From 15 to 16 May 2026, the Minister of Local Government, Dominique Habimana, conducted a two-day working visit in Rwanda’s Eastern Province, covering Kirehe District and Ngoma District, where he toured development projects and held discussions with citizens, local leaders, and district staff on accelerating socio-economic transformation and improving service delivery.

The visit began on Friday in Kirehe District, where Minister Habimana visited several development initiatives, starting with COOPRIKI-Cyunuzi Cooperative, a rice farming cooperative with 3,458 members cultivating over 490 hectares of land.

During the visit, Minister Habimana also toured the Rusumo Model Village, which accommodates 84 families that were relocated from high-risk zones.

The Minister urged beneficiaries to properly maintain the houses and supporting infrastructure provided to them so that the village continues to serve as a model of sustainable community development and improved welfare.

Later in the afternoon, Minister Habimana held discussions with leaders and staff of Kirehe District. The discussions focused on harnessing the district’s development potential, improving service delivery, strengthening poverty reduction programmes among others.

On Saturday, Minister Habimana continued his visit in Ngoma District, where he toured various development projects, including One Thousand Hills Products, a fruit-processing factory located in Mugesera sector, that specialises in drying pineapples for export markets.

The company’s founder and Managing Director, Shema Yvan, explained that in addition to pineapples produced by the company itself, the factory purchases produce from more than 2,000 surrounding farmers, thereby creating a reliable market for local communities.

He also expressed gratitude to the Government for facilitating access to electricity infrastructure, noting that It will enable the factory to expand production capacity and create greater market opportunities for farmers.

The Minister also interacted with residents living near the factory, encouraging them to increase agricultural productivity and actively pursue self-reliance and economic transformation.

In the afternoon, Minister Habimana met with leaders and staff of Ngoma District, congratulating the district for recently ranking first in the 2024/2025 Imihigo performance evaluations.

While commending the achievement, he urged district officials not to become complacent, but rather to maintain momentum by strengthening citizen engagement and accelerating the implementation of Government programmes aimed at poverty reduction and improved service delivery.