On July 1, Rwanda will mark 50 years of independence and 18 years of liberation. As part of the celebrations, the Government, in collaboration with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the Commonwealth Secretariat are organising a high-level international conference, under the theme, Governance and Democracy: an African Perspective. The New Times caught up with Prof. Anastase Shyaka, CEO, Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), who talked about the meaning of the upcoming Independence and Liberation anniversaries, and the preceding international conference. Prof. Shyaka says that despite a false start, the country now has a working and scientifically derived governance and democratic path. Below are the excerpts.Qn: It has come to our attention that you are organising an international conference. What is it about and when is it taking place?We are organising a High Level International Conference on June 30, 2012. It will be preceded by international exchanges among academics and policy practitioners from Rwanda, Africa and beyond, from 28 to 29 June.  It will take place at the Parliament Building in Kigali.

The theme of the conference is "Governance and Democracy: an African perspective”. We shall be reflecting on what Rwanda and Africa, in general, have achieved over the last 50 years after independence, the lessons we have learnt and how to make African renaissance a reality in the next decades. Qn: Who are the most prominent personalities coming for this conference?All of our invited guests are very prominent. Many renowned and respected policymakers, scholars, politicians and diplomats from across the globe will be attending. For example, scholars like Noble Laureate for Literature Wole Soyinka, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs, Dr  Jendai Frazer, the Kenyan Minister for Trade, Hon. Moses Wetangula,  Prof. Margee Ensign, and the President of Africa Development Bank, Dr Donald Kaberuka, among others. Qn. Who is the target audience?The conference targets the people in the academia and policy makers. We are also involving all Rwandans through two other forms of engagement, namely, intergenerational debates conducted in universities and other Higher Learning Institutions across the country, which have been running since June 16; and the community debates to be conducted in local communities starting  June 23.

Participants at international exchanges are expected to share the practical underpinnings of governance and democracy, empirically derived lessons and experiences drawn from different countries’ political and governance cultures. We shall reflect on Africa’s experience over the last 50 years and forms of governance and democracy appropriate for the continent. In particular, the case of Rwanda will be explored and discussed.  For example, our experience has taught us that a consensual form of democracy is better than adversarial. For the last 18 years, this is the form of democracy that has helped us achieve sustained economic development, peace and stability. This form of democracy, which is working for us is based on five governance ideas. These are the consent of the citizens and popular participation right from the grassroots: power-sharing, a multi-party system, consensus among political parties and gender equality. The series of debates being held in various communities and tertiary institutions across the country are reflecting particularly on our experience of the last 50 years. They are exploring the failures, successes, and lessons learned within the last half century for Rwanda and are also articulated around the role of the youth, especially those educated, in consolidating the achievements and perpetuating this legacy in the next decades. Qn: Who are your partners in organising this conference?Rwanda Governance Board is working in partnership with a number of national institutions, including the Ministry of Local Government, the National Electoral Commission and the Parliament; as well as other international organisations including the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNDP and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) .

Qn: How is this conference connected to the celebrations to mark 50 years of independence and the liberation?They are connected in the sense that not only the conference is part of the activities to mark 50 years of our independence but more importantly the conference is about issues that matter a lot for Rwanda’s independence and liberation: governance and democracy. And independence is also connected to our country’s liberation in the sense that liberation has helped us achieve the promise that was expected in independence but not achieved until the country became liberated in 1994. We shall be reflecting on all this. Rwandans are now proudly enjoying the fruit of their chosen democratic path after liberation. We are no longer searching or using imported democracy, we are implementing a home- grown democracy that is delivering development and stability outcomes. And we should be proud of this.What is important to emphasis here is that Rwandans have defined their path to democracy and governance. The two, governance and democracy, are connected and producing results for our citizens.Qn: What is the rationale behind RGB being involved in these activities? Governance and democracy are central to what we do at RGB. We have a critical element of carrying out and documenting applied research to inform policy. Knowledge is power; and, as Einstein said, "the Essence of Development is Idea”. This is what we are looking for. Organising this conference is part of providing scientific and empirical reflection on what has worked and what has not worked across the continent and Rwanda, in particular, to inform the future. We shall also use this platform to share our lessons and best practices with the world; as well as building useful networks for the promotion of good governance and image building. Qn: Finally, 50 years of independence and 18 years of liberation, what would you say we have achieved?The independence we attained I would say was unfinished until liberation corrected the missing gap. In a historical perspective I would say it was unfulfilled independence. I think the liberation has corrected the missing gap, there was confusion of two aspects. One is ideology and the other governance. There was ideological confusion prior to the independence (1957-1962), on who is a citizen of this country; secondly, we also had confusion on the democratic path, and what it is. At the time, democracy was defined in identity (Hutu, Tutsi) terms. These two confusions were perpetuated in post colonial era by a leadership deficit. We, as Rwandans, failed to fix these gaps for long, but liberation brought in those three elements. We also needed the will for nation building which needs an individual will, collective will and leadership will. It was liberation that brought the three elements together and that’s what nation building process is about.Qn: You mean all this was brought in by liberation?Certainly, it was brought about by liberation. There are some critics that claim that in Rwanda, development is okay, but governance is not working. Now if you have results, how can you say that the governance system on which development is dependent is not working? If you have accountability, how can you say the governance system is bad or not working? If you have the concept of the governed, how can you say the system is not working? If you fix corruption and accountability, deliver on development, how can you say governance is bad? Such criticisms don’t have objective grounds.Qn: And the citizens are the foundation? Yes. The foundation is a citizen. Every Rwandan is invaluable. This is why the government invests heavily in citizens. People centred governance is a reality in Rwanda. You have heard of Mutuelle de Santé (universal health insurance), education for all, and others. And when Rwandan citizens outside the country are in trouble, say in a conflict zone and their lives in danger as you saw in Egypt and Libya, recently, the Government intervenes and airlifts them to safety. This is what this Government is all about; governing for the benefit of all citizens.