Decentralisation and citizen’s participation in decision making are responsible for improved wellbeing of the population, according to a preliminary Rwanda National Human Development Report (RNHDR) 2014.

The "Decentralisation and Human Development: Accelerating Socio-economic Transformation and Sustaining Accountable Governance” report, that has been under validation, was drafted by the UNDevelopment Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government.

Speaking at the final validation meeting in Kigali, yesterday, Lamin Manneh, the UNDP resident coordinator, lauded progress in governance, pointing out that the way the country is managed was reflected in the improved welfare of the people.

"When the first human development report was produced in 1990, it introduced a new and a revolutionary approach of looking, and advancing human wellbeing. The impotence of this new approach places human being at the centre of development…the human development concept goes beyond the concept of looking at people beyond indices and per capita income and places the promotion of human welfare at the centre of that process,” said Manneh.

"Decentralisation plays an important role in the process of governance yet one of the key pillars of governance is accountability and citizen participation. Even when we are wealthy but not healthy, the wealth means nothing.”

RNHDR is designed to highlight the link between decentralisation and achievements in human development.

According to the report, since 2006, Rwanda’s development interventions were mostly delivered through decentralisation, a governance model adopted in 2000 to promote political stability and equitable development through inclusiveness, participation, empowerment and local development.

It points out that the activities, innovations, approaches and solutions undertaken by actors in the decentralisation process had enabled Rwanda to overcome several post-Genocide governance challenges.

The key areas of strategic importance to human development include empowering citizens, a socially cohesive society, an efficient and effective service delivery system, and a system and culture of equity.

The report is the third in Rwanda’s history following those published in 1999 and 2007. It highlighted Rwanda’s home-grown solutions like Umuganda, Imihigo, Girinka, Gacaca, among others, as key drivers to human development.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Vincent Munyeshyaka, outlined key areas for improvement.

"The report identifies areas where we need to put more emphasis, including population growth which we need to keep managing well and strategically because if we need to share our GDP equitably, we need to continue controlling our population growth rate.”

Another area that needs more focus, Munyeshaka said, is equitable distribution of resources.

"We need to sustain innovative ideas in social protection initiatives to ensure that all segments of our population benefit from this development agenda,” he said.

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