Rwandans have so far been able to solve many problems as a nation ever since the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. But there is one department that continues to persist in spite of all the efforts put in to solve the problem.
Rwandans have so far been able to solve many problems as a nation ever since the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. But there is one department that continues to persist in spite of all the efforts put in to solve the problem.
Customer care is still a huge problem in Rwanda especially in government offices.
The government through the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has tried to correct this but it seems its efforts are in vain.
One is left to ponder the causes of this. Is it a case of lazy bones at work or the natural lack of work ethics in Rwanda?
Some people work as if they have been employed to frustrate and punish those they are supposed to serve.
These people have perfected the art of procrastination such that they will take a month to sign or process your documents.
You enter their offices and immediately they see you approaching the counter, they stand up and disappear into the inner rooms leaving you there holding your papers.
After about five minutes, they come back and with a sneer take your papers.
They throw a cursory glance at you, then at the papers as you try to explain what you need. Before they can even comprehend what you are saying, they will tell you to wait at the bench or send you to the next office.
You enter the office only to be instructed to go back to where you had come from.
Back at the counter, you find the person engaged in a telephone conversation gossiping or talking private issues.
This conversation can go on a minimum ten minutes, considering the bonuses of free airtime our telecommunication companies are dishing us at the moment due to competition.
After the irritating telephone conversation, the person will take your papers again and bark, "Uzagaruke nyuma y’ukwezi, baracyari ku byigaho” (This is at the assessment stage, check after a month).”
You complain that you were told the same thing four months previously and they bellow, "It is they who are delaying. From assessment, it has to move to certification, then to clearance. Yours is still far.”
This bureaucracy, coupled with the attitude of some workers in some offices, punishes those who seek government services.
Most of those who have perfected this game are young people who should be able to speedily extract any information from the computer. One wonders why someone would get up every morning to come to the office and frustrate those they are meant to serve.
This situation needs to be rectified urgently, because this is a crucial aspect in the development of a country, and if it lags behind then the entire economy is affected.