\/p>\n

He stressed that \u201cLocal governments play a crucial role in governance, poverty reduction, and regional collaboration,\u201d urging coordinated partnerships to tackle challenges like youth unemployment, civic engagement, and climate change.<\/p>\n

The Minister pointed to the Mpazi Rehousing Model in Kigali as a successful example of local governments addressing housing and socioeconomic issues through community collaboration. <\/p>\n

He called for the EALGF to serve as a platform for dialogue and innovation, saying, \u201cThis forum should be the right platform to challenge us on how we could foster collaboration and innovation among regional Local Government leaders and associations, address shared challenges, and enhance sustainable development for our citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mugenzi encouraged participants to focus on key priorities, including strategies to address regional challenges, empower local government associations, and set standards for effective service delivery. <\/p>\n

Ben Kumumanya, Chairperson of the East African Local Government Forum (EALGF) and Uganda\u2019s Permanent Secretary for Local Government, called for robust strategies to position local governments as key drivers of regional development. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur ultimate goal is to position counties and local governments as key drivers of regional development, increased visibility, and active contributors to the East African Community\u2019s integration objectives,\u201d he emphasized. <\/p>\n

Kumumanya also urged delegates to focus on creating actionable strategies aligned with EAC priorities, including economic development, infrastructure, health, education, and environmental sustainability. <\/p>\n

Established in 2011, the EALGF facilitates engagement between local governments, promoting decentralization, local democracy, and cross-border trade to drive economic integration at the grassroots level.<\/p>\n

\"Rwanda\u2019s<\/figure>\n
\"Ben<\/figure>\n
\"The<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda\u2019s Minister of Local Government, Patrice Mugenzi, has emphasized that empowering local governments and strengthening collaboration across borders are critical for achieving inclusive, long-term development in East Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000091420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000091420,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-07-23_at_12.37_32_49cef989.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-07-23_at_12.37_32_49cef989.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-07-23_at_12.37_32_49cef989.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-07-23_at_12.37_32_49cef989.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-07-23_at_12.37_32_49cef989.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-07-23_at_12.37_32_49cef989.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000091420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55003"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55003"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}