Eighteen months ago, Rwanda Development Board (RDB), acting on behalf of the Rwandan government, entered into a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contractual agreement with a local company, Ngali Holdings. The company was to put into practice a pioneering platform known as RwandaOnline with a particular focus on providing online services related to Government-to-Business (G2B), and Government-to-Citizen (G2C). Since then, various online portals have sprung to life, including Irembo - which provides services online such as registration for a driving test (provisional, definitive, and supplementary), criminal record clearance, and birth certificate, to name but three. Even more, last week, the Ministry of Public Service and Labour (MIFOTRA) announced that the government will soon introduce an e-recruitment portal within the public sector with a view to ensure that job applications and screenings are conducted online in order to overcome current challenges associated with manual handling of job applications, some of which, according to recent reports,have allegedly included nepotism and bribery on one hand, and insufficient feedback provided to applicants on the other. According to a statement from MIFOTRA, this digital-era step will improve transparency of the entire recruitment process. “An effective recruitment and selection management process is critical to ensure the required capacity for Public Institutions’ sustainable performance. It is expected to ensure a timely, effective and transparent selection of Public Servants,” a statement from the ministry read in part. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the government has all hands on deck when it comes to a digital revolution; the country’s push to have a number of critical public services provided online is largely driven by the need to turn Rwanda into a knowledge-based economy after an agrarian economy has delivered so little progress. One way to achieve this ambition is to leapfrog into the digital economy using various digital platforms. The government’s holistic approach promises to simplify and change the entire relationship between government agencies and their clients by reengineering the process, stripping out unnecessary bureaucratic steps, compliance costs, checks, and forms. This of course, encourages the service provider to be more agile so as to respond speedily and flexibly to changes in the social environment. Many public management experts such as Patrick Dunleavy of the London School of Economics concur that e-government revolves around the use of technology to enhance access to and delivery of government services to benefit citizens, businesses and to make government information more accessible - a concept policy that can potentially lead to more transparency, accountability and efficiency in service delivery. Henceforth, Rwanda’s push to implement digital-era governance will most likely benefit ordinary citizens in at least three different ways; Cost reduction for service users It should not be difficult for citizens to imagine a situation in which all interaction with both local and central government can be done through one counter 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without having to queue up for several hours. This reduction in hours users have to wait in queues to complete transactions has a direct impact on user costs through a reduction in foregone wages. For instance, enabling citizens to apply for online services such as business licences, travel documents, birth certificates and many more, has the potential to free-up time spent waiting in line and instead diverted to more productive events where wages can be attained. User perception of service quality The quality of services offered by government can be measured in many different ways. One of those ways is the rate of errors in documents issued to the public. It goes without saying that online services are not immune to errors; however, when errors are discovered, they are likely to be corrected faster than if it were manual services. This assumption is realised when one considers additional trips that a citizen has to undertake to get errors rectified in the first place. A reduction in errors has a direct impact on productivity as it allows staff to concentrate more on productive work while avoiding repetition. Perception of governance and corruption Whilst many countries are faced with poor governance and severe corruption, Rwanda has a rare opportunity to utilise e-government in dramatically improving governance at all levels of authority, as well as reducing corruption tendencies in service delivery. In particular, e-government would limit potential corrupt public officials from seeking bribes before they can provide public services. This would see the continual decline in corruption in Rwanda, allowing for development projects to progress unimpeded. Also, we cannot undermine essentialprerequisites required to make this transition a success. As a nation, we have to be prepared to rectify institutional weaknesses that include insufficient planning, unclear objectives, and cost over-runs. We must also look to address the current shortage of qualified personnel required to maintain such complex systems with complex software and hardware. Last but by no means least; we must address the current energy deficit since it is inconceivablethatthe existing 110MWof electricity currently in place will support the giant steps in digital-era governance. Finally, despite the challenges anticipated, in my view the current periodstill remains unique. It holds out the promise of a potential transition to a more genuinelyintegrated, agile, and holistic government, whose organisational operations are visible indetail both to the personnel operating in the public agencies concerned, and to citizensand civil society organisations. Rwanda’s digital future looks bright I must say! junior.mutabazi@yahoo.co.uk
