First governance scorecard due tomorrow

The Rwanda Governance Advisory Council (RGAC) will, tomorrow, release the findings of the first Rwanda governance scorecard from a survey conducted last year. RGAC is the national institution responsible for the promotion and monitoring good governance in politics, public, corporate and civil domains in Rwanda through research and assessment, with the aim of achieving sustainable development. The Rwanda Governance scorecard 2010 will demonstrate the performance of the government in different areas like the rule of law, political rights and civil liberties, control of corruption and transparency and accountability, participation and inclusiveness. The scorecard will also indicate government’s performance in investing in people, safety and security and business promotion as well as private sector advocacy. According to Prof Anastase Shyaka, the RGAC Executive Secretary, the aim of releasing the findings is to reveal the government’s performance to not only nationals but the international community as well. “This is going to be our first time we are doing it and it will be annual. Our aim is to show the people where the government has failed and where it has succeeded,” Shyaka said. “The Rwanda scorecard will be a source of data to media and international people who want to know the performance of the government of Rwanda in different fields.” The scorecard’s data was collected from government institutions, private sector, civil society organisations, studies and citizen surveys as well as experts’ survey. As a way of promoting the civil society, media and academia in the country, the organization will host the “RGAC Open House Day”, tomorrow. RGAC plans to allocate Rwf110 million worth of grants to civil society organisations with the aim of promoting good governance. “In every functioning democracy based on good governance, it’s important that civil societies, media and academia are considered. They need capacity to reach out to the public in order to enhance their role in governance processes,” Shyaka said. Some of the civil societies expected to benefit from the grant include Association for Human Rights Promotion and Development (AJPRODHO), Community of Potters of Rwanda (COPORWA) and Health Development Initiative among others. According to Alphonse Nkusi, a media and political governance analyst, the event will be attended by government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, the civil society, private sector, media as well as academia. Ends

National

First governance scorecard due tomorrow