Governance Month goes biannual, to address local issues

The Governance Month that used to be held once a year will now become a biannual affair effective September 22, the Ministry for Local Government has said. Addressing a news briefing, yesterday, officials said the change is a response to citizens and local leaders’ demand to have the campaign held twice a year, owing to its problem-solving ability. The Governance Month started in 2011 with an aim of sensitising Local Government leaders, civil society, citizens and the private sector, on basic human rights and laws that are critical for good governance. “We receive between 6,000 and 8,000 complaints from all districts each month and about 80 per cent of them get solved at the local level,” said Fatuma Ndangiza, Deputy CEO, Decentralisation and Good Governance Promotion at Rwanda Governance Board (RGB). She said the most prevalent complaints were about land and poor service delivery. The programme is also aimed at putting an end to bureaucracy by promoting good service delivery, according to Ndangiza. However, Ndangiza cited lack of ownership by some local leaders and citizens among the main challenges facing the programme. The Local Government minister, Francis Kaboneka, said the programme has helped find solutions to problems without necessarily reaching high levels. “People often queue to have their problems solved whenever the President visits. This implies that some local leaders are not keen on addressing their concerns. So, this programme will engage them together with citizens in addressing problems locally,” he said. According to the ministry, issues of public finance management will also be considered to ensure good budget use and fostering self-reliance among citizens and local institutions. Self-reliance The Governance Month activities will be conducted concurrently with self-reliance (Kwigira) campaign which RGB launched in 2013, in the four provinces and the City of Kigali (CoK). It seeks to promote national self-reliance initiatives. It also seeks to remind the local leadership on their role in investment promotion, own revenue generation while enhancing the ability of local governments to become financially autonomous entities. The ministry and RGB say the rationale for Governance Month and self-reliance campaign is that a country with a strong decentralisation system would not achieve national self-reliance without effective collaboration of the local leaders, private sector, civil society, academia, citizens and the central government. The first phase of the Governance Month, 2014-2015, will be launched officially on September 22, in Rutsiro District under the theme: “Accountable Governance for sustainable development.”

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Governance Month goes biannual, to address local issues