Govt, UN sign $400m deal

The government and One UN Rwanda have signed a five year agreement aimed at helping the country achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the Economic and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRSII) as well as Vision 2020. The assistance, worth of US$400 million (Rwf264 billion), is a mid-term strategy running until 2018 under the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP), through which the organisation seeks to consolidate its support to Rwanda’s development strategies. The initiative, according to Lamin Momodou Manneh, the UN Resident Coordinator, is in response to constant demands for the UN to be more efficient. “We have said it before and we will not be shy to say it again that like any other large organisation encompassing the whole globe, the United Nations is prone to certain internal and external weaknesses and, consequently, it has had its share of fair and unfair criticism,” Manneh said yesterday in Kigali. Positive impact “But over the years UN has demonstrated willingness to face up to constructive criticism and take corrective measures. The introduction in 2007 of delivering as one initiative is a corrective measure which has very positively impacted on the way the UN works in Rwanda.” The Minister for Finance, Claver Gatete, said the assistance agreement is aligned to the national annual planning cycle and will focus on key areas in economic transformation, human development and government accountability. “The Rwanda UNDAP budget will be financed through prioritisation where inclusive economic transformation will be allocated US$82 million, accountable governance US$42 million and human development US$276 million,” Gatete said. “Our development results are due to strong and innovative leadership and the support of development partners, as we embark on widespread and innovative reforms at a time of great national need, guided by a bold vision for development.” The UNDAP initiative replaces several joint programmes and multiple agency-supported initiatives previously captured in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), with a single business plan for all UN programmes in Rwanda. The US$400 million budget will be financed through funds that UN agencies will invest from their core and non-core resources, as well as through mobilisation efforts headed by the resident coordinator. UN announced in 2007 that it would explore new ways of enhancing its efficiency at country level, naming Rwanda, Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uruguay, and Vietnam as pilots in its “One UN” agenda.

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Govt, UN sign $400m deal