New body set up to regulate professional associations

The Private Sector Federation and the Ministry of East African Community affairs have established a national body, Rwandan National Platform (RNP), to regulate all professional associations in the country.The body will lobby for Rwandan professionals in the regional market while building their capacity to compete favourably.Rwandan professionals have previously been blamed for failure to organise themselves which hinders their competitiveness on national and regional market.Unlike in other countries where different professional bodies register under one umbrella, this has not been the case in Rwanda, hence denying the professionals the opportunity to fully benefit from regional integration, especially free movement of labour.The Platform will also negotiate for mutual recognition agreements for the nationals. The agreements that are normally signed among the five partner states, allow professionals to move freely and work in any of the five EAC countries.The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Private Sector Federation, Hannington Namara, said some professionals were practicing but had never registered with their professional associations.“We need to organise ourselves, understand our challenges and seek possible solutions,” Namara said.Over 40 professional associations are believed to be in the country but few are registered.The Minister for Public Service and Labour, Anastase Murekezi, said some investors hire foreign workers due to lack of data on competent professionals in the country.He warned that if local professionals are not organised, it will create a vacuum for more unprofessional practitioners to flood the Rwandan market.Dismas Nkubana, the head of the Institute of Engineers in Rwanda welcomed the move, adding that his association was in the process of signing a mutual recognition agreement with counterparts in the other EAC countries.“We have asked the Secretary General of the East African Community to facilitate the signing of the agreement,” Nkubana said.Jacqueline Muhongayire, the EAC Minister, said once organised, professionals will be able to tap into the regional market.