KIGALI - The taskforce put in place to oversee the restructuring of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) will as part of the process, definitely switch employees, the head of the team, Dr. David Himbara has said.

Himbara and his team were on Tuesday handed the task by Cabinet, to work alongside RDB senior management over the next two months to adopt and implement new measures to further improve the institution.

"As part of the reorganization of RDB, I can assure you that there will be shifting of employees from position to position,” Dr. Himbara said.

Asked if there would be any hiring or firing as part of the changes, Dr. Himbara said that there may be need for more expertise. He was however non-committal about any possible wielding of the axe.

He told The New Times that the restructuring would mainly focus on adapting some new measures and dropping unnecessary ones.

The development comes shortly after the RDB Board of Directors and the Government commissioned an independent expert to set out a number of practical recommendations to be implemented over the next few months.

The expert, of Singaporean origin, mainly deals with organizational restructuring and development.

In a Press statement, the CEO of the RDB, Joe Ritchie, welcomed the restructuring saying that it was very important.

"We’re very pleased with the progress made over the first year of RDB, but any new venture of this type requires mid-course structural corrections to help absorb and institutionalize what we’ve learned thus far. The one year mark is a perfect time to make these adjustments,” he said.  

Himbara expressed his appreciation of Joe Ritchie, who he said had worked hard over past year to render RDB operational.

"Most Rwandans may not know this, but Joe Ritchie has been working as a volunteer, proving he is indeed a great friend of Rwanda,” said Himbara.

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB), is an autonomous government agency tasked with fast-tracking economic development in Rwanda.

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