The Rwanda Civil Society Platform (RCSP) will on Tuesday this week organise a national civil society Public Policy debate on citizens’ participation in performance contracts (Imihigo) and community-based health insurance commonly known as Mutuelle de sante.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Edouard Munyamaliza, the Chairperson of RCSP said: "The organisation of this dialogue is based on the research conducted by RCSP on citizens’ participation in Imihigo with a view of assessing levels and factors affecting effective citizen participation in the performance contracts in order to recommend areas of improvement”.

He added that the function is also meant to discuss various issues regarding the ongoing Citizen Scorecard process.

It is being conducted by the Public Policy Implementation Monitoring and Advocacy project (PPIMA) and district dialogue forums on Mutuelle de santé.

He disclosed that the survey unearthed complaints from the population that the government should first consult them before setting prices for Mutuelle de santé.

Munyamaliza said that RCSP was satisfied with the performance of the central government but noted that there was still need to train local leaders in sensitisation and leadership techniques, which, he said, will enable the population  to continue taking part in government programmes, especially performance contracts and developemental activities.

He added that the involvement of communities in Imihigo will ensure their priorities are planned and implemented, as well as enhance that leadership is accountable to the people.

According to Munyamaliza, the event will also discuss how the population can partner with the government during Accountability Day, which, he said, will improve transparency and service delivery in public institutions.

steven.mugisha@ynewtimes.co.rw