Umushyikirano: A nexus between consensual democracy and consultative governance

Critical analysis of any governance system in a civilised society or State ought to be contextualised. This is particularly true in a country like Rwanda, where there is clear national determination to change the course of her unfortunate history through various home grown initiatives such as the National Dialogue (commonly known as Umushyikirano) which continue to see the nation epitomise the true value of an all-inclusive consultative governance system. The one for this year will take place this week. Twenty-two years after the deepest abyss that the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi threw the East African nation into, Rwanda has today miraculously been turned round and is on a commendable development trajectory, thanks to its visionary leadership and the resilience of Rwandans. To make its development people-centred, Rwanda has moved beyond the realm of mere advocacy and has out of choice, epitomised consensual democracy that is bed-rocked in an all-inclusive consultative system of governance. At the helm of this transformative governance is President Paul Kagame who counsels Rwandans to not be complacent nor satisfied by what is deemed “good enough”, but instead always strive for the best. The country’s decentralisation, coupled with an all-inclusive citizenry participation in decision making and a visionary leadership that is focused on development and provision of goods and services, explain the commendable milestones that the country consistently continues to register. Indeed one such home-grown initiative, the National Dialogue or Umushyikirano, which is scheduled, for the 14th time, and on 15 – 16 December is a town hall meeting that brings together national leadership and Rwandans, in general, to evaluate progress, assess what wasn’t done right and set tone for way-forward into the new year. The National Dialogue is chaired by the President and is attended by government officials, ordinary citizenry and members of the Rwandan Diaspora. It offers an opportunity for self-assessment or evaluation of the targets of the ending year by all stakeholders and helps set new goals for the New Year. Simply put, it is an opportunity for the ordinary citizenry from all corners of the country, including representatives of all the Diaspora dotted across the globe, to come together under one roof at the end of each year and articulate their free-spoken views to the leaders across all levels of government. All this is motivated by an overarching urge of rationally exploring how Rwandans can continue improving and “shaping the Rwanda we want” also the theme for this year’s National Dialogue. Indeed, in a democracy which is a government for the people and by the people, peoples’ needs should logically be the bedrock for government policy making and implementation thereof. It is, however, worth noting that some old democracies are increasingly facing unprecedented scrutiny for being “out of touch” with the all-important strata of their grassroots. In the Rwanda of today, this decentralised bottom-up consultative approach that the country has efficiently adopted has correctly put the people first and helped propel the paramount requisite exercise of monitoring and evaluating government service delivery. It is through this strategic approach that Rwanda’s leaders are held accountable to the people. It is through the same system that Rwandan leaders are reminded of their sacred responsibility to consistently increase their efficiency in delivering to the people they serve. Indeed, as President Kagame says: “trust among citizens and trust in their leadership is what made Rwandans transform their country beyond what anyone could have imagined twenty years ago”. Of course, the policy and culture of the annual performance-based contracts, commonly known as ‘Imihigo’ (a Kinyarwanda word meaning vowing to deliver), which is entrenched in all levels of government, from local government all through to cabinet level, also helps serve as a vital guarantor of quality assurance in delivering for the people whilst also supporting the consultative framework. With this awe-inspiring relationship between “the governed and the leaders” it comes as no surprise that Rwanda is now famed for the successful implementation of a number of flourishing home-grown initiatives and models of good governance notably Abunzi (community mediation mechanism), Ubudehe (community-led problem solving), Imihigo (performance contracts), Umuganda (monthly community service), Umushyikirano (annual National Dialogue) and Diaspora related initiatives. With the practicing of consensual democracy and consultative governance that includes the citizenry, achieving an unprecedented average of eight per cent GDP growth in the last decade makes attaining the “implausible” ever more plausible. Amidst the economic shocks the continent has endured this year, Rwanda’s growth projection for the year 2016 remains at a healthy 6 per cent according to the IMF, one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. In essence, the Government of Rwanda and Rwandans are in a serious and ambitious partnership that aims at ensuring unity of purpose as well as sustained delivery and growth. The writer is the Charge d’Affaires at the Rwanda High Commission in Lusaka, Zambia

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Umushyikirano: A nexus between consensual democracy and consultative governance