The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is poised to gain significant autonomy in its financial and human resource management, encompassing staff recruitment and public procurement, following the adoption of a new draft law by the Lower Chamber of Parliament on Monday, October 9.
This draft legislation, which will effectively become law promulgation in the official gazette, formally establishes RDB as a "specialized body," with the primary aim of conferring special status upon it to enable more efficient delivery of its core mission: expediting private sector-driven economic development.
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The bill, originally tabled in Parliament in June, was introduced after a realisation that the 2013 law that established the Rwanda Development Board no longer adequately addressed the current demands placed on RDB.
This inadequacy had been impeding RDB's capacity to fulfill its mission of accelerating economic development in Rwanda through the facilitation of private sector growth.
The bill's explanatory note pointed out that a diagnostic review of RDB's organizational structure, coupled with benchmarking against top-tier agencies, revealed that the board was not fully empowered to adopt an effective, agile, adaptable, client-focused, and evidence-based approach to work, primarily due to limitations imposed by the existing legal framework on the Board of Directors and Senior Management.
Currently, RDB is required to adhere to public procurement laws for all procurement matters, even for strategic partnerships like those with Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, and the Basketball Africa League.
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According to the institution, these public tenders would typically be awarded through single-source or direct contracting, as they involve special arrangements and expertise intended to promote sports tourism or sports economics in the country.
"A new organizational structure will be developed to ensure the effective delivery of RDB's expanding mandates in the realm of private sector transformation. The Board of Directors will be granted the ability and legitimacy to adapt to institutional challenges faced by RDB in a rapidly evolving economic and business environment," reads a part of the bill's explanatory note.
Currently, a significant number of RDB management staff, including Heads of Departments, require Cabinet approval for their appointments. This has resulted in numerous managerial vacancies at RDB for several years, seriously impacting the organization's ability to excel in key areas.
The newly enacted law stipulates that only the CEO, Deputy CEO, and other Chiefs will continue to be Cabinet appointees, while Heads of Departments will be appointed by the Board of Directors, and all other staff will be selected by the CEO. In the current law governing RDB, Heads of Departments are appointed by a Prime Minister's Order.
Competitive Salaries and Procurement Flexibility
The law also grants RDB the authority to determine salaries, allowances, and fringe benefits for its employees within the allocated wage bill, with salary and benefit approvals now resting with its Board of Directors.
This addresses the existing situation where RDB operates under the General Statute for Public Service in Rwanda, which enforces a fixed salary structure across government agencies and offers no flexibility to deviate from this standard scale to meet specific needs.
Under the existing practice, RDB's organizational structure is approved by a Prime Minister's order, while benefits allocated to senior management members are determined by a Presidential Order, and other staff benefits are regulated by the general statute governing public servants in Rwanda.
Moreover, the recruitment, appointment, dismissal, performance management, promotion, and bonuses of RDB staff are all governed by the general statute.
The new law specifies that the Board of Directors will have the responsibility to "approve the organizational structure of RDB," a departure from the current law where the Board's role is to approve the draft organizational structure, established by a Prime Minister's Order.
Furthermore, the law grants RDB the authority to approve the organizational structure, salaries, and fringe benefits for its employees, following consultations with the Ministry in charge of public service and the Ministry in charge of finance. It also empowers RDB to approve special rules governing its procurement, again following consultation with the Ministry in charge of finance.