Civil society bodies tipped on transparency, accountability

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been urged to embrace transparency and be accountable in their operations, with the government arguing that this will in turn facilitate good service delivery in their activities. During the launch of a campaign, dubbed Nk’uwikorera, in CSOs on Friday, members of the Civil Society Platform admitted that the level of accountability and transparency amongst some organisations is still below par, which brings a lot of questions on their operations and the impact of their projects on the people of Rwanda. Nk’uwikorera is a campaign aimed at spurring service delivery in the country which was launched last year in March by former Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi and it is spearheaded by Rwandan Governance Board (RGB). Speaking at the event to launch the same campaign in civil society, Silas Sinyigaya, the Executive Secretary of Rwanda Civil Society Platform, admitted that the level of collaboration amongst themselves and the partners, transparency and accountability is still wanting – which affects the state of service delivery in their projects. Sinyigaya’s comments were echoed by Jean Léonard Sekanyange, the Chairperson of the CS platform, in a sideline interview with Saturday Times arguing that, “some organizations are reluctant to disclose their sources of funding (in fear of sabotage), they conduct small projects which have no impact on the communities just for the sake of pleasing funders”. “If we are to do things that really have impact on the people we need to be transparent and allow accountability to take its course. Otherwise, our services will be in vain,” Sekanyange said. Edward Kalisa, the Secretary General of RGB, urged CSOs to “iron out” some of the issues they are faced with in service delivery, adding that they are “very important” in shaping the national development agenda. “Civil Society is key in informing policy and holding the government accountable to its people. It is important that the organisations take the lead in ensuring good service in every project they do,” Kalisa said. Judith Kazayire, in Charge of Service Delivery and Governance at RGB, said that the government expects service delivery to score at least 85 percent in the 2018 as per EDPRS II. Even though the service sector is currently leading other sectors in contribution to national development (over 40%), the Citizen Report Card 2016 by RGB indicated that service sector was the least scoring sector with 67 per cent in the way they offer services. “It is our responsibility to offer the best service possible, not only in private and public sectors but also in civil society. Service beyond self and putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes will change the perception and the level of service delivery in the country,” Kazayire said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Civil society bodies tipped on transparency, accountability