EDITORIAL: More services should be taken closer to the people

The government this week went another notch higher in taking core services closer to the people. This has been part of the decentralization campaigns that has improved service delivery and streamlined operations of government services. The latest to take that route was land use maps that are now available at the Sector level or the internet. The detailed maps explain what a particular piece of land is earmarked for; i.e, infrastructure, agriculture industries or residential areas. In the past, it was extremely difficult to know exactly what the government had in store for one’s land and the government spent billions expropriating people to give way for development projects. At the beginning one had to personally visit the National Land Centre for information that could easily be shared with local authorities. Now that is a thing of the past. It is in that spirit that other core services will be easily accessible through an online new portal for government services for those applying for official documents and services. The portal; www.irembo.gov.rw is not yet fully functional as only a few services are currently available. But the government also needs to sensitise the public of the availability of the portal and how it works. Making accessibility of information easier – even though it was passed into law – should be a two-way traffic; service providers should go down to the people to explain the mechanisms of getting services or information. Not everyone is aware of irembo yet it is a vital game changer as far as service delivery is concerned. But that could easily change if those in charge of official communications shifted into a higher gear.

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EDITORIAL: More services should be taken closer to the people