At least 581 village heads in Bugesera District gathered in Nyamata town on Tuesday to learn about Irembo; a one-stop portal for e-Government services.

The session, the first in a three-month long countrywide tour, allowed local leaders and members of the public to familiarise themselves with the e-Government platform and how it would provide government services online with efficiency and reliability.

The Irembo online platform allows the public to apply for services such as registration for all categories of driving tests, certificates of birth, criminal records, among others. It aims to be a one-stop portal for e-Government services

According to Rwanda Online Platform Limited chief executive officer, Clement Uwajeneza, Irembo portal will facilitate delivery of public services.

"We want to avoid the long queues that citizens have had to make at the village, sector and district offices seeking a particular service, which could be provided in less than a minute. Village leaders should, therefore, help us inform the people they lead that some public services have been put on Irembo portal—in the long run all the public services in Rwanda will be offered online,” said Uwajeneza.

However, a number of people who talked to The New Times expressed fear that inadequate skills and insufficient infrastructure could affect the optimum use of the service.

Thorsten Twagirayezu, the chairperson of Rurama village, in Ruhuha Sector called for more sensitisation.

"Irembo is surely a good programme, as long as there is goodwill on the part of the public. However, the initiators of this programme should do extensive public sensitisation, especially deep in villages to ensure that people know about the technology,” he said.

"With time, people will get used to seeking electronic governance services. I am sure that with this rate of development, no single person in Rwanda will spend a day queuing at the district and sector offices asking for a service.”

Louis Rwagaju, the Mayor of Bugesera District, said the platform is timely.

"Irembo will save people’s time and encourage effectiveness in service delivery,” Rwagaju said.

Paul Barera, the executive director of Rwanda Telecentre Network, a nonprofit organisation supporting the extension of access to ICT equipment across the country, said 160 telecentres have been established across the country to facilitate e-Government service delivery.

"We want to have as many telecentres as possible, perhaps up to 1000, in the shortest time possible, such that there is a small centre in every cell of the country,” he said.

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