As Rwanda steps up efforts to improve on its customer care service, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has budgeted about $0.5 million (Rwf283 million) for a countrywide campaign.
The RDB Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Business Operation and Services, Clare Akamanzi said that the estimated budget will cater for all the scheduled events over two years.

She revealed the figures last week at Laico Umubano Hotel during a media breakfast, where the National Customer Care Taskforce (NCCT) unveiled new pre-campaign activities.

According to the programme, there will be introductory training for hospitality industries and forums with district Mayors and Good Governance Directors countrywide.

The awareness campaign will also be reinforced by comprehensive training programmes by Workforce Development Authority (WDA) on behalf of NCCT, which also involves the Private Sector Federation (PSF) members.

Akamanzi who also doubles as the Chairperson of the NCCT said that the countrywide campaign starts in July this year.

"This will involve media campaigns, dramas and easy competitions in high schools among others activities.” There are also plans for a Customer Care Exhibition as a pre-campaign project.

This campaign comes after a research by Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) indicated that Rwanda is the least hospitable country in the region, where the most business operators, especially in the service sector, are either slow or non-responsive towards customers.

"About 60 percent respondents who lived outside Rwanda were not satisfied the service sector,” the research added.

The research institute collected primary data that looked into customer services and customers’ attitudes and behaviours. Another research done by the On-The-Frontier Group (OTF), also indicated that poor services is a threat in Rwanda’s economic competitiveness ranking Rwanda the last in the region in terms of quality of customer service.

According to RDB, Rwanda can fetch $40 million (Rwf22.6 billion) a year by 2012, only if the service sector capitalises on embracing the culture of providing good customer service.

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