Senators call for upholding of consensus politics

Policies that encourage dialogue and consensus in solving problems have done well in rebuilding post-Genocide Rwanda and leaders need to promote them if the country is to achieve more, Senators have recommended. The advice is contained in a report commissioned by the Senate, which is titled “the Constant Quest for Solutions through Dialogue and Consensus in Rwanda: The Mechanisms for Dialogue and Consensus.” It was launched in Parliament yesterday. The research evaluated major policies put in place to enable dialogue and consensus in problem solving. They include Gacaca, Abunzi, Umuganda, community development committees, National Women Council, National Youth Council, Itorero, Girinka and Ubudehe. The study was conducted by the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research-Rwanda (IPAR), a local think-tank. In some of the recommendations presented by Senator Jean-Damascène Bizimana, leaders were encouraged to keep promoting dialogue and consensus. “The government should continue sensitising citizens to use dialogue and consensus as a way of overcoming their problems. Civil society organisations, political parties and faith based organisations should be engaged in the process of promoting and reinforcing dialogue and consensus in local communities,” senators said. The study, which interviewed nearly 4,000 people in the country, found that “there is a relatively high level of community engagement with 84 per cent of respondents having participated in community activities in the year preceding the survey and 76 per cent having worked with others to develop a programme.” The report’s findings indicate that mechanisms such as Umuganda, the Abunzi and Girinka programme were seen to benefit the community, with Umuganda helping to build schools, roads and houses for the vulnerable, and Abunzi becoming effective in resolving disputes, especially land-related conflicts. Girinka, the famous one-cow-per-family programme that donates cows to the poor families in communities, did not only enrich the poor but also enabled social cohesion as the cows became the link for conversations among the people, the findings show. “Those without cows are asking for help from those who own them, from milk to fertilizers, and this helps to bring people together,” said Roger Mugisha, a researcher at IPAR. While Umuganda stood out as the most favourite with a rating of 83 per cent by the respondents when it comes to the level of people’s satisfaction with the mechanisms, Ingando, Gacaca, Girinka and Itorero are the mechanisms considered to be the major contributor to dialogue and consensus, scoring 77.6 per cent, 75.4 per cent, 72.7 per cent, and 70 per cent, respectively. It is partly that finding that has alerted legislators to ask that the country’s leaders at different levels find ways to engage more people from the middle class and the youth in dialogue and consensus-making policies. “We need to change mentalities among the middle class and the youth. We need to do something to change the trend,” said MP Euthalie Nyirabega. Anicet Kayigema, the executive secretary of the National Consultative Forum for Political Organisations, said the study findings should inspire parties to reach out to more people.