Members of Parliament, on Wednesday, May 28, kicked off a nationwide field visit to assess the progress made by decentralised government institutions and the delivery of services to citizens. Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, MP Gertrude Kazarwa, explained that the outreach activity will, among others, assess the delivery of land services and construction permit issuance. = ALSO READ: How City of Kigali is responding to surge in land service applications The focus of the service delivery is informed by the fact that it is an important aspect of the country’s good governance pillar, Kazarwa said. The lawmakers’ outreach activity is scheduled to run from May 28 to June 4, across all four provinces. A field visit in the City of Kigali will be conducted on June 7 and 8. “This activity reaffirms Parliament’s commitment to effective oversight of the government actions and support to an inclusive and citizen-centred governance, contributing to the acceleration of the second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) goals and the long-term aspirations of Vision 2050,” Kazarwa said as per a press release from Parliament. It is planned that during the outreach activity, MPs will visit officers who issue land certificates and construction permits, civil registration certificates and various documents from the Irembo portal in order to assess the accessibility, quality and time management to ensure the effectiveness of the services. They will also hold direct engagements with citizens and local leaders on topics of interest, such as unity and resilience, conflict resolution, service delivery, and promotion of civic values to mobilise the citizens on the shared responsibility for national development. Kazarwa pointed out that technology use in the delivery of various services has the potential to ease access to them, adding that the oversight tour is meant to ensure that greater results can be achieved in this regard. ALSO READ: Govt pledges to clear land subdivision service backlog in one month Issues in land service delivery include delays which officials attribute to increased requests from applicants, and limited number of the workforce to process them. In January, officials from the National Land Authority and the City of Kigali told lawmakers that they were deploying technology and more officers to fast-track land service delivery – as means of addressing the issues. Non-execution of court decisions Kazarwa also said MPs will assess progress on the execution of court judgments, pointing out that there are cases that were ruled by courts, but their judgements remain non-executed. “There are cases whose judgments have not yet been executed, and we want to look into the progress,” she said. One of the issues that affects execution of court judgments is the fact that non-professional bailiffs, mainly cell and sector executive secretaries, fear to enforce court decisions, hence restricting access to justice including court awards – the damages legally owed to people who won cases. ALSO READ: Why non-professional bailiffs shy away from court decision enforcement She said MPs will assess the role of mediation in dispute resolution, with a view to address conflicts amicably, instead of resorting to courts which sometimes can lead to a situation where the conflicting parties live as enemies. Delayed, non-transparent service delivery There are instances where citizens seek MPs’ intervention on addressing certain complaints, yet they should have already been solved at local government level, Kazarwa said. MPs will evaluate the progress on dealing with such issues. Overall, according to Rwanda Bribery Index 2024 by Transparency International Rwanda, there was a decreasing trend in bribery in local government as it gradually went down from 10.60 per cent in 2022, to 6.40 per cent in 2023, and down to 6 per cent in 2024. This steady decrease reflects the impact of ongoing efforts to combat corruption. However, the index indicated that the 6.40 per cent bribery likelihood indicates potential issues with local governance. This can affect community projects and resource allocation, with marginalised residents possibly needing to pay bribes to access public services or influence local decisions, it added. The index also showed that services most prone to corruption include illegal construction which is not allowed as per the master plan (39.10 per cent), and acquiring construction permits (33.50 per cent). These practices jeopardise fairness, and urban planning. Kazarwa said MPs’ oversight will assess circumstances that can lead to delayed or non-transparent service delivery and addressing the related costs with a view to ensure that citizens get access to due services at the right time.
