More Government institutions merged

KIGALI - The work of public agencies that have been operating in similar fields in different ministries will now be consolidated under specific boards, a Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday has ordered. The decision is intended to ensure better services offered by the institutions through a developed synergy among them, government sources said. The meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame, ordered that the Rwandan Insurance Scheme (RAMA) and the Social Security Fund of Rwanda (CSR) be managed under a new board dubbed Rwanda Social Security Board; while the Rwanda Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), National Agricultural Research Institute (ISAR), and Rwanda Animal Resources Development Authority (RARDA) will be collapsed into the Rwanda Agricultural Board. “Merging these institutions will help their decisions to be quickly implemented and this will boost services. There needs to be synergy among them,” an official at the Secretariat of Cabinet Affairs who attended the meeting said. Other institutions that were combined include both boards of coffee (OCIR-CAFÉ) and tea (OCIR –THE) that were joined with the, Rwanda Horticulture Development Authority (RHODA) to form Rwanda Agricultural Export Development Board. It was also decided that a Rwanda Bio-Medical Centre will coordinate services of the King Faisal Hospital, National Reference Laboratory, Trac Plus, Health Communications Centre, National Centre for Blood Transfusion, AIDS Control Commission (CNLS), Medical Maintenance Workshop, the pharmaceutical laboratory (LABOPHAR), drugs procurement agency (CAMERWA) and the International Centre for Clinical Research. The centre will also control training in all medical sciences in the country. The Secretariat of the Works for General Interest (TIG) and the National Prisons Service (NPS) were merged in what was called Rwanda Correctional Services. “What will follow is the establishment of laws governing these boards,” our source said. More changes in the management of government institutions are likely to happen as the Cabinet instructed the minister in charge of Labour and Public Service, to finalize the restructuring process that started in the middle of last year. The Ministry of Public Service and Labour (MIFOTRA) has been working on proposals for improved performance in government service delivery since last July. Ends