Imihigo: Other districts can pick a leaf from Karongi’s approach

For the last five straight years, Karongi District has emerged among the best performers performance contracts (Imihigo), and the best in the public health insurance (Mutuelle de santé) category.What is it that Karongi is doing right and other districts are not? Five years in a row surely shows that the performance of the district is not an accident, but a well thought out approach in implementation of these contracts. A close assessment of the district’s modus operandi reveals a lot that other districts can learn from to successfully implement performance contracts. The answer lies within teamwork and ownership of the projects right from individuals at the village level to the district leadership and other stakeholders.Karongi has taken a people-driven consultative approach to involve every one right from the conceiving stage of any project up to its implementation. Such an approach ensures collective ownership of the project and increased commitment of all stakeholders.Properly planned targets and strategies of achieving them is crucial in successful implementation and this is what Karongi has perfected over the years. Each district resident should be aware of their respective roles in achieving the performance contract goals. It should be a bottom-top approach. Targets should not be set from up by leaders and imposed on the ordinary people.From Karongi’s experience, it is clear that consultation of all stakeholders in the district should be done before any project is prioritised. This helps in making the right choices when it comes to prioritisation of district projects.The districts should also mobilise people to work as a team, an attribute that is crucial in successful implementation of any project. Above all, it takes committed leadership to rally people to ensure quick and timely implementation as everyone considers the targets as part of their personal responsibilities. This should be followed up with regular monitoring and evaluation of activities to ascertain that all is going as planned. We hope other districts will learn a lesson or two from Karongo’s experience.

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Imihigo: Other districts can pick a leaf from Karongi’s approach