Local government in Rwanda – State and Forms of Government (Senior 1 History and Citizenship) | Ganzaa

State and Forms of Government

Lessons

Senior 1 · History and Citizenship

State and Forms of Government

5 lessons

Lesson 5 of 5

Local government in Rwanda

24 min

Read the diagram: government close to home

Rwanda is a unitary state (Lesson 2), but the central government does not do everything from Kigali. Since the National Decentralisation Policy of 2000, power and services have been handed down to local levels. Figure 5 shows the five levels in force since 2006.

Figure 5. The hierarchy of local government in Rwanda. The shape widens as you go down because each level has more, smaller units. Drawn by Ganzaa. Counts: 5 provinces, 30 districts, 416 sectors, 2,148 cells and 14,837 villages, as reported by the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) and set out in Organic Law No. 29 of 2005 on the administrative entities of Rwanda.

Worked example: reading numbers from a hierarchy

Question: On average, how many sectors are there in a district, and how many villages in a cell?

Take the numbers from Figure 5. 30 districts, 416 sectors, 2,148 cells, 14,837 villages.
Sectors per district: $\frac{416}{30} \approx 13.9$ , so about 14 sectors in an average district.
Villages per cell: $\frac{14\,837}{2\,148} \approx 6.9$ , so about 7 villages in an average cell.
Say what an average hides. Real districts differ: Nyagatare, the largest by population in the Eastern Province, has 14 sectors, 106 cells and 630 villages; Rutsiro, in the Western Province, has 13 sectors, 62 cells and 483 villages.
Conclude. Each district leads roughly 14 sectors, and each cell brings together about 7 villages. A leader at a lower level serves far fewer people, so citizens can reach them easily.

Definition

Decentralisation: the transfer of powers, tasks and money from the central government to local governments, so that decisions are taken closer to the people. Example: Rwanda's National Decentralisation Policy of 2000.

Definition

Local government: the government of a part of the country, such as a district, with its own council and leaders, working within the laws made by the central government. Example: Gakenke District in the Northern Province.

Definition

District council: the elected body that represents citizens in a district; it approves the district's plan and budget and elects the mayor and two vice mayors from among its members. Example: the council of Huye District.

Definition

Umudugudu (village): the smallest level of local government, with a committee of five elected by the adult residents; plural imidugudu. Example: any of Rwanda's 14,837 villages.

The 2006 reform: fewer, larger units

On 1 January 2006 Rwanda redrew its local government map. The old prefectures and many small communes were replaced by fewer, larger units that could afford trained staff and plan development.

Level	Before 1 January 2006	After the 2006 reform
Provinces	12	5 (4 provinces and the City of Kigali)
Districts	106	30
Sectors	1,545	416
Cells	9,165	2,148
Villages (imidugudu)	not yet a level	14,837

Calculate the change for districts: $\frac{106 - 30}{106} \times 100 \approx 72\%$ fewer districts. A unitary state could make this change by law alone, as Figure 2 showed.

A special case: Kigali. Since the Law governing the City of Kigali of July 2019, the city's three districts (Gasabo, Kicukiro and Nyarugenge) no longer have their own legal personality: they are run by administrators appointed by the Prime Minister, under the elected City of Kigali council. The other 27 districts keep elected councils and mayors.

Important

Rwanda has five levels of local government: province, district, sector, cell and village (umudugudu).
Counts: 5 · 30 · 416 · 2,148 · 14,837.
The district is the most important local level: it has its own budget, plan and elected council.

Case study: how a village problem climbs the ladder

The water point that serves a village in Rulindo District breaks down. The villagers raise it at the meeting held after umuganda. The village committee cannot pay for a new pump, so it reports to the cell. The cell adds the request to its report to the sector, whose staff include engineers. The sector puts the repair into the district plan and budget, which the district council approves. If the whole district needs new water pipes, the district asks the province and the central government for support.

(This is a typical example, not a single real case: it shows the path a request follows.)

Discussion

Decentralisation brings government closer to the people, but it needs money and skilled staff at every level. Which problems do you think are best solved by the village or the cell, and which need the district or the central government? Give one example of each and explain your choice.

Tip

Memory hook, top to bottom: "Proud Districts Serve Citizens' Villages". Province, District, Sector, Cell, Village. Then learn the numbers in the same order: 5, 30, 416, 2,148, 14,837.

GIZ: "Decentralisation as a path to progress, 2018", a short film about decentralised government in Rwanda. Watch for the services that districts and sectors deliver, and for how citizens take part in local decisions.

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Practice

Define decentralisation and give the year of Rwanda's National Decentralisation Policy.
List Rwanda's five levels of local government from the largest to the smallest, with the number of each.
Who elects a district mayor outside the City of Kigali?
How many members does a village executive committee have, and who elects them?
Use the table to calculate the percentage fall in the number of sectors in 2006.
Explain why the district is called the most important level of local government.
"Decentralisation weakens the unity of the state." Do you agree? Use Figure 5 and the Kigali example in your answer.

Show answersHide answers

The transfer of powers, tasks and money from the central government to local governments; 2000.
Province (5), district (30), sector (416), cell (2,148), village or umudugudu (14,837).
The district council, from among its members.
Five members, elected by the adult residents of the village.
$\frac{1\,545 - 416}{1\,545} \times 100 \approx 73\%$ .
It has its own elected council, its own plan and budget, and legal and financial independence; it delivers most public services and leads the sectors and cells below it.
Generally no: local units receive their powers from the central government by law (Rwanda is a unitary state), and the central government can redraw them, as in 2006 and in Kigali in 2019. Decentralisation shares tasks, not sovereignty. Some students may argue that strong local loyalties could compete with national unity; a good answer weighs both.

1Read the diagram: government close to home

2The 2006 reform: fewer, larger units

3Case study: how a village problem climbs the ladder

4Discussion

Read the diagram: government close to home

The 2006 reform: fewer, larger units

Case study: how a village problem climbs the ladder

Discussion