National Consultations and Piloting Processes:

Rwanda Governance Board Ikigo cy Igihugu Gishinzwe Imiyoborere Office Rwandais de la Gouvernance National Consultations and Piloting Processes: Piloting Illustrative SDGs on Governance and Rule of Law: Rwanda Case Prince H. Kayigire, Governance Research Dept, RGB 17 July 2015

Why is it important to measure governance? If you don t measure it, you can t improve it. COMPARISON OF RWANDA GOVERNANCE SCORECARD EDITIONS Indicators Rule of Law Political Rights and Civil Liberties Participation and Inclusiveness Safety and Security Investing in Human and Social Development Control of corruption, Transparency and Accountability Quality of Service delivery Economic and Corporate Governance Score RGS 2010 (%) Score RGS 2012 (%) Score RGS edition 2014 (%) 67.71 73.37 81.68 71.43 73.62 77.05 74.23 75.26 75.36 87.26 91.35 91.96 82.41 78.8 81.54 76.22 77.1 79.04 66.21 70.44 72.00 N/A 74.93 72.20

Goal 16 versus RGS indicators and variables Target SDGs 1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere 2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture against children 3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and ensure equal access to justice for all 4 By 2030 significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen recovery and return of stolen assets, and combat all forms of organized crime Indicators Safety and Security - RGS Variables Maintaining security, National security, Personal and Property Safety, Homicides rates (per 100,000), Battle death (civilians and combatants) on national territory, Gender based violence (GBV) Rule of Law Separation of Power, Performance of the Judiciary, Performance of the Prosecution, Access to Justice, -

Target SDGs Goal 16 versus RGS indicators and variables (Cont d) 5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all its forms 6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels 7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory a n d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e decision-making at all levels RGS Indicators Control of Corruption, Transparency and Accountability Control of Corruption, Transparency and Accountability Participation and Inclusiveness: Variables Incidence of corruption, Control of Corruption, L e v e l o f b r i b e f r e e practices in society; Timely asset declaration; % of annual national budget audited by Office of Auditor General; P e r f o r m a n c e o f Parliamentary Public Account Committee Citizen participation, Civil society participation, G e n d e r p a r i t y i n leadership, Power sharing

Target Goal 16 versus RGS indicators and variables (Cont d) SDGs 8 Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance 9 By 2030 provide legal identity f o r a l l i n c l u d i n g b i r t h registration 10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements Indicators - - Political rights and Civil Liberties RGS Variables Democratic Rights and Freedoms, Vibrancy of Non-State actors in policy formulation, Rights to Media Freedom, Access to Public Information, Existence of the law on access to Public Information Respect for human rights, Core international human rights conventions

Goal 16 versus RGS indicators and variables (Cont d) From the table above, RGS is measuring around 60% of the Goal 16. Hence RGS can serve as a best practice in developing indicators and targets of Goal 16. To consider merging some of the goals and/or targets for better clarity and scoping of indicators and achieving measurement of their targets. Some critical aspects of governance have not been captured in the goal 16 proposed indicators such as : public confidence in security organs and in the judiciary; access to justice as well effectiveness and performance of institutions of accountability.

National Consultations on Piloting Illustrative SDGs on Governance and Rule of Law

Objectives of the SDGs consultations The main objective of the SDG consultations was to acquire inclusive and participatory opinions on governance, peace, and rule of law, from national and sub-national stakeholders, including grassroots communities. The aim was to inform the process for indicators of the post-2015 SDGs to align with national policies and priorities.

Methodology This methodology incorporated both quantitative and qualitative research technics. All the parties involved worked collaboratively on the data collection especially for the qualitative phase to ensure that all the relevant information areas were covered. Quantitative research entailed desk research while qualitative phase entailed video recording and note taking in the specified regions. Qualitative Approach Video Coverage/Filming and Note Taking of consultations. Translations and transcription of films. Report Writing Quantitative Approach Desk Research; Review of pre existing data on governance, targets and indicators

Video Coverage and Note taking participants (Project Stakeholders) Ø 10 JADF Members including 2 executive committee, 2 private sector, 2 international FBO/ NGO, 2 FBO, 2 local NGO Ø 3 District officials (Mayor,Vice-mayor, Director of good governance Ø 2 youth representatives (District level) Ø 2 women representatives (District levels) Ø 3 Security (Army and Police-District levels) Ø 3 council members Ø 1 persons with disabilities representative Ø I Umudugudu (village) representative Ø I cell representative Ø 2 sector executive secretary Ø 5 Mediators committee Ø 1 MAJ Ø 10 others (2 hospital,2 schools, 2 political parties, 2 cooperatives, 2 media)

State Capacity 1) Free and Universal legal Identity The baseline for birth registration is to have all children registered with one year of birth, the target is to reduce this to one month by 2030. Over the last 15 years the progress towards this target has not been consistent. In 2005 the number of registered children was 82% compared to 63% in 2010 despite this, findings from the consultation exercise show that some districts are aware of the benefits of child registration i.e. Kicukiro district. Constant communication to the public reminding them of the need of adult and child registration has helped districts like Huye increase their adult and child registration numbers, and these is one of the key best practice observed. Some of the gaps identified are Registration facilities are not as easily accessible to all and some parents do not see the need of registering their child Key recommendations are birth registration at the hospital or health facility of birth, with a target of one month. Increasing the availability of both birth and adult registration centers to the lowest administrative units, target being one per cell. Conduct a population survey to estimate the extent to which this issue is a problem, in order to scope out the remedial action to be taken.

2) States Financial Sustainability State Capacity (Cont d) Specific districts like Karongi have made good progress in terms of financial sustainability after scoring 98% during the 2012/13 fiscal year and receiving an award from the President, but more needs to be done as it still remains one of the poorest districts nationally. Districts contribution to the district budget still remains low with at least 4 of the 7 districts registering a percentage contribution of 6% or less. Rwanda s dependency on foreign aid has reduced from the baseline of 48% and currently sits at between 30% and 40% Public privte partnerships have helped Kicukiro district raise its economic status, the use and penetration of ICT is also a best practice driving economic growth in the districts, local investment and employment to avoid urban migration Some of the gaps identified are, a significant number of people still live below the poverty line, more efforts are in the urban areas, focus on value addition of agricultural products Key recommendations are create a need for a certain portion of district s budget to be funded through local revenue sources, with an incentive; Reduce overreliance on agriculture and Guide local governments on opportunities to tap into to gain revenue by having new economic initiative that is not agriculture every fiscal year, Promote the use of ICT in managing databases of tax payers in the regions

Openness, Transparency and ICT 1) Public right to information and access to government data Laying of fiber optic cables and guidelines encouraging infrastructure sharing have boosted internet access and affordability. telecenters have also been very beneficial as well as programs like one laptop per child. Access to information law ensures the right of citizens to seek information ICT clinics, Governance month, laws and guidelines put in place, training sessions, ensuring hardware affordability Some of the gaps identified are rural access to internet, electricity, ICT literacy is low, awareness of products, services and benefits is low, initiatives and programs benefiting everybody, Internet or computer uptake is not seen as a priority in day to day life Key recommendations are Enlighten the citizens on the opportunities that exist through the use of ICT technology. Improve internet bandwidth and make it accessible. Support rural electrification as it is a major determinant of ICT growth and development

Openness, Transparency and ICT (Cont d) 2) Disclosure of budgetary information Access to information law has given power to the citizens to seek for information. The enforcing legal framework for that is provided by the Ombudsman office who has the authority to receive and judge cases of lack of disclosure of information. Updated district websites with budgetary information ICT clinics, Governance month, laws and guidelines put in place, training sessions, ensuring hardware affordability. Institutional, legal and policy frameworks geared towards strengthening accountability and promoting transparency at national and local levels i.e. RGB, Ombudsman, PAC and OAG Some of the gaps identified are rural access to internet, electricity, ICT literacy is low, awareness of products, services and benefits is low, initiatives and programs not benefiting everybody, lack of updated district websites, raising the need among citizens to seek out for information Key recommendations are Enlighten the citizens on the opportunities that exist through the use of ICT technology. Improve internet bandwidth and make it accessible. Support rural electrification as it is a major determinant of ICT growth and development, make it a requirement to have budgetary information on district websites, and district offices, make small cheap fliers or brochures that can be given to the public giving information on budget and allocation and use of district funds

1) Participation Participation and Engagement Successful decentralization hence creating administrative units all the way down to the lowest level causing district citizens to take ownership of their own suggested development projects, diverse programs to enhance participation i.e. umuganda and ubudehe. Elections are taken seriously with the most recent one (2013 parliamentary elections) attracting 98% of registered voters. Weekly assembly meeting at sector level between citizens and leaders, Imihigo, Umuganda, SACCO s, Ubudehe, involvement in NGO especially during elections, credible and functioning NEC Low performance in law/policy and program formulation, decision making and evaluation but expected high participation in implementation, weak participation by political parties in promoting citizen participation, low levels of education and snail speed extension of services to low decentralized levels hamper participation of citizens to local development issues. Key recommendations are participation of citizens not just in implementation but also in formulation and decision making, use existing structures to pass across governance messages and activities, protect whistleblowers and citizens voices 15

Participation and Engagement (Cont d) 1) Engagement 68% of CSO s who are registered to JADF fully and consistently participate in JADF s activities. There are legal and institutional frameworks that have been put in place to ensure CSO engagements, this include governance scorecards, civil society development barometer, JADF etc. Government will to put in place policies and programs to assist CSO participation engagement, grants and funds available to these CSO weak participation by CSO in promoting citizen participation, The civil society is also playing an important role with regard to encouraging engagement but it needs to move away from social and political issues and into economic issues that will spur growth and development.

Anti Corruption (Cont d) In Rwanda, the fight against corruption is has resulted in strong ranking for Rwanda both regionally and internationally. Rankings made by the World Bank over the last ten years show that Rwanda has made a considerable step from 20.0% score in 1996 to 70.8% in 2010, emerging the fourth (4th) least corrupt country out of 53 countries in Africa after Botswana (79.9 %), Cape Verde (74.6 %) and Mauritius (73.2 %). According to Transparency International, over the period of 2006 to 2011, corruption has declined from 2.5 out of 10 in 2006 to 5.0 in 2011, appearing the most improved in the East African region. Establishment of Rwanda Public Procurement Authority and the enactment of the procurement law and regulations, public tender procedures have been respected, establishment of the PAC and OAG, Asset declaration law, seasoned Ombudsman office Poor service delivery provides an avenue for corruption, adopt ICT to facilitate procurement activities, Encourage political parties to take action on leader that is engaged in corrupt practices. Use ICT technology to support the open tendering process.

Inclusion and Non-Discrimination NFPO works as a platform where Political Organizations recognized in Rwanda meet and discuss on the country s problems and national policies, in the purpose of consensus building and national cohesion. It is also a framework for conflict mediation between political parties and for the promotion of the code of conduct. Women inclusion in decision making is very impressive in Rwanda especially in the legislative where 64% are women in the chamber of deputies and 40% women in the senate. The Ubudehe Program to alleviate poverty and also give social protection has benefited at a minimum 1.4 million people or 20% of the Rwanda populations, 50,000 people have been trained so far. 14,876 villages have benefited Political will on diversity in decision making, implementable realistic schemes to give power to communities to empower themselves ie Ubudehe, EDPRS process Not all are gaining from the intervention programs put in place, stronger voices of women who are in leadership Empower and encourage women elected and selected to positions of leadership to strengthen their voice in leadership issues. Strengthen the national identity for all Rwandans to elicit pride in their heritage, as well as strengthen the country s unified vision and voice

Justice and Rule of Law Home grown solutions are providing people with quality much needed justice. Access to legal aid through MAJ, handling of local disputes through Mediation committee, GBV Isange one stop centres, Abolition of the death penalty Community based approaches like MAJ and mediators 9Abunzi) and UGBR For women s right of inheritance, it was stated that unless parents are willing to leave property for their daughters to inherit, the measures taken to allow women to inherit property will not be enjoyed. Gaps in the efficiency of the courts (not local courts) in how quick they serve. More judges etc Empower and encourage women elected and selected to positions of leadership to strengthen their voice in leadership issues. Strengthen the national identity for all Rwandans to elicit pride in their heritage, as well as strengthen the country s unified vision and voice.

Conclusion and the way forward Rwanda s governance model has given rise to remarkable progress in the socioeconomic transformation; Rwanda Governance Scorecard is serving as a governance barometer both at national as well as international level; Development tracking in terms of the national vision (Vision 2020) and its mid-term program of (EDPRS) ensured the successful combination of governance and development into this process of continuous assessment, a culture that has been entrenched in Rwanda; Rwanda s experience shows that governance has played a key role in generating and consolidating development gains. More specifically, unconventional approaches to unlock societal challenges have delivered results beyond original expectations, and in all sectors; This report has showed that a number of indicators in the SDGs are aligned with the Rwandan Governance Scorecard. This is a positive outlook in terms of anticipating their successful implementation and tracking. Noteworthy, governance and rule of law are measurable. Precisely, considering all post 2015 SDGs targets/indicators, 34% of all indicators are measured through Rwanda Governance Scorecard and they are represented in 12 out of 17 Goals (70%) making up SDGs while the Goal 16 is measured through RGS at 60% level. The piloting of SDGs allowed Rwanda, through RGB, to actualize and renew own indicators of governance (RGS).

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