Senate calls for review of law governing Umuganda

Senators yesterday recommended that Government reviews the law on the monthly community work, known as Umuganda, in order to align it with the current policy on the activity. The policy on Umuganda, which was reviewed last year, indicates that sanctions for not participating in the activity should be decided by the community where the offender lives. However, the 2007 law that governs Umuganda sets Rwf5,000 as the maximum fine for not participating in the activity, which is inconsistent with the current policy. The senators’ recommendation is based on their analysis on how Rwandans participate in Umuganda across the country. The recommendation was spearheaded by the Senatorial Standing Committee on Political Affairs and Good Governance and endorsed unanimously by the Upper House. The committee’s Chairperson, Jean Nepomuscène Sindikubwabo, said that there is need for the law on Umuganda to be updated in order to boost citizens’ participation. “The law has to be reviewed in line with the current policy; when you change the policy you also need to change the law so that things can work properly,” he said. The senators’ analysis of Umuganda suggests that it is helping to build bonds among members of the community as well as solve urgent problems such as helping needy members of the community. Moreover, they noted that some challenges persist, encouraging more people who live in urban areas to embrace Umuganda and called for more youth involvement. The Vice-President of the upper house, Fatou Harerimana, noted that more people in rural areas seem to have embraced the community work practice but the same can’t be said in towns. “In the villages where people participate actively in Umuganda there are even roll calls and people have to sign in booklets but none of those practices is done in Kigali. Will people continue to skip Umuganda without any action taken against those who dodge the activity?” she wondered. Sindikubwabo said that for people in cities to be more involved in Umuganda, an approach that puts the service in context has to be used, such as helping working professionals to provide support in their areas of work instead of forcing everyone to do menial tasks. He cited that the current policy on community work which says that working professionals can play their role by offering free services in their areas of work. “Making the policy known can lead to better participation in Umuganda activities,” he said. Senator Tito Rutaremara also said that making the current policy on Umuganda widely known can boost more participation. “It is important that the policy is made known to citizens so they can know more about organising Umuganda and what to do in case some people don’t take part in the activity,” he said. Officials at the Ministry of Local Government have said that Umuganda activities are currently worth over Rwf20 billion in annual savings. The senators’ report indicates that Umuganda has helped to build unity among Rwandans as participants meet each other at the activity and engage in dialogue. They also said that the activity helps to solve economic problems through helping vulnerable members of the community and building public infrastructure in many areas, among others. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Senate calls for review of law governing Umuganda