Rwanda has become an African leader in delivering quality services to its citizens in areas like healthcare, agricultural transformation and dynamic public administration.Lamin Momodou Manneh, the UN Resident Coordinator for Rwanda, made the remarks Thursday during a visit to Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) where he met the board’s Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Anastase Shyaka, to assess the country’s governance roadmap.“Rwanda has indicated to developing countries that with committed leadership, they can achieve transformation. With respect to governance, I have noted from the Rwanda Governance Board that the initiatives being implemented and planned have full backing from the country’s leadership,” he said. Manneh affirmed the UN’s commitment to partner with the board to deepen the country’s governance process. “The originality of the initiatives in Rwanda are being implemented against many odds, and what I can do in my capacity is to encourage the government to carry on; do not shy away or stop this transformational path because it will pay off by improving the lives of Rwandans.”He added that whereas commitment from the leaders is a normal requirement for countries to move forward, it was still rare in Africa.“There are success stories in Africa such as Ghana, Botswana, to name but a few, but Rwanda is the leader in this area. Whereas public administration is part and parcel of the challenges affecting African states, in Rwanda public institutions are leading the way for good governance,” Manneh said.“The principles of governance are not new to Rwanda. Evidently, the country has made significant progress in the areas of peace and reconciliation, restoration of law and order and democratization”.In his remarks, Professor Shyaka said that he aims to work closely working with the UN as the country strives to meet its development targets.“I am optimistic that Rwanda will be able to achieve its Vision 2020 target to make the country a middle income country as long as our institutions’ capacities are strengthened to continue, public sector reform, democratization, anti-corruption and mutual accountability measures,” Shyaka said.
