Karongi mayor: Team spirit key to our success in Imihigo

For five years in a row, Karongi District in Western Province has been posting stellar performance in implementation of performance contracts (Imihigo).During the Financial Year 2012/2013, Karongi emerged the best district with 97 per cent, alongside Kicukiro (97 per cent) and Kamonyi (96 per cent).Karongi excelled most particularly in the economic development pillar after scoring 98 per cent. The district particularly stood out in the adherence to community health insurance, commonly known as Mutuelle de Santé.And the district is not about to give that success a break, at least not going by Mayor Bernard Kayumba’s words.In an exclusive interview, Kayumba opens up on how the district has been able to post enviable implementation of performance contracts, the role of citizens, tourism development and how it is benefiting the local community and so much more. When it comes to implementing performance contracts (Imihigo), Karongi District stands with broad shoulders. The district has been returning stellar performances. In the last fiscal year, 2012/2013, the Western Province district emerged the best with 97 per cent, alongside Kicukiro (also 97 per cent) and Kamonyi (96 per cent). Karongi excelled most particularly in the economic development pillar after scoring 98 per cent. The district also stood out in adherence to community health insurance, commonly known as Mutuelle de Santé. It is the fifth consecutive year that the district has topped the charts in the category. The New Times’ Jean Pierre Bucyensenge talked to Karongi Mayor Bernard Kayumba about the implementation of performance contracts, the district’s strategies, the role of citizens, tourism development, how it is benefiting the local community, among others. Excerps;What is the secret to Karongi’s success in the implementation of performance contracts (Imihigo)?We have made it a commitment to properly plan our targets and strategies of achieving them. We always engage all actors in the implementation of Imihigo to make sure they are all aware of their role and committed to them from the beginning. We sit and deliberate ideas provided by residents at village, cell and sector levels and decide which should be prioritised.The second strategy, which I consider as the most important, is the way we are working in harmony, for a common cause and toward the same targets. We are a team, whether you are an employee of the district or a member of the Joint Action Development Forum (JADF), which encompasses non-governmental organisations, churches, the private sector, the civil society and others who operate in the district. At the beginning of last fiscal year, we sat and devised strategies to implement the contracts we’ve had signed with the President. Each of us committed to a specific target(s) they would implement and we put the commitment in writing and later each signed the document for proper implementation and evaluation. That helped in quick implementation as everyone considered the targets as part of their direct responsibilities.Thirdly, proper implementation requires regular monitoring and evaluation of activities to ascertain that all is going as planned. After planning, you can’t just sit and relax and think that all will go well. You need to keep watching the state of progress and how the implementation is going on. We often sit with partners and conduct self-evaluation exercises. How do you ensure residents are involved in the planning and implementation of performance contracts?Our residents are the first to provide ideas on what they think should be given priority. They are the ones to say “we think this should be considered first.” They are the ones to choose whether to construct a road, put up water infrastructure, build schools or a market or any other thing they think they need the most. We start collecting ideas at the village level, then progressively move to cell and sector level before gathering ideas from across the district. As we move from each level to the other, priorities emerge and we decide on which actions to implement according to residents’ wishes. Our decisions are as well based on available budget and also consultations with other stakeholders.There is also the role of the Advisory Council, which must approve performance contracts before they are adopted and implemented. The council is elected by residents and it represents them. Their vote somehow also reflects the position of the people they represent.Talking of last year’s targets, what were your major achievements during the 2012/2013 fiscal year?We achieved a lot over the past fiscal year. For instamce, if we talk about the development of Karongi town, a lot has been done. Commercial buildings in the town have been built in the context of the public-private partnership; we have also completed the third and last phase of the construction of a modern market in the town and completed the Kibuye Modern Garden.In addition, there are now 15 kilometres of public lighting across the town, which boosts security at night. Others are water canals, the Environmental Museum and the construction of a modern hospital that we hope will improve healthcare.There are also achievements in agriculture where we stepped up our efforts in land consolidation programme, with more than 48,000 hectares of consolidated land. This greatly boosted farmers’ productivity. We have also distributed more than 1,300 cows as part of the Girinka (One-Cow-per-Family) programme, which also greatly impacted the lives of our residents.We have built modern markets in the sectors of Ruganda and Gitesi to help speed up local development. In a bid to help stimulate rural development and off-farm job creation, we have connected several business centres to the national electricity grid. Health centres and public offices have also been connected.Access to information has been a priority and we have been encouraging television penetration. Over the past year we managed to install television sets in 105 places across the district, figures which are far over our initial targets of reaching 88 cells. This time we are moving to villages. We also provided mobile phones to all village leaders and put all of them in our closed user group to facilitate the flow of information between us.In the health sector, we have made sure that each and every individual is insured through the community health insurance (Mutuelle de Sante). So far, it has been five years that we have been on top when it comes to subscribing to Mutuelle de Sante and we look forward to maintaining that position.How did you manage to remain on top for five consecutive years as far as Mutuelle de Sante is concerned?Our secret toward full adherence to Mutuelle de Sante lies in encouraging and supporting local informal groups known here as Ibimina. Ikimina is a group normally between 30 and 50 families who come together and commit themselves to saving little money from their earnings to invest in other activities. The members come together and set up a four-member executive committee to manage and run the day-to-day activities of the group, including collecting members’ contributions, ensuring that all members abide by its internal rules and regulations, etc. We only come in to offer support whenever needed, especially when it comes to capacity building. Ibimina are playing a key role in encouraging and boosting Mutuelle de Sante subscription.What are the latest figures on the state of Mutuelle de Sante subscription in Karongi District this fiscal year?We stand at more than 71 per cent but we hope the numbers will continue to increase and we strongly believe we will be on top again come the end of the year.For the 2013/2014 fiscal year, what are the major targets you are gunning at?To continue efforts toward the fight against poverty and the development of infrastructure. In agriculture, we will continue to encourage the land consolidation programme and the use of fertilisers for an increased productivity. We will also continue to extend areas covered by tea and coffee, two major commercial plants in our district. We also hope to get the third tea factory in our district to help process our peoples’ tea leaves.In animal husbandry, we will be putting more emphasis on the distribution of small livestock, especially pigs which have proved to be excellent agent of change within families. We target to distribute at least 10,000 animals within the next three years. We also target to distribute 500 cows to vulnerable families as part of the Girinka programme.We are continuing efforts to create more off-farm jobs, especially for the unemployed youth. Through Hanga Umurimo programme, we will continue to encourage innovation and hope by doing so we will reduce the number of the unemployed in the district. We will also continue the construction of a craft production centre (Agakiriro), which is now entering its second phase. We want to nurture people’s interest in technical skills mainly in the fields of art, carpentry, construction and crafts, among others, and bring together the many skilled people to share knowledge and ease the search for potential buyers.Infrastructure development will also continue to be part of our priorities with the construction of feeder roads, including the Bwishyura-Rwankuba-Gisovu, Gisovu-Rwankuba-Bisesero-Gishyita and Nyange-Murundi-Murambi roads, among others. Electricity will also be rolled out further to speed up development in the district.In rural settlement, we target to increase the number of people living in Imidugudu (planned settlements) from the current 67 per cent to at least 80 per cent. In the socio-economic domain, we remain committed to full adherence to Mutuelle de Sante. We will continue to fight malnutrition and extend support to the most vulnerable within our community.Through the Vision 2020 Umurenge programme, thousands of residents will get employed through public works, especially the setting up and maintenance of water and electricity infrastructure. What is the role of performance contracts in uplifting the living conditions of Karongi residents?Some years back, Karongi was an unknown and poor district. Hotels, commercial buildings and other infrastructure were poor; Karongi town was a mess. But today, the district is becoming a modern town with investment in various fields. Through Imihigo, we have committed to the development of this district and to stimulate investment. This has resulted in the many modern commercial buildings that have been and continue to be erected in Karongi town and the general improvement of the state of infrastructure. Business is growing by the day and that makes a significant impact in the life of our citizens because it is creating opportunities for them to be employed or to create their own jobs.Land consolidation and the extensive use of fertilisers have been very crucial in improving farmers’ productivity. We have now moved to build post-harvest facilities (store houses) because we are sure to get what to keep there.Most importantly, Imihigo is helping us to stimulate change into people’s attitudes and behaviour. When you talk about subscription to the Mutuelle de Sante, almost everyone will rush to remit their dues because they understand how beneficial the programme is to them. That is a significant shift in attitudes and perception, thanks to performance contracts.Karongi remains one of the major tourism destinations in the country. What are you doing to develop the sector further?We are working toward improving the sector because we have a lot to offer but still remain with so much to do. The beautiful and wonderful Lake Kivu has been at the centre of all tourism activities in the district, but we are focusing on diversifying our products to attract more visitors. We are also making efforts to stimulate investments in hotels and other hospitality facilities. From a handful of such facilities a few years back we have moved to many modern facilities. There is demand for such services and we are encouraging people to invest here. In partnership with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), we are elaborating on plans to construct a five-star hotel in this area. We have already set aside land for the hotel and we are engaging investors in this endeavour. Apart from that, we have a Libyan investor who is set to start building another five-star hotel to provide quality services to visitors.Lake Kivu aside, we hope also to start a new product on tea and coffee plantation tourism. We are currently in discussions with RDB on how we could make Gisovu a centre of tourism. We want to offer to tourists diverse products, including the lake and its surrounding, tea plantation, visits to Nyungwe National Park and so much more. We hope that will extend our network of tourism products and diversify what we can offer so as to bring in more visitors. Our target is to offer a variety.The recently-constructed Environmental Museum, which will also incorporate a craft centre, will help us diversify our products. We plan to redevelop historic sites in the district.Investment in water sports is another domain we are exploring because it presents a lot of opportunities.What is your stance on customer care in the district?The level of customer care is still low although a lot has been achieved. We are yet to meet the international standards and we remain with some work to do. But we believe we will continue to improve, especially as we expect to get skilled employees who will be working in hotels and other hospitality facilities. Our district was chosen to host an Integrated Regional Polytechnic Centre (IPRC-West) which will be providing courses in hospitality and hotel management, among others. We hope that will bridge the existing skills gap and contribute to improving the level of customer care in our hotels. We are also encouraging hotel owners to send their employees at the higher learning institution for them to polish their skills.