Full in-tray for team of new local leaders after pandemic
Thursday September 23 2021
Outgoing local leaders came under scrutiny over poor performance on key promises in President Kagame’s manifesto such as job creation, infrastructure development, and social welfare with projects ranging from construction and rehabilitation of roads and housing. PHOTO | FILE
Incoming local leaders, expected after elections to be called soon, will enter an office bursting at the seams with citizens’ complaints, delayed projects and social ills either induced or exacerbated by the pandemic.
In particular, the leaders who are elected for a five-year term will come under pressure to fulfill promises under President Paul Kagame’s political agenda ahead of the expiry of his seven-year third term, with presidential elections scheduled for 2024.
The Cabinet recently approved the resumption of the polls for over 10,000 local authorities, which had been suspended in February last year due to the pandemic.
Now aspirants are waiting for the electoral commission to release the calendar before campaigns and voting can take place.
For close to a year and a half, the pandemic not only took a heavy toll on socio-economic gains that had been made but also saw resources and efforts diverted towards containing the virus spread.
“They will have to work extra hard for the government to achieve what was planned in the set period. They will not be starting from zero because districts already have development plans and performance contracts, but it won’t be business as usual,” said Joseph Nkurunziza Ryarasa, chairperson of the Rwanda Civil Society Platform.
The pandemic led to a decline in districts’ own revenue generation while many could struggle to secure significant central government allocation due to competing priorities.
Resources
Actors in local government say among the big challenges incoming leaders could face is mobilising resources for socio-economic projects that have not moved as planned.
The Auditor-General reported last year more than 62 contracts, mainly public projects worth Rwf216.1 billion that were delayed for up to 2,721 days.
“They will have to be innovative and prudent so the little available resources available can help achieve the maximum possible results. This is only possible if they manage to eradicate rampant corrupt practices and mismanagement behind delay and losses in implementation of projects,” observed a former mayor in an interview with Rwanda Today.
Performance contracts (Imihigo) particularly bore the brunt of the pandemic after activities came to a halt due to lockdowns.
Outgoing local leaders came under scrutiny over poor performance on key promises in President Kagame’s manifesto such as job creation, infrastructure development, and social welfare with projects ranging from construction and rehabilitation of roads, housing, water, power, and health infrastructure.
President Kagame called their performance into question in August 2019 when he rejected proposals in performance contracts, saying they lacked clear targets on social issues around housing, sanitation, among other critical components of citizens’ welfare.
This was followed by widespread sackings and resignations of officials in both senior and junior local government positions in about half of the country’s 30 districts.