RGB, MINALOC, NISR to partner in data collection

A tripartite agreement has been signed between the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) and the National Institute of Statistics (NISR) to join hands in gathering data on service delivery and social welfare.The move is aimed at improving the quality of national statistics as well as reducing the cost of collecting data nationwide, according to NISR.“We have started to build a system of administrative data and the horizon is so large. We will start with four sectors: health, population, agriculture and education. And with effect from today, we will begin gathering statistics on governance,” Yusuf Murangwa, the Director General of NISR said earlier this week.“In due course, we will begin building other data collections systems for elements such as infrastructure, energy, water and sanitation but most importantly now, we are laying the foundation for the infrastructure and sourcing the capacity to do it,” Murangwa added.Anastase Shyaka, the CEO of RGB, said that since his institution has the comparative advantage on governance knowledge, it will spearhead data collection on the issues while NISR concentrates on larger censuses and surveys.“RGB has purchased servers, computers and other equipment to be rolled out in all the sectors to facilitate the work of data collectors. The philosophy behind this is to build a modern statistics system in Rwanda overseen by NISR, with the capacity to provide quality information on service delivery and the state of the population,” he disclosed.The Permanent Secretary of MINALOC, Vincent Munyeshyaka, added that the development will reduce the burden placed on citizens during data collection, where they are subjected to answer several questionnaires from various institutions during the exercise.“We believe in the principle of complimenting each other; by pooling together synergies. The three parties will foster and strengthen good governance in the country. Developing quality statistics is a key to good governance,” he added.