Up to 91.2 per cent of Rwandans are aware of the existing national policies, a new study shows.

The study, commissioned by Youth Association for Human Rights Promotion (Ajprodho-Jijukirwa), was carried out in September in 18 out of the country’s 30 districts sampling 720 households.

It largely attributes the greater citizen awareness of the country’s policies to grassroots meetings and media campaigns.

Among the policies the survey covered include Vision 2020, as well as decentralisation, land consolidation, urban master plans, land management , Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes, universal mutual health insurance (Mutuele de Sante), Abunzi ( mediation committees), and anti-gender based violence policy.

But the survey found out that only 55.6 per cent of Rwandans had a deeper understanding of the same policies, with 54 per cent reporting that they had been consulted in identifying problems at the grassroots during the policy formulation process.

Up to 76 per cent said they were involved in policy implementation while 42 per cent said they had participated in policy evaluation exercises, according to the report, released in Kigali, yesterday.

The study sought to document citizens’ level of understanding, awareness and perception of public policies as well as identifying gaps to help authorities take informed decisions with regard to policy formulation and implementation.

"Citizens are aware of almost all public policies but lack adequate information about some of them,” Enock Nkurunziza, the executive secretary of Ajprodho-Jijukirwa, said.

The study underlines the importance of the annual national dialogue (Umushyikirano), which brings together the country’s top leadership and local leaders drawn from across the country and members of the Diaspora, with viewers and listeners participating through live phone calls, social media, text messages, among other platforms.

But the report suggests that, in the future, wider consultations could be conducted at the grassroots to gather more citizen views ahead of the event.

It also highlights the significance of such approaches as entertainment in popularising national policies at the grassroots.

Egide Rugamba, the head of planning at the Ministry of Local Government, said the findings would contribute toward policy making process.

"They will help us make informed decisions and boost our engagement at the grassroots,” he said.

Rugamba said the government was particularly keen on getting local leaders fully involved with the implementation of the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy, a five-year mid-term growth agenda.

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