Governance month kicks off

The annual Governance Month kicked off yesterday with emphasis on leader-citizen discussions designed to generate solutions to societal problems.The three-month campaign will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Local Government (Minaloc), with activities planned across the country, where ordinary citizens will get the chance to challenge public officials on service delivery. “Rwanda strongly believes that the success and sustainability of good governance policies and programmes depends on citizen participation right from policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation levels,” Vincent Munyeshyaka, the Permanent Secretary of Minaloc said at a news briefing yesterday.The Governance Month seeks to address citizens’ concerns.Land registration, delay in service provision, and corruption involving public officials are some of the issues expected to be raised, while Minaloc and other partner ministries will seek to raise awareness of government programmes such as “Ndi Umunyarwanda” and the 20th Commemoration of the Genocide against Tutsis, among others.“Between January and March, good governance competitions will be conducted from cell to national level alongside live talk shows in the media, where we shall engage citizens on all aspects of leadership and service delivery,” Felicien Usengumukiza, the Deputy CEO OF Rwanda Governance Board, said.“This is a credible way to enhance accountability to citizens. Leaders are encouraged to explain to the people what they are doing for them. It will also encourage non-state actors such as civil society organisations and the media to promote and monitor governance in Rwanda,” Usengumukiza added.The Governance Month will officially be launched at the national level on Monday next week, and it will be followed by field visits to “governance clinics” at sector level to tackle problems reported by citizens. According to Minaloc, once the programme is officially closed, the outcomes expected include among others, exhaustively responding to each concern raised and ensuring that citizens effectively understand and appreciate government programmes.The activity was successful last year, according to Minaloc, providing instant solutions to over 300 complaints raised by the public.

National

Governance month kicks off