NUR, Partners agree on cooperation policy

SOUTHERN PROVINCE HUYE — National University of Rwanda’s partners meeting during the just concluded stakeholder conference expressed massive support for the institution’s future roadmap, the varsity Rector Prof Silas Lwakabamba has said. In an interview with The New Times after the conference, Professor Lwakabamba said that the policy was crafted in a bid to harmonise and streamline the support to the new strategic plan of the university. “We realised that the development work done so far with the help of partners has been rather fragmented and sometimes even overlapping and inefficient,” said Lwakabamba. The policy document is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of external assistance to the varsity and also to provide a basis on which the additional support required by institution to meet the objectives of the strategic plan can be mobilised. The don said that one major achievement of the just concluded stakeholder conference was that the varsity partners expressed overwhelming support to the policy which they will be able to sign in due course. The policy document on cooperation is in conformity with Rwanda aid policy document approved by the Cabinet on July 26th 2006. According to the policy, in a radical departure from the previous practises the university will be able to prepare one single annual progress and financial report to all financiers with an attendant single annual work plan and review for all its partners. “This will save working time for our academic and administrative staff so that they can have ample time to devote to better planning and for them to deliver higher forms of quality of education and research,” said Lwakabamba. “They expressed their commitment to support our strategic plan. They even suggested new potential sources of financial support,” said Lwakabamba, adding that the academic community was satisfied with the outcomes of the conference. The university’s 5 year strategic plan details out 28 projects that mainly focus on infrastructure, ICT development and capacity building. These projects are expected to cost US$110million. The university has earmarked eleven priority projects which can deliver the greatest impact towards achieving its strategic goals. These projects will have an immediate impact on its ability to fulfill its academic mission and build its internal capacity. The Rector labelled the new strategic plan as ‘achievable’. “Support to the plan is already pouring in. The Koreans are constructing an ICT centre for the University; the Belgians through the Belgian Technical Cooperation are building science laboratories. All this is done in line with our strategic plan,” said Lwakabamba. “It’s a question of knowing what you want and directing your thoughts and support in those areas,” he added. Ends