Factors Affecting Service Delivery in Local Governments-2

8/12/2019 Factors Affecting Service Delivery in Local Governments-2

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Kigali International Airport Boulevard, 1st

Floor Sunrise House, BP 7249 Kigali

Tel. +250 788309471/ +250 788309472, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.ralgarwanda.org

FACTORS AFFECTING SERVICE DELIVERYIN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

A STUDY REPORT

June, 2010


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LIST OF ACCRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS

RALGA: Rwandese Association of Local Government Authorities

CRC: Citizen Report Card

CSC: Community Score Card

OSSREA: Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and SouthernAfrica

MINALOC: Ministry of Local Governments

MINECOFIN: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

e.g.: example

NURC: National Unity and Reconciliation Commission

MDGs: Millennium Development Goals

EDPRS: Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy

AIDS: Acquired Immuno-defficiency Syndrom

KCC: Kigali City Council

CC: City Council

HR: Human Resources

NGOs: Non Governmental Organizations

ID: Identity Card

No.: Number


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

RALGA wishes to acknowledge the support and efforts of a number of persons in making

this study and report possible. Special thanks go to the executive secretaries and thetechnical staff of the districts contacted for their valuable information provided to the data

collectors. RALGA appreciates the job well done by the data collectors for the hard work

and commitment they manifested to accomplish the data collection process, their inputs into

this report are highly regarded. Finally, RALGA recognizes all those who contributed

directly or indirectly to the successful accomplishment of this study, their contribution is

highly valued.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ACCRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................................... 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................................ 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................................ 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................... 5

1.0 GENERAL INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 11

1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 11

1.2 Rationale of the Study ................................................................................................................... 11

2.0 STUDY METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................... 17

2.1 Study Approach ............................................................................................................................. 17

2.2 Sampling .......................................................................................................................................... 17

2.3 Sources of data ................................................................................................................................ 18

2.4 Data collection methods ................................................................................................................ 18

3.0 MAJOR FINDINGS .................................................................................................................................. 19

3.1 Framework Conditions Facilitating Service Delivery in Local Governments ....................... 19

3.1.1 Macro Level .......................................................................................................................... 19

3.1.2 Micro Level ........................................................................................................................... 21

3.2 Local Government Structure ........................................................................................................ 21

3.3 Availability of Service Delivery Guidelines/Rules and Compliance to those Guidelines .. 27

3.4 Monitoring and Evaluation of Service Delivery in Local Governments ................................ 29

3.5 Services that are poorly provided ................................................................................................ 29

3.6 Causes of Poor, Inadequate or Lack of Service Provision in the Local Governments.......... 31

4.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................... 35

4.1 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 35

4.2 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 35

4.3 Action Plan for Implementation of Recommendations ............................................................ 37

5.0 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 42

6.0 ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................... 43

Annex 1: Terms of Reference .............................................................................................................. 43

Annex 2: Checklist for Interviews/Focus Group Discussion ........................................................ 46

Annex 3: Districts Visited and List of Persons Interviewed .......................................................... 51


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.0Study ContextSome studies have been carried out to explore citizen perceptions and satisfaction on service

delivery in Rwanda. Most specifically, those studies carried out in Local Governments (see

CRC/CSC 2006, 2009) studied service delivery in Local Governments from the community

perspective and highlighted some service areas that are performing poorly. However, these

studies did not explore causes of inadequate service delivery from the viewpoint of the

service providers. This study, therefore, serves that purpose.

2.0Study Objectives

The main objectives of the study were:

To identify the service providing units in Local Governments as well as the kind ofservices required by local communities;

To determine whether there are guidelines/rules for service delivery and the degreeof compliance with those rules;

To identify which services are poorly provided; To establish the causes of poor, inadequate or lack of service provision by category of

service delivered by Local Governments and highlight the gaps;

To make an in depth analysis and compare with issues and recommendations fromthe Rwanda Citizen Report and Community Score Cards of 2009 and the study of

IPAR on Developing Customer service delivery Policy within the framework of

services delivered by Local Governments.

To recommend precise actions to be implemented to improve service delivery byLocal Governments, i.e. propose a plan of action.

3.0MethodologyThis study was carried out in the four provinces of Rwanda plus the City of Kigali but two

Districts were sampled from each Province and the City of Kigali, totaling to ten Districts in

the sample. Sampling was done on the basis of the complaints submitted to the District by

various citizens (see the Ombudsmans Activity Report, 2008). These complaints were


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related to poor service delivery in general by the Local Governments personnel. A District

that received fewer complaints was presumably considered as the best in service delivery,

while the one with the highest number of complaints was considered as the worst. This

consideration was made to ensure representativeness of the Districts in the sample.

4.0Major Findings

4.1 Service Providing Units and Categories of Services Delivered in Local Governments

In particular, the District has three main administrative levels, i.e. the District elected

council; the Executive Committee composed of the Mayor, 2 Vice Mayors and the Executive

Secretary; and the technical staff. The technical staff level comprises different service

providing units. The following service providing units were identified in the Districts:

Lands; Education; Health; Environment, Hygiene and Sanitation; Agriculture;

Infrastructure; Justice; Good Governance; Administration and HR.

Evidence shows that there are still issues that need to be addressed in the whole process of

service delivery in the Local Governments. For example, it was found out that there are still

long queues at the Districts especially to get land related services and notary services.

It was found out that except the Districts of Kigali City where land related services and

notary services are mostly demanded by the population, all other visited districts had land

and social assistance as the most demanded services by the population while at the sector

level, civil registration has been found to be the most demanded service.

Policy implication of the above findings is that since decentralization is a gradual process,

decisions to decentralize some of the services delivered at the District to the lower

administrative levels needs to be taken based on the services that are most demanded by the

population in a particular district so as to shed off some demanding duties from the District.

4.2 Availability of Service Delivery Guidelines/Rules and Compliance to those

Guidelines

Findings revealed that most of the Districts visited have service delivery guidelines. The

guidelines are categorized into two:

i. Those guidelines provided at the national level (e.g. National Standards for SchoolConstruction, Health Facility Construction, Pharmacies, Environmental


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Management, Law No 08/2006 of 26/02/2006 determining the organization and

functioning of the District, Organic Law No37/2006 of 12/09/2006 on State Finances

and Property, No12/2007 of 27/03/2007 on Public Procurement, etc

ii. Guidelines related to internal organization of the District and service delivery unitsin particular and how services should be delivered to the end user (e.g. District

Executive Committee minutes and District Council resolutions, list of requirements

to get a specific service, time taken to deliver a service, feedback mechanisms, etc)

The first category of guidelines is readily available since these are the basic documents

guiding service delivery at the national level. However, though these documents are readily

available for public consumption, there is a feel that they are rarely consulted since no singleDistrict was able to provide physical evidence of the existence of some of these documents in

the units visited. The second category was under evidence found to exist in some Districts

(e.g. Rulindo, Musanze, Rutsiro, Rubavu, Gisagara, Kicukiro and Gasabo), while others were

claimed to exist but no evidence was provided.

Nevertheless, it was not easy to ascertain the degree of compliance to these guidelines by the

Districts visited since this can only be inferred through a comprehensive customer

satisfaction survey on certain specific issues.

4.3 Services that Are Poorly Provided

Evidence shows that the services highlighted to be poorly provided are related to those that

are most demanded by the population. Land related issues, notary services and social

assistance (financial support to vulnerable groups) were mentioned to be poorly provided.

Poor delivery in the above service areas may be inter aliaassociated with lack of capacity in

terms of human and financial resources. For example, lands bureau is one of the most visited

service areas in the Districts and the staff in the lands bureau are always overwhelmed by

the work load such that they in most cases fail to meet customer expectations. However,

Kicukiro and Gasabo Districts have subcontracted some of the services (e.g. land surveying,

deed plans and cleaning services) and according to the interviews conducted; this has had a

very great impact in terms of service volume and the speed of delivery.


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4.4 Monitoring and Evaluation

Though reports from village level (Umudugudu), Cells and Sectors are regularly transmitted

to the Districts and field visits are regularly organized by both the Districts and Sectors, they

are, however, still handicapped by lack of data base system that guides planning,

monitoring and evaluation. To ensure that services are delivered as planned, monitoring

and evaluation mechanisms are to be in place. Local Governments need a system that allows

them to follow up and evaluate the effectiveness of services delivered to the general

population in order to undertake corrective measures where need arises.

4.5 Causes of Poor, Inadequate or Lack of Service Provision in the Local Governments

Findings show that lack of staff; insufficient financial means; lack of database to facilitate

planning, monitoring and evaluation; lack of motivation among staff due to low salaries, job

instability and high work load; and means of transport and communication for supervision

of activities are the most pressing factors influencing service delivery in Local Governments

The factors highlighted above have been presented according to the order of importance.

This will help the policy makers to determine areas of priority where resources should be

focused in a bid to address issues that impact on the quality and quantity of services

delivered to the population.

4.6 Conclusion

Factors affecting service delivery in local governments as identified during the course of this

study are mainly capacity issues and may not have been exhaustively mentioned by the

respondents contacted. Capacity issues in this respect are, inter alia, related to resources

(financial, human mainly in terms of quantity, equipment, information, time, etc).

However, these are the most pressing ones that seriously influence the quantity and quality

of services provided by the local governments. It is, therefore, important to find a

mechanism for addressing each of the issues identified in a bid to improve service delivery

in local governments.

4.7 Recommendations

i. Insufficient staff affects significantly the quality and quantity of services provided.Staff turnover in Local Governments has been overwhelming due to low salaries, job

insecurity, heavy work load, etcThe Central Government should find mechanisms


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of addressing these issues. Retention strategies (e.g. revising salary structures and

other work-related benefits, initiating staff development programs, etc) should be

instituted to reduce staff turnover.

ii. The Local Governments should stock-take the services that may possibly bedelivered through subcontracts while the Local Government remains with a

supervisory role. This has already proved to be one of the effective ways of ensuring

effectiveness in service delivery.

iii. Due to high demand of some services offered at the District level while there islimited staff, it is important to accelerate the process of decentralizing more services

to the sectors. However, the effectiveness of this will greatly depend on the degree of

financial autonomy given to the sectors so as to be able to provide these services.

iv. Local Governments should explore other sources of fundingv. The local governments should explore other sources of funding to be able to

supplement the funds provided by the central government and other donors. For

example, negotiate with the Government to increase more tax sources for the Local

Governments.

vi. More negotiations should be made between the Local Governments and the donorson the urgency of making timely disbursements to the Local Governments. However,

it is important that the Local Governments revisit their compliance to the donor

requirements prior to making any disbursements, for example, timely planning,

reporting and presentation of clear justifications on the uses of funds.

vii. As many and unplanned meetings interrupt the normal activity plans in the LocalGovernments, hence, affecting effectiveness in the achievement of intended goals, a

meeting should be organized for the Local Governments, Provinces and MINALOC

to discuss the above issue and set up mechanisms for the Province to coordinate the

Local Governments without necessarily interrupting in their normal workingschedules. For example, identify kinds of meetings to take place in the year (e.g.

planning, coordination, evaluation) and allocate them either monthly, or quarterly so

as to allow the Local Governments to integrate them in their annual plans.

viii. It is important to conduct a customer satisfaction survey so as to assess the issue ofcustomer care in the Local Governments. This needs to be spearheaded by the

Central Government since it is not in RALGAs mandate. However, the findings

from this study may help RALGA to further understand the status of customer care


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in the Local Governments and areas that need its intervention for more

improvement.

ix. As staff in different service units in the Local Governments lack trainings in theircore areas of responsibility, training needs assessment should be done to identify key

training areas and build their capacities needed for them to improve their skills

necessary to improve service delivery.

x. Possibility of initiating or strengthening long term twinning arrangements with otherLocal Governments in other countries should be explored. This will benefit the

Rwandan Local Governments in terms of technical expertise where staff may be

going to those countries for job shadowing and learn best practices that may be

replicated in the Rwandan situation.

xi. There is a need to bring together all the Local Governments units to thoroughlydiscuss the issue of service delivery in their respective units, develop service delivery

commitment or charter with service standards that should be adhered to. This should

be subject to annual review and upgrading overtime.

xii. Planning, monitoring and evaluation need to be informed by facts and figures toachieve better results. In light of this, the following need to be done:

(a) Trainings on Result Based Management (RBM) should be organized for the staff bothof the districts and the sectors so as to equip them with necessary skills required in

planning, monitoring and evaluation

(b) Conduct a baseline study to document information on different service areas (e.g.education, health, environment, agriculture, land related issues, etc) and develop a

database that will be continuously updated overtime as need arises.


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1.0 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Rwandese Association of Local Government Authorities abbreviated as RALGA is a legally

registered Non Profit Organization at a national level representing all Local Government

authorities of Rwanda. It has a mandate of representing all its members at all levels. In

addition to that, it carries out lobbying and advocacy activities to cater for the interests of the

members. Further, RALGA is charged with the responsibility of ensuring its members get

the most relevant, quality, and needed capacity for both the political leadership and

technical management of the districts. In brief, RALGAs mandate is lobbying/advocacy,

capacity building, and representation.

Within the scope of that mandate, RALGA commissioned a study on service delivery in

Local Governments subsequent to the general observation of poor service provision in

Rwanda, that included services provided by Local Governments.

1.2 Rationale of the Study

A number of studies have been carried out to explore citizen perception and satisfaction on

service delivery in Rwanda including services provided in the Local Governments.

The Rwanda Citizen Report and Community Score Cards study was conducted in 2006 with

the aim to gather data and information on a pilot scale regarding how citizens rate the

quantity and quality of services delivered in the health and education sectors.1 This study

shed light on the need for strengthening policy instruments and interventions in relation to

service delivery. Except some differences between urban and rural service facilities the score

cards presented a clearer picture of weak spots that needed to be focused on. For example,

lack of laboratories and equipment in schools; dilapidated school buildings; short supply of

furniture and books, congested classes, lack of school lunches, and delays in transfers to the

schools accounts among others. The study indicated that health facilities were generally

good especially in towns despite overcrowding of the people needing health services. Lack

of ambulatory services, health insurance, and low salaries were also reported to be a

common issue of concern.

1OSSREA Rwanda Chapter: Citizen Reports and Community Score Cards (2006)


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On the other hand, the Citizen Report and Community Score Cards conducted in 2009

analyzed service delivery in the eight service areas in the Local Governments; namely,

Administration sector, Education, Health, Hygiene and Sanitation, Infrastructure, Justice,

and Water. Conclusions from this study indicate high appreciation of the service into which

the community participation is high. According to the study, this phenomenon signifies the

positive results of effective decentralization,2and it underscores the relevance of providing

more support to the decentralised levels and empowering the Local Government personnel

to get closer to the population at grass root levels to ensure more community participation in

the decision making process. However, though citizens noted a significant improvement in

service delivery by Local Governments, they also highlighted the following shortfalls:

Inadequate information sharing among various levels of administration Accessibility to agriculture credits and related benefits Participation by males in reproductive health The public awareness and understanding of laws and regulations

For those service delivery areas that were perceived by the communities to be poorly

provided, the main reason for poor delivery was linked to limited capacity of service

providers, for example, health workers, agricultural extension staff, teachers, the community

volunteers, etc Low satisfaction level by the communities was expressed for public offices,

market facilities, access to energy and other infrastructures like water supply and protection

of sources, and maintenance of the public infrastructure.

In January 2010, the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research in Rwanda published the

findings on the study entitled Developing Customer Service Delivery Policy. Findings

from this study show that poor service delivery is endemic in Rwanda. Though the study

focused much on service delivery in the private sector and customer care in particular, its

findings are relevant also in improving service delivery in the public sector, most specifically

improving how the Local Governments deal or relate to the general citizenry during the

service delivery process. This study also highlights the experiences and lessons learnt from

elsewhere in the world in regard to how service delivery may be improved. It shows a

number of initiatives taken by Governments to improve customer service delivery. Most

interesting is the initiative undertaken by the South African Government to transform public

service delivery, recognising the citizen as a central unit in this process (Batho Pele-People2MINALOC: The Rwanda Citizen Report and Community Score Cards Reports, 2009


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First). This, according to the study, was introduced in 2004 and the aim is to make a better life

for South Africans by putting people first and together beating the drum for service delivery. Eight

Batho Pele principles were developed to serve as acceptable policy and legislative

framework regarding service delivery in the public service.3

Box 1: The Batho Pele Principles

1. ConsultationThere are many ways to consult users of services including conducting customersurveys, interviews with individual users, consultation with groups, and holdingmeetings with consumer representative bodies, NGOs and CBOs. Often, more thanone method of consultation will be necessary to ensure comprehensiveness andrepresentativeness. Consultation is a powerful tool that enriches and shapesgovernment policies such as the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and its

implementation in Local Government sphere.

2. Setting service standardsThis principle reinforces the need for benchmarks to constantly measure the extent towhich citizens are satisfied with the service or products they receive fromdepartments. It also plays a critical role in the development of service deliveryimprovement plans to ensure a better life for all South Africans. Citizens should beinvolved in the development of service standards.

Required are standards that are precise and measurable so that users can judge forthemselves whether or not they are receiving what was promised. Some standardswill cover processes, such as the length of time taken to authorize a housing claim, toissue a passport or identity document,

or even to respond to letters.

To achieve the goal of making South Africa globally competitive, standards shouldbe benchmarked (where applicable) against those used internationally, taking intoaccount South Africa's current level of development.

3.

Increasing access

One of the prime aims of Batho Pele is to provide a framework for making decisionsabout delivering public services to the many South Africans who do not have accessto them. Batho Pele also aims to rectify the inequalities in the distribution of existingservices. Examples of initiatives by government to improve access to services includesuch platforms as the Gateway, Multi-Purpose Community Centers and Call Centers.

Access to information and services empowers citizens and creates value for money,quality services. It reduces unnecessary expenditure for the citizens.

3http://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asp;accessed on 22

ndJune 2010
http://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asphttp://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asphttp://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asphttp://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asp


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4. Ensuring courtesyThis goes beyond a polite smile, 'please' and 'thank you'. It requires service providersto empathize with the citizens and treat them with as much consideration andrespect, as they would like for themselves.

The public service is committed to continuous, honest and transparentcommunication with the citizens. This involves communication of services, products,information and problems, which may hamper or delay the efficient delivery ofservices to promised standards. If applied properly, the principle will help demystifythe negative perceptions that the citizens in general have about the attitude of thepublic servants.

5. Providing informationAs a requirement, available information about services should be at the point of

delivery, but for users who are far from the point of delivery, other arrangementswill be needed. In line with the definition of customer in this document, managersand employees should regularly seek to make information about the organization,and all other service delivery related matters available to fellow staff members.

6. Openness and transparencyA key aspect of openness and transparency is that the public should know moreabout the way national, provincial and local government institutions operate, howwell they utilize the resources they consume, and who is in charge. It is anticipatedthat the public will take advantage of this principle and make suggestions forimprovement of service delivery mechanisms, and to even make governmentemployees accountable and responsible by raising queries with them.

7. RedressThis principle emphasizes a need to identify quickly and accurately when servicesare falling below the promised standard and to have procedures in place to remedythe situation. This should be done at the individual transactional level with the

public, as well as at the organizational level, in relation to the entire service deliveryprogram.

Public servants are encouraged to welcome complaints as an opportunity to improveservice, and to deal with complaints so that weaknesses can be remedied quickly forthe good of the citizen.

8. Value for moneyMany improvements that the public would like to see often require no additionalresources and can sometimes even reduce costs. Failure to give a member of the

public a simple, satisfactory explanation to an enquiry may for example, result in anincorrectly completed application form, which will cost time to rectify.


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Source: Extracted fromhttp://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asp

Ombudsmans activity report (2008) presented findings on a study carried out in a cross

section of Local Government units in Rwanda. This report presents perceptions of the

population regarding the general conduct of the business in Local Governments. It

documents the number of complaints submitted to each of the district by the general

citizenry. These complaints were related to corruption practices, unfair treatment and/or

poor service delivery by the District personnel.

The review of Rwanda Decentralization Policy was done in 2006. This was subsequent to the

challenges identified by various studies on Rwandas decentralization process (e.g. NationalUnity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) surveys on decentralization in 2003; the

Impact Evaluation of Decentralization of 2003; the 2004 study on Fiscal Capacities and

Potentials; a study on Harmonization of Interventions and Approaches in Decentralization

(2005); the MINALOC Institutional Study, 2005; and the MINALOC study on the Situation

Analysis of Decentralized Service Delivery, 2005). See box 2.

Box 2: Challenges Faced by the Local Governments in Implementing RwandasDecentralization Process

Lack of capacity at District levels to develop well integrated development and actionplans.

Weak awareness of national laws and bylaws among Local Government leadership. Inadequate financial resources and lack of budget discipline leading to budget

deficits. Low capacity and inadequate resources in Local Governments to meet their

obligations to the citizens.

Inadequate coordination of interventions; nonintegrated plans at all levels andabsence of effective monitoring and evaluation systems.

Tendency for externally funded projects to operate in tandem with decentralizedstructures, thus denying the districts an opportunity to build on synergies anderoding the already weak capacities in Local Governments.

Lack of ownership of community development plans by citizens. Low access to basicservices.

Source: Republic of Rwanda:Making Decentralized Service Delivery Work in Rwanda. Putting People at the

Center of Service Provision, 2006.
http://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asphttp://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asphttp://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asphttp://www.dpsa.gov.za/batho-pele/Principles.asp


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However, notwithstanding the relevance of the findings from the studies highlighted in this

section, for example, Citizen and Community Score Cards (2006, 2009); Ombudsmans

activity report (2008); Developing Customer Service Delivery Policy (2010), etc, it is also

important to note that the findings and conclusions presented in these reports are only

based at a great extent on the data collected from the users of the services provided by the

Local Governments. Though there has been generally a remarkable improvement in the local

governments service delivery over the last 16 years, issues highlighted in the

aforementioned study findings cannot be overemphasized.

The challenges in the Local Governments mentioned in the previous studies (Box 2), needed

to be validated during the conduct of citizen satisfaction surveys on service delivery in the

Local Governments so as to ascertain whether some of the challenges that could possibly

affect quality and quantity of service delivery were still holding. The reports mark a very

clear information gap, where issues are highlighted with regard to how services are

delivered, and nothing has hitherto been done to analyze, from the service provider

perspective, the causes for poor service delivery in certain areas of service provision in the

Local Governments. This calls for a need to conduct this study.

The main objectives of the study are presented below:

a) To identify the service providing units in local governments as well as the kind ofservices required by local communities;

b) To determine whether there are guidelines/rules for service delivery and the degree ofcompliance with those rules;

c) To identify which services are poorly provided;d) To establish the causes of poor, inadequate or lack of service provision by category of

service delivered by Local Governments and highlight the gaps;

e) To make an in depth analysis and compare with issues and recommendations from theRwanda Citizen Report and Community Score Cards of 2009 and the study of IPAR on

Developing Customer service delivery Policy within the framework of services

delivered by Local Governments.

f) To recommend precise actions to be implemented to improve service delivery by LocalGovernments, i.e. propose a plan of action.


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2.0 STUDY METHODOLOGY

The study methodology was rigorous enough to ensure a sound analysis of service delivery

in the Local Governments. The assessment tools were developed for effectively carrying out

the assignment and these tools were the same for all the units of inquiry in the Districts.

2.1 Study Approach

The study approach in this assignment was mainly at ensuring that:

There is adequate stakeholder participation during the data collection There is clear understanding of the issues involved in this study on service delivery

2.2 Sampling

We carried out a study on service delivery in the four Provinces of Rwanda plus the City of

Kigali. However, two Districts were sampled from each Province and the City of Kigali.

2.2.1 Basis of Sampling

Sampling was done on the basis of the complaints submitted to the district by various

citizens (see the Ombudsmans Activity Report, 2008). These complaints were related to

poor service delivery in general by the Local Governments personnel. A District that

received fewer complaints was presumably considered as the best in service delivery, while

the one with the highest number of complaints was considered as the worst.

Table 1: Complaints Received in Writing by the Districts

Province District Frequency Percent Ranking

West Karongi 39 15 4Ngororero 27 10 2Nyabihu 43 16 6Nyamasheke 42 16 5Rubavu 65 24 7Rusizi 31 12 3Rutsiro 19 7 1Total 266 100

East Bugesera 34 11 2Gatsibo 55 19 6Kayonza 36 12 3Kirehe 19 6 1Ngoma 36 12 3Nyagatare 53 18 5Rwamagana 64 22 7Total 297 100

South Gisagara 20 8 1Huye 38 15 6


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Kamonyi 55 21 8Muhanga 38 15 6Nyamagabe 27 10 4Nyanza 26 10 3Nyaruguru 21 8 2Ruhango 37 14 5Total 262 100

North Burera 33 16 2Gakenke 48 23 4Gicumbi 44 21 3Musanze 54 26 5Rulindo 27 13 1Total 206 100

Kigali City Gasabo 238 44 3Kicukiro 141 26 1Nyarugenge 159 30 2

Total 538 100

Source: Ombudsmans Activity Report, 2008

Table 2: Sample of the Districts According to the Ranking in Service Delivery

Province District Rank

West Rutsiro 1

Rubavu 7

East Kirehe 1

Rwamagana 7

South Gisagara 1

Kamonyi 8North Musanze 5

Rulindo 1

Kigali City Gasabo 3

Kicukiro 1

Total sampled districts 10

Note: West: 1=best; 7=worst; East: 1=best; 7=worst; South: 1=best; 8=worst; North: 1=best; 5=worst

Kigali City: 1=best; 3=worst

2.3 Sources of data

Major sources of data were the district authorities and different heads of department at the

district. Various documents/reports were also useful source of data.

2.4 Data collection methods

Data collection methods included: document review; interviews with key informants; and

focus group discussions.


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3.0 MAJOR FINDINGS

3.1 Framework Conditions Facilitating Service Delivery in Local Governments

The Government of Rwanda has recognized the need to create conducive environment to

accommodate sustainable development process. It is in this context that various policy

documents have either been adopted or developed to guide the country into this process.

These documents create favorable framework conditions that facilitate service delivery in

the Local Governments. At the macro level, the following policy documents are inter alia

considered: Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Vision 2020, National Decentralization

Policy, Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), Community

Development Policy, the 7-year National Political Program (2003-2010), and National

Strategy Framework on Strengthening Good Governance for Poverty Reduction in Rwanda.

At micro level, there are District Development Plans and Performance Contracts.

3.1.1 Macro Level

3.1.1.1Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eightinternational development goals thatall 192United Nationsmember states and at least 23international organizations have agreed

to achieve by the year 2015. These include eradication of extreme poverty and hunger;

promotion of gender; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health, combat AIDS,

malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and global partnerships.4

3.1.1.2Vision 2020Vision 2020 is the long term framework for Rwanda's development. It seeks to transform

Rwanda into a middle-income country by the year 2020. This will require achieving annual

per capita income of US$ 900 (US$ 220 in 2000), a poverty rate of 30% (60.4% in 2000) and an

average life expectancy of 55 years (49 years in 2000). The pillars of Vision 2020 are:

i) the reconstruction of the nation and its social capital; ii) the development of a credible and

efficient state governed by the rule of law; iii) human resource development in line with the

objective of turning Rwanda into a prosperous knowledge-based economy; iv) development

4MINECOFIN, Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (2008-2012), September 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_developmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_member_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_organizationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_organizationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_member_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_development


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of basic infrastructure, including urban planning; v) development of entrepreneurship and

the private sector; and vi) development of agriculture and animal husbandry.

Implementation targets for these pillars have been developed.

3.1.1.3National Decentralization PolicyThe National Decentralization Policy was adopted in May 2000 to achieve three main goals:

good governance, pro-poor service delivery and sustainable socio-economic development.

Bad governance, extreme poverty and exclusive political processes were identified as some

of the main underlying causes of the genocide. In this context, decentralization is taken as an

instrument for peoples political empowerment, reconciliation, social integration and well

being. It is intended to give the power to the people and enable them execute their

development.

3.1.1.4Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS)The Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) is a medium-term

framework for achieving Rwandas Vision 2020. It was launched in 2007 and provides a

comprehensive analysis of the causes of poverty and focuses on three flagship programs for

cross-sectoral coordination: i) Growth for jobs and exports; ii) Vision 2020 Umurenge; and

iii) Governance.

3.1.1.5Community Development PolicyThe Community Development Policy offers a framework for how the development goals of

the EDPRS can be attained with the community as the major stakeholder (Ministry of Local

Government, 2008). It has been formulated with the aim of empowering the Rwandan

community to exercise its powers in decision making in order to promote its development.

The main guiding principles for this policy implementation are grass roots communityparticipation, exploitation of local potential, promotion of commerce, continuous

improvement, enhancing a culture of transparency and accountability and common benefit.

3.1.1.6The 7-Year National Political Program (2003-2010)The 7-year National Political Program (2003-2010) is geared towards improving the welfare

of the population through community mobilization, strengthening of governance, improved

justice and economic development.


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3.1.1.7National Strategy Framework on Strengthening Good Governance for PovertyReduction in Rwanda

The government, having recognized good governance as a cornerstone to fighting poverty,

developed a national strategy framework on good governance for poverty reduction. This

strategy framework is articulated around institutional strengthening and coordination, unity

and reconciliation, peace and security, social welfare of the population, civil society and

private sector, and economic planning and management. The respective program was

drafted in 2002. It presents the way the Government of Rwanda envisions good governance,

poverty and the linkages between the two.

3.1.2 Micro Level

3.1.2.1 District Development PlansThese are medium term development plans of the Districts that are developed to

operationalize the national plans (Vision 2020, EDPRS, MDGs, etc).

3.1.2.2 Imihigo (Performance Contracts)IMIHIGO as an aspect of good governance directly relates to Government effectiveness as

well as administrative accountability. It refers to contractual engagement whereby

performance contracts are signed between the Mayors of Districts and the President of the

Republic on the basis of measurable indicators. This enhances efficiency and effectiveness in

services delivery and helps keep development initiatives on track. It also ensures

accountability in relation to performance.5

3.2 Local Government Structure

In the spirit of ensuring good governance in Rwanda, various reforms have persistently

been instituted. Improvement of service delivery in the Local Governments necessitated

reworking out a new administrative structure to facilitate decentralization process to take

place as one of the key stepping stones to achieving good governance in the public

administration.

5Rwanda: Joint Governance Assessment Report, 2008


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Table 3: Local Government Administrative Structure

Entity Number of units Responsibilities AdministrativeStructure

Province/Kigali City

Council (KCC)

4/1 Coordination oflocal developmentplans

Strategic planningfor urbandevelopment;monitoring andevaluation;provision ofcomplex servicesand those cuttingacross district

governments

Governor forProvinces/Mayorfor CC

AdministrativeUnits

District 30 Economicdevelopmentcoordination

Planning andcoordination ofservices

Elected Council Executive

Committee Technical staff

Sector 416 Administration ofbasic services

(plan, implementand monitorservice delivery)

Management ofcommunitydevelopment

Collection ofstatistical data

Collection of taxes(50% of taxescollected by the

sectors is handedover to theDistricts

Elected council Technical staff

Cell 2,148 Communitymobilization

Council (all adultpopulation)

ExecutiveCommittee

Source: Republic of Rwanda: Making Decentralized Service Delivery Work in Rwanda. PuttingPeople at the Center of Service Provision, 2006.


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3.2.1 Service Providing Units and Categories of Services Delivered in Local Governments

The decentralized administrative structure as shown in table 3 provides for different levels

of responsibilities and accountability from the Province down to the Cell level. In particular,

the District has three main administrative levels, i.e. the District Elected Council; ExecutiveCommittee composed of the Mayor, 2 Vice Mayors and the Executive Secretary; and the

technical staff. The technical staff level comprises different service areas. For example,

Lands; Education; Health; Environment, Hygiene and Sanitation; Agriculture;

Infrastructure; Justice; Good Governance; Administration and HR. Table 4 presents different

service areas and District responsibilities in each sector to ensure adequate service delivery

to the population.

Table 4: Categories of Services Provided in the Local Governments (Districts)

Service Area District responsibility

Land sector LandProtect natural resources and environment; Ensureproper use and maintenance of land; Ensure land issurveyed and registered; Take stock of and compensateprivate property appropriated in public interest atdistrict level; Participate in land conflict resolution ;Prepare and implement land use program; Submitmonthly reports on land to higher authorities; Informthe ministry about projects involving land use beforeimplementing them

Agriculture sector Draw up and implement district action planharmonizing peoples aspirations and strategies with thenational agricultural and livestock policy; Coordinatefarmers activities in the district with institutionsaffiliated to the MINAGRI, projects or NGOs; Buildsectors capacity to deliver better services; Coordinateand analyze basic statistics showing socio-economicdevelopment of the population; Mobilize funds andresources to develop investments in the district; Propermanagement of natural resources and protection of the

environment; Sign and monitor the implementation ofcontracts; Monitor the functioning of associations,cooperatives, farmers cooperatives, etc; Draw up anaction plan to distribute fertilizers and monitor theiruse; Issue permits to transport farm animals; Buildcapacities of different levels

Education sector Nursery SchoolsCoordinate activities, mobilize resources, build capacityand evaluate subject content of nursery schools

Primary SchoolsPrepare planning and budget, train teachers, coordinateactivities, employ and prepare teachers salaries and

other staff, mobilize funds, analyze basic education dataand statistics, determine school distribution


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Alphabetical educationDetermine, coordinate and evaluate library activities atSector level

Vocational schoolsPrepare planning and budget, mobilize the populationto receive vocational training, coordinate vocationaltraining activities, monitor and analyze variousactivities

Secondary educationPrepare planning and budget, give employment,implement policies, collect and analyze basiceducational data, transfer students, prepare schoolsbudget and execute it

Health sector Basic HealthPut in place executive council for hospitals; Monitor thefunctioning of hospitals through these executivecommittees; Mobilize resources for hospitals; Signcontracts with hospitals and approve those of healthcenters; Monitor the functioning of health centers attechnical level.

Fight against AIDS and other pandemicsTrain employees of health centers in AIDS relatedprograms and monitor their work; Give support tohealth centers, employees/nurses to implement AIDSprevention activities; Give special attention to AIDSpatients transferred from health centers

Promotion of basic hygieneDesignate special zone for waste products

Promotion of health nutritionTrain employees of health centers; monitor how theywork; mobilize equipment

Medical insurance schemeRecruit and train employees; mobilize equipment;ensure there is office space and other related workplaces; install executive committee; install leaders;monitor the development of health centers andinsurance schemes

Environment, Hygiene and sanitationsector

EnvironmentProtect natural resources and the environment; ensureswamps are used in accordance with existing laws;Ensure ecological zones, tourist sites, animals, fauna

and flora are protected; Analyze statistics on naturalresources and environment; Ensure CDF projects takeenvironmental protection into consideration; Submitmonthly reports to higher authorities; Inform theministry about projects that might impact on the landbefore implementing them; Evaluate environmentalimpact on land by some projects; Prepare environmentprotection projects

Water and hygieneMonitor water management and use; Explain laws anddecrees governing water and hygiene and ensure theyare implemented; Ensure proper management of lakes,

springs and underground water; Ensure propermanagement of pipes carrying drinking water andwater taps; Ensure proper management of drinking


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piped water, springs; Construct toilets and ensurehygienic conditions exist around public places and nearroads; Collect and dispose of waste products

Infrastructure sector InfrastructureSensitize the population on the policy of settling in theImidugudu; Coordinate the selection ofImidugudu sites in all sectors; Draw up town masterplans; Ensure the adherence of population to the urbanand housing laws and regulations; Select zones forhousing projects; Draw up special housing plans andfor specially selected zones in towns; Construct housesfor the vulnerable section of society

RoadsConstruct and maintain roads connecting sectors;monitor road activities in the sectors; construct,maintain roads connecting sectors; MaintainGovernment houses in the Districts

TransportImprove transport services in the District; ImplementDistrict transport policy and laws; Put in place andmonitor the functioning of bus stops and ports ofDistrict bordering lakes; Issue licenses to transportpeople and goods in the District; Install traffic lights inthe District

MeteorologyCollect meteorological data and statistics in the country

EnergyConstruct dams; Interest the population to useenvironment friendly energy, e.g. solar, wind, methanegas and new energy sources like coal; Interest thepopulation to use energy saving stoves

ICTMaintain ICT infrastructure in the District and installtele-centers at sector level; Sensitize the population touse ICT

Justice sector Preparation of lawsDisseminate laws

Justice and institutional relationsSolve the problem of finishing court cases; Assist thedistrict notary to authenticate documents; Preparesector budget and planning

State attorneyCreate awareness among the population about

administrative laws; Create awareness among thepopulation about institutions which can solve theirproblems

TIGPrepare projects which can be executed using TIG;Mobilize funds; Create awareness among thepopulation about TIG

GACACAMonitor the functioning of the District Gacaca Courts;Mobilize equipment for Gacaca Courts; Evaluate

Gacaca activities at sector levelGood Governance, Community Local administration


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Development and Social Affairs Build sectors capacity to give the population betterservices; Coordinate and analyze vital statistics onpopulation increase; Coordinate activities which deliverbetter services; Coordinate sector activities; Improveand promote the twinning process; Receive and resolvethe population complaints which could not be solved atthe sector level; Establish and coordinate programs andactivities which promote laws and order; Promote theculture of democracy.

Good governanceBuild district capacity; Monitor and analyze theoperations of NGOs and political parties; Improve theworking method of civil society and NGOs; Coordinateactivities of specific programs such as gacaca and TIG,communal work (umuganda), reconciliationcommittees, etc; Promote good governance, culture ofpatriotism and democracy

Resource mobilizationDesign better taxation procedures; Design better districtfinancial management procedures; Coordinate andanalyze statistics of income and expenditure ofrevenues; Design and implement district and sectorpersonnel capacity building programs in revenuecollection and expenditure

Community DevelopmentPay special attention to urban development, buildingand settlement trends, and promote poles ofdevelopment; Design and implement Districtdevelopment programs; Coordinate and analyzeessential development statistics; Coordinate districtdevelopment programs (PDC) and prepare projects tobe presented to donors; Monitor projects operating inthe district; Establish working mechanisms with thedonors community

Social affairsCoordinate and analyze statistics of vulnerablemembers of the society, and provide them assistance ingeneral but specifically those assisted by FARG;Establish programs and coordinate activities whichmobilize the population and specifically the vulnerablesegment of society, to engage in self-help activities;Establish programs and coordinate activities whichmobilize the population to join the health insuranceschemes and write down those who wish to join;Receive and resolve citizen social complaints whichcould not be solved at the sector level; Coordinate andmonitor social activities in the Sector

Source: Republic of Rwanda: The Matrix of Roles and Responsibilities for Decentralized Service Delivery:

Making Decentralized Service Delivery Work in Rwanda: A Policy Note, November, 2006.

The above table highlights different service areas and the district responsibilities in each

area. Findings from the field show that all the services are provided to the communities as


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highlighted in the table. However, evidence shows that there are still issues that need to be

addressed in the whole process of service delivery in the Local Governments. For example, it

was found out that there are still long queues at the districts especially to get land related

services and notary services.

It was found out that except the Districts of Kigali City where land related services and

notary services are mostly demanded by the population, all other visited Districts had land

and social assistance as the most demanded services by the population while at the Sector

level, civil registration has been found to be the most demanded service. Notary services

were found to be the most needed in the Districts based in Kigali and other urban areas

because most of the services demanding notarized documents are mostly found in the city

and other urban settings and people demanding these services also stay in these areas.

Policy implication of the above findings is that since decentralization is a gradual process,

decisions to decentralize some of the services delivered at the District to the lower

administrative levels needs to be taken based on the services that are most demanded by the

population in a particular district so as to shed off some demanding duties from the District.

3.3 Availability of Service Delivery Guidelines/Rules and Compliance to those

Guidelines

The Government of Rwanda has made a tremendous achievement in setting up systems to

accommodate various initiatives geared at social, political and economic development (e.g.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Vision 2020, National Decentralization Policy,

Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), Community

Development Policy, etc). These systems, as earlier noted, have created very good

framework conditions facilitating the Local Governments to improve service delivery. These

basic documents have guided the Local Governments during the planning process for their

specific District development plans from which annual plans/performance contracts are

developed.

It is important to note that though improvement in service delivery is evident in the Local

Governments compared to some previous years before undertaking reforms in the Public

Administration, Local Governments still have a problem of lack of proper internal

organization in a bid to provide good services to the people in terms of quality and quantity.


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Findings revealed that most of the Districts visited have service delivery guidelines. The

guidelines are categorized into two:

i. Those guidelines provided at the national level (e.g. National Standards for SchoolConstruction, Health Facility Construction, Pharmacies, Environmental

Management, Law No 08/2006 of 26/02/2006 determining the organization and

functioning of the District, Organic Law No 37/2006 of 12/09/2006 on State Finances

and Property, No12/2007 of 27/03/2007 on Public Procurement, etc

ii. Guidelines related to internal organization of the District and service delivery unitsin particular and how services should be delivered to the end user (e.g. District

Executive Committee minutes and District Council resolutions, list of requirements

to get a specific service, time taken to deliver a service, feedback mechanisms, etc)

The first category of guidelines is readily available since these are the basic documents

guiding service delivery at the national level. However, though these documents are readily

available for public consumption, there is a feel that they are rarely consulted since no single

District was able to provide physical evidence of the existence of some of these documents in

the units visited. The second category was under evidence found to exist in some Districts

(e.g. Rulindo, Musanze, Rutsiro, Rubavu, Gisagara, Kicukiro and Gasabo), while others were

claimed to exist but no evidence was provided. These guidelines were mainly related to land

issues. No evidence was provided to show that other service providing units have service

delivery guidelines though they were claimed to exist.

Nonetheless, it was not easy to ascertain the degree of compliance to these guidelines by the

Districts visited since this can only be inferred through a comprehensive customer

satisfaction survey on certain specific issues.

It is important to note that guidelines that serve as instructions to the people demanding

service were found to be well communicated to the general public through notice boards

and meetings during communal activities (Umuganda). However, since this makes part of

different dimensions explaining customer care aspect, it is still important to analyze

customer care on its own since it plays a central role in the whole package required to

improve service delivery process in any business both in the public and private sector. There

is a need to bring together all the Local Government units to thoroughly discuss the issue of

service delivery in their respective units, develop service delivery commitment or charter

with service standards that should be adhered to.


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3.4 Monitoring and Evaluation of Service Delivery in Local Governments

Monitoring and Evaluation is a very important aspect in ensuring that services are delivered

as intended. Though reports from village level (Umudugudu), Cells and Sectors are

regularly transmitted to the Districts and field visits are organized by both the Districts and

Sectors, they are, however, still handicapped by lack of data base system that guides

planning, monitoring and evaluation. To ensure that services are delivered as planned,

monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are to be put in place. Local Governments need a

system that allows them to follow up and evaluate the effectiveness of services delivered to

the general population in order to undertake corrective measures where need arises. . In this

case, need for the Local Governments to undertake field data collection and development of

a database system is evident. This will be useful during planning, monitoring and

evaluation.

3.5 Services that are poorly provided

During the course of the study, an attempt was made to identify service areas that the

service providers felt are poorly provided at the District level. Three service areas were

highlighted to be unsatisfactorily delivered at the District level. Evidence shows that the

services highlighted to be poorly provided are related to those that are most demanded by

the population. Land related issues, notary services and social assistance were mentioned to

be poorly provided.

Table 5: Services that were identified to be poorly provided in the DistrictsService provided Service Sector Frequency District

1. Land relatedissues

Lands 9 Gasabo, Rwamagana, Kirehe,Kamonyi, Gisagara, Rulindo,Musanze, Rutsiro, Rubavu

2. SocialAssistance

Good Governance,CommunityDevelopment and SocialAffairs

7 Gisagara, Gasabo, Kicukiro,Rulindo, Musanze, Rutsiro,Rubavu

3. NotaryServices

Justice 3 Gasabo, Kicukiro, Gisagara


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Figure 1: Services identified to be poorly provided in the Districts

Poor delivery in the above service areas is inter aliamainly associated with lack of capacity in

terms of human and financial resources. For example, lands bureau is one of the most visited

service areas in the Districts and the staff in the lands bureau are always overwhelmed by

the work load such that they in most cases fail to meet customer expectations. However,

Kicukiro and Gasabo Districts have subcontracted some of the services (e.g. land surveying,

deed plans and cleaning services) and according to the interviews conducted; this has had a

very great impact in terms of service volume and the speed of delivery. This practice should

be replicated in other Local Government units for those services that may not require direct

intervention of the district or sector (e.g. land-related services; water, hygiene and sanitation,etc). The Local Governments should stock-take the services that may possibly be delivered

through subcontracts while the Local Government remains with a supervisory role.

On the other hand, notary services as mentioned earlier are most demanded in Kigali City

and other urban districts. The challenge related to this service area is still the high demand

by the population. Another challenge is related to language. Some notary officers reiterated

the difficulty they face especially when reading documents that are in English and they are

supposed to notarize them. This, according to them leads to the delay in service delivery as

it requires more time to concentrate and analyze the documents carefully.

Social assistance being another highly demanded service has been constrained mainly by

insufficient and delayed funding to cater for the needs of the vulnerable groups. Social

assistance needs have been reported to be highly demanded in seven out of ten Districts

studied. Though the information on this issue was not available from the Districts of

Kamonyi, Rwamagana and Kirehe, it may be generally inferred that this service area is oneof the most demanded services in the majority if not all of the Districts in Rwanda.

0

2

4

6

8

10

Land related

issues

Social

assistance

Notary

services


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The Citizen Report and Community Score Cards study carried out in 2009 ranked the

service sectors according to the level of satisfaction of the communities with regard to

service delivery in those sectors. Service sectors assessed were Administration, Education,

Health, Justice, Hygiene and Sanitation, Infrastructure, Agriculture, and Water. Service

sectors highlighted to perform better than others were Administration, Education and

Health sectors, while the level of satisfaction towards Justice, Hygiene and Sanitation sectors

was average with a need for improvement. Infrastructure, Agriculture and Water sectors

were ranked low in regard to the level of performance as seen from community perspective.

These are the services that have a direct impact on the day-to-day lives of the population

and are provided at the community level under supervision of the District.

On the other hand, the services identified to be poorly delivered under the current study

(see table 5) are those that are delivered at the District level by the District staff. These

service areas complement those identified during the CRC and CSC (2009), and the factors

determining the effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery in general terms both at the

District and at the community level have been found to be the same.

3.6 Causes of Poor, Inadequate or Lack of Service Provision in the Local Governments

Causes of poor, inadequate or lack of service provision in the Local Governments were

analyzed. Findings show that lack of staff; insufficient financial means; lack of database to

facilitate planning, monitoring and evaluation; lack of motivation among staff due to low

salaries, job instability and heavy work load; and means of transport and communication for

supervision of activities are the most pressing factors influencing service delivery in Local

Governments (Table 6).


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Table 6: Factors Affecting Service Delivery in Local Governments

Factors Frequency6 Ranking

1. Insufficient staff 10 12. Limited financial means and delays in funds disbursements 10 13. Lack of data base for planning, M&E of activities 6 34. Too many and unplanned meetings at the provincial level 6 35. Lack of motivation among staff, staff turnover due to low salary,

job instability and heavy work load6 3

6. Means of transport and communication for supervision 6 37. Geographical locations of some sectors hardly accessible 4 78. Lack of trainings in the core areas of responsibility 2 89. Language barrier (English) 2 8

Key: Colours represent the extent of severity of factors affecting service delivery

High

Medium

Low

Poor service delivery has been highly associated with the factors presented in red (i.e.

insufficent staff and limited financial resources). They have influenced both quality and

quantity of services provided in the local governments. Factors presented in yellow have

been reported to affect the quality and quantity of service delivery at a medium level; while

those presented in green were cited to have a low influence on how services are provided

both in quality and quantity. The above implies that there is a dire need to address the issues

of insufficient staff and limited financial resources in the local governments. Other

remaining factors are important each in its own right and need to be addressed in their

order of priority as presented in table 6.

6The frequencies in table 6 represent the number of Districts. The rank has been allocated according to the

number of Districts that highlighted a particular aspect that affects the way services are delivered.


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Table 7: Categorizing Factors Affecting Service Delivery According to Service Areas

Poorly deliveredservice

Factors affecting service delivery

Land related issues Insufficient staff Lack of database system Lack of motivation among staff, staff turnover due to low

salary, job instability and heavy work load Means of transport and communication for supervision Geographical locations of some sectors hardly accessible Lack of training in the core area of responsibility Unplanned meetings

Social assistance Limited financial means and delays in funds disbursements Lack of database system Lack of motivation among staff, staff turnover due to low

salary, job instability and heavy work load

Means of transport and communication for supervision Unplanned meetings

Notary services Insufficient staff Lack of motivation among staff, staff turnover due to low

salary, job instability and heavy work load Language barrier Lack of training in the core area of responsibility

Infrastructure Limited financial means and delays in funds disbursements Lack of means of transport and communication for supervision Geographical locations of some sectors hardly accessible

Lack of training in the core area of responsibilityAgriculture Limited financial means and delays in funds disbursements

0

10

Figure 2: Factors Affecting Service Delivery in theLocal Governments


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Lack of means of transport and communication for supervision Geographical locations of some sectors hardly accessible Lack of training in the core area of responsibility

Water Limited financial means and delays in funds disbursements Geographical locations of some sectors hardly accessible

CRC and CSC report (2009) indicated overall community appreciation of the services

delivered in the Local Governments. This is in no doubt the manifestation of effectiveness of

decentralisation program that is underway. However, on the other hand, the report states

that poor service delivery was and rightly so associated with limited capacity of service

providers, and the observation was made in regard to (i) health workers, (ii) agricultural

extension staff, (iii) teachers and (iv) the community volunteers etc.7

It is important to note that the above contention was made in reference to the general

viewpoint of the citizens who were involved in the study. Limited capacity referred to here

is related to lack of knowledge and skills of service providers in the areas mentioned. This is

just one factor among others that explains ineffectiveness and inefficiency of service delivery

in Local Governments. Capacity issues identified in the current study (table 6) are more

comprehensive since they were assessed from the viewpoint of the service provider. These

factors were presented in terms of human, financial, material, informational, and time

resources among others. It is important to lay out strategies to address all the issues

hindering service delivery so as to ensure that decentralisation program continues to benefit

the Rwandan population as intended.

7Republic of Rwanda, MINALOC; The Rwanda Citizen and Community Score Cards; Draft Report (September

2009, p. 69)


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4.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 Conclusion

The study on service delivery conducted in the Local Governments provides important

insights on the issues confronting the Local Government units in providing better services to

the general population. Majority of the factors affecting service delivery as indicated in table

6 are mainly capacity issues; for example, insufficient staff, insufficient funds, lack of

information resources (database), lack of enough time to execute planned activities due to

unplanned meetings, lack of transport means, lack of trainings in the core areas of

responsibility, language barrier, etc. The challenges identified during the course of this

study may not have been exhaustively mentioned by the respondents contacted. However,

these are the most pressing ones that seriously influence the quantity and quality of services

provided by the Local Governments.

4.2 Recommendations

i. Insufficient staff affects significantly the quality and quantity of servicesprovided. Staff turnover in Local Governments has been overwhelming due to

low salaries, job insecurity, heavy work load, etcThe Central Government

should find mechanisms of addressing these issues. Retention strategies (e.g.revising salary structures and other work-related benefits, initiating staff

development programs, etc) should be instituted to reduce staff turnover.

ii. The Local Governments should stock-take the services that may possibly bedelivered through subcontracts while the Local Government remains with a

supervisory role. This has already proved to be one of the effective ways of

ensuring effectiveness in service delivery.

iii. Due to high demand of some services offered at the District level while there islimited staff, it is important to accelerate the process of decentralizing more

services to the Sectors. However, the effectiveness of this will greatly depend on

the degree of financial autonomy given to the sectors so as to be able to provide

these services.

iv. The Local Governments should explore other sources of funding to be able tosupplement the funds provided by the Central Government and other donors.

For example, negotiate with the Government to increase more tax sources for the

Local Governments. Revenue sharing from local tax collections between the

Central Government and the Local Government need to be further discussed.


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v. More negotiations should be made between the Local Governments and thedonors on the urgency of making timely disbursements to the Local

Governments. However, it is important that the Local Governments revisit their

compliance to the donor requirements prior to making any disbursements, for

example, timely planning, reporting and presentation of clear justifications on the

uses of funds.

vi. As many and unplanned meetings interrupt the normal activity plans in theLocal Governments, hence, affecting effectiveness in the achievement of intended

goals, a meeting should be organized for the Local Governments, Provinces and

MINALOC to discuss the above issue and set up mechanisms for the Province to

coordinate the Local Governments without necessarily interrupting in their

normal working schedules. For example, identify kinds of meetings to take place

in the year (e.g. planning, coordination, evaluation) and allocate them either

monthly, or quarterly so as to allow the Local Governments to integrate them intheir annual plans.

vii. It is important to conduct a customer satisfaction survey so as to assess the issueof customer care in the Local Governments. This needs to be spearheaded by the

Central Government. However, the findings from this study may help RALGA to

further understand the status of customer care in the Local Governments and

areas that need its intervention for more improvement.

viii.

As staff in different service units in the Local Governments lack trainings in theircore areas of responsibility, training needs assessment should be done to identify

key training areas needed for them to improve their skills necessary to improve

service delivery.

ix. Possibility of initiating or strengthening long term twinning arrangements withother Local Governments in other countries should be explored. This will benefit

the Rwandan Local Governments in terms of technical expertise where staff may

be going to those countries for job shadowing and learn best practices that may

be replicated in the Rwandan situation.

x. There is a need to bring together all the Local Government units to thoroughlydiscuss the issue of service delivery in their respective units, develop service

delivery commitment or charter with service standards that should be adhered

to. This should be subject to annual review and upgrading overtime.

xi. Planning, monitoring and evaluation need to be informed by facts and figures toachieve better results. In light of this, the following need to be done:


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(a) Trainings on Result Based Management (RBM) should be organized for the staff bothof the Districts and the Sectors so as to equip them with necessary skills required in

planning, monitoring and evaluation

(b) Conduct a baseline study to document information on different service areas (e.g.education, health, environment, agriculture, land related issues, etc) and develop a

database that will be continuously updated overtime as need arises.

4.3 Action Plan for Implementation of Recommendations

RecommendationPriorityAction

ExpectedOutput

PerformanceCriteria

Source ofVerification

Implementing Agency

1. Address theissue ofinsufficientstaff

Review thelocalgovernmentstructure toidentify staffgaps

Carry out jobanalysis

Fill in thevacant posts

Review salarystructures ofthe localgovernmentstaff

Develop staffdevelopmentplan for thelocalgovernmentstaff

Existing staffgaps in theLocalGovernmentstructure areidentified

Job analysisis carried out

Vacant postsare filled

LocalGovernmentstaffdevelopmentplan isprepared

Number ofstaff recruitedto fill in thenew posts

Reduction inemployeeturnover andabsenteeism

Report onstaff gapsand jobrequirements

Recruitmentreports

Report onLocalGovernmentsalarystructure anddisparitieswith theCentralGovernmentstaff

Report onLocalGovernmentstaffdevelopment

plan isavailable

CentralGovernment

2. Stock-take theservices thatmay bedeliveredthroughsubcontracts

Organize ameeting todiscuss prosand cons ofsubcontracting and set up acommittee tosteer this

Produce a listof activities tobe

Pros andCons ofsubcontracting are wellknown and asteeringcommittee tostock-take

services to besubcontracte

List of Prosand Cons isavailable

List ofsubcontractors andactivities to besubcontracted

is available

A meetingreport

A steeringcommitteereport

Districts


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ExpectedOutput

PerformanceCriteria


Implementing Agency

subcontracted Identify

potential subcontractors

Carry outselectionprocess ofpotentialsubcontractors

d is set upSubcontracto

rs andservices to besubcontracted areidentified

3. Accelerate theprocess ofdecentralizingmore services

to the sectors

Carry outcapacityassessment inthe sectors,

Build capacityof the staff atthe sectorlevel and/orrecruit morestaff basing onfindings of theassessmentdone.

Increase thefinancialautonomy

granted tosectors

Decentralizemore servicesat the grassroot levels

Carry outpublicawarenesscampaign fordecentralizedservices

Capacityneedsassessmentin the sectors

is conductedSector staff

are equippedwithnecessarycapacities

Moreservices aredecentralized

Publicawarenesscampaignsconducted

List ofidentifiedcapacitybuilding

needs in thesectors

Quantity andquality offacilitiesavailable inthe sector

Number ofstaff placed indifferent unitsand their

current skillsNumber of

awarenesscampaigns inthecommunities

Capacitybuildingreport

Publicmeetingsreports

Centralgovernment

4. LocalGovernmentsto exploreother sourcesof funding

Create a taskforce to carryout financialcapacityassessment ofthedistrict/sector

Explore otherrevenuegeneratingpossibilities

Organizetrainings forlocal

Financialcapacityneedsassessmentin theDistrict/Sectors isconductedand capacitygaps areknown

Otherrevenue

% gapbetween theexisting andthe requiredfinancialresources

Number ofrevenuegeneratingpossibilities

Number ofDistrict/Sector staff trained

Assessmentreport

Trainingreports

CentralGovernmentand Districts


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ExpectedOutput

PerformanceCriteria


Implementing Agency

governmentstaff inresourcemobilization

generatingpossibilities

areidentified Resource

mobilizationtrainingsdone

Increasedknowledgeand skills ofLocalGovernment

staff to carryout resourcemobilisation

in resourcemobilization

and able toapply theknowledge

5. Morenegotiationsbetween localgovernmentsand donors onthe urgency oftimelydisbursements

to the localgovernments

Conduct ameeting toanalyzecauses ofdelays indisbursements

Set up amechanism toensure timelydisbursements

Causes ofdelays indisbursements areestablishedandmechanismsto address

the issue areset up

Timelydisbursements are made

Number ofDistricts ableto achieve theallowableabsorptioncapacity ofthe annualbudgets

Meetingreport

Financialreports

CentralGovernment,Donors andDistricts

6. Organize ameeting for thelocalgovernments,provinces andMINALOC to

discuss how theprovince cancoordinate thelocalgovernmentswithoutinterrupting intheir normalworkingschedules

Organize aconsultativemeeting toreflect on howto address theworking

relationshipissuesbetween localgovernmentsand theprovinces

Aconsultativemeeting isorganized

Guidelines toimproveworkingrelationshiphave beendeveloped

A guidelinedocumenton theworkingrelationshipbetween the

district andthe province

Meetingreport

CentralGovernment

7. Build capacity oflocal

governmenttechnical staff to

Conducttraining needs

assessment toidentify key

Trainingneeds

identifiedIncreased

List oftraining

needsavailable

Report onneeds

assessmentM&E

CentralGovernment


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ExpectedOutput

PerformanceCriteria


Implementing Agency

improve theirskills

training areas Organize

trainings fortechnical staffin the areashighlightedby theassessment

Organizetrainings onResult BasedManagement(RBM) for thestaff both of

the districtsand thesectors

knowledgeand skills of

the localgovernmentstaff in ResultBasedManagement(RBM) andother serviceareas

ImprovedMonitoringand

Evaluation(M&E) ofactivities

Increasedquality ofservicedelivery

Extent ofapplication of

Result BasedManagementapproach inplanning

MonitoringandEvaluationframeworkavailable

frameworkM&E

reportsAction plansAnnual

reports

8. Initiate orstrengthen longterm twinningarrangements

with other localgovernments inother countries

Identify areasfor twinning

Identifypotential

twinning localgovernmentsin othercountries

Sign twinningagreement

Organizestudy tours tolearn servicedelivery bestpractices inother local

governments

Twinningagreementssigned withother local

governmentsin othercountries

Number ofmemorandaofunderstandin

g signed fortwinningarrangeme

Documents

Factors Affecting Service Delivery in Local Governments-2