Good governance on the right track – new study

Rwanda has registered commendable progress on governance in various sectors, a new study by the Rwanda Governance Advisory Council (RGAC), has shown. The study, dubbed the Governance Score Card, demonstrated the performance of government in different areas including the rule of law, political rights and civil liberties, control of corruption as well as transparency and accountability. Addressing a gathering at the RGAC Open House Day, the organisation’s executive secretary, Prof. Anastase Shyaka, noted that despite the progress, there is still a lot more to do. “We have registered commendable progress on governance, but we still face challenges like judicial backlogs, insufficient political party organisation at local level and poor ratings of government service delivery in certain sectors,” he said, adding that these need to be addressed. The 2010 scorecard indicates that the government has recorded immense progress in ensuring the safety and security of nationals. The scorecard also indicates government’s remarkable performance in investing in the welfare of the people, business and private sector promotion. Safety and security scored 87.26 percent, investing in welfare of the people 82.41 percent, Business promotion and private sector Advocacy 81 percent, control of corruption, Transparency and accountability 76.22 percent , participation and inclusiveness 74 percent and political rights and civil liberties 71.43 percent. The rule of law rated at 67.71 percent while quality of service delivery was the last with 66.21 percent. The data was collected from government institutions, the private sector, civil society organisations, studies and citizen surveys as well as an experts survey. The Minister of Local Government, James Musoni, commended the findings, adding that good governance is a tool that can be used to strengthen not only the economy but the democratisation process as well. “Good governance is regarded today as an essential pre-requisite for human development. It has evolved during this time from its original focus on economic processes and administrative efficiency to a subject with stronger links to democracy, rule of law and participation,” the minister said. The event also attracted other government ministers, local leaders and experts from various organizations. Ends

National

Good governance on the right track – new study