CENTRAL AND LOCAL government leaders will today convene in Kigali to sign the annual performance contracts (Imihigo) with the Head of State, officials confirmed yesterday.

The event will feature presentation of performance outcomes for the last financial year 2015/16 and signing of the new contracts for the financial year 2016/17, according to Joseph Mutware, head of Government Coordination Unit at the Prime Minister’s office.

Introduced in 2006,  Imihigo which are signed every financial year, are credited with improving accountability and speeding up the pace of citizen-centred development activities and programmes in the country.

Previously, the evaluation of the Imihigo implementation was done by government officials, but the exersice has since been handed to the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), a private think tank to ensure itis more scientific and objective, according to Mutware.

Talking to The New Times, yesterday, Mutware said with IPAR, the results from Imihigo are fact based, independent and reliable unlike previously when the  evaluators were the ones who were supposed to implement the same contracts and based on observations and assumptions.

"There are two major focuses tomorrow (today), implementation of last year’s performance contracts and the content of this financial year contracts. There will also be awarding of the best performers,” he said.

"The current evaluation methodology is more scientific and objective,” he added.

Every time they sign Imihigo, leaders commit to implement activities to fast-track socio-economic transformation programmes in various key sectors such as energy, agro-processing and exportation, urbanisation and rural settlement, water supply, job creation, and industrialisation among others.

Last year, Huye District emerged the best performer in the implementation of the performance contracts for 2014-15,  scoring 83 per cent.

Ngoma emerged second, while Ngororero and Nyanza tied on the third spot.

The last three performing districts in the implementation of the performance contracts included Gakenke, which was last on the list at number 30; Karongi in 29th position; and Kamonyi 28th.

Thi time round, ministries and local leaders to sign some joint contracts to be implemented jointly, while districts will sign others individually, according to officials.

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