Government measures for self-reliance: home-grown solutions – Dignity and Self-reliance in Rwandan Society (Senior 1 History and Citizenship) | Ganzaa

Dignity and Self-reliance in Rwandan Society

Lessons

Senior 1 · History and Citizenship

Dignity and Self-reliance in Rwandan Society

4 lessons

Lesson 2 of 4

Government measures for self-reliance: home-grown solutions

24 min

Read the timeline

After 1994 Rwanda had to rebuild almost everything. Many of the tools it chose were drawn from its own culture and history, as Article 11 of the Constitution asks (Lesson 1). The Rwanda Governance Board, which protects and promotes these home-grown solutions, lists among them Abunzi, Gacaca, Girinka, Imihigo, Ndi Umunyarwanda, Ubudehe, Umuganda, Umwiherero, Umushyikirano and Kwita Izina. Figure 3 places the main measures in time.

Figure 3. Timeline of Rwanda's home-grown solutions and related national measures, by the year each began in its modern form. Colours show the main area each one serves. Drawn by Ganzaa from the Rwanda Governance Board, Rwandapedia and the ministries concerned.

Measure	What it is and its purpose	Began (modern form)
Umuganda (community work)	On the last Saturday of each month, adults aged 18 to 65 work together on public projects (roads, classrooms, terraces, tree planting), then meet to discuss local issues. Purpose: build the community with its own hands and strengthen unity.	reinstated 1998; law of 2007
Ubudehe	An old practice of working together to solve community problems, revived to let villages plan their own development; households are placed in categories so that support reaches the poorest. Purpose: fight poverty through participation.	2001
Imihigo (performance contracts)	Leaders publicly commit to clear targets for the year and are evaluated and ranked; families can make imihigo too. Purpose: accountability and faster delivery of services.	2006 (districts); extended in 2009
Girinka ("may you have a cow")	A poor family receives a cow; the first female calf is given to a neighbour in need. Purpose: better nutrition, income and manure, and restored ties between neighbours.	2006
Itorero ry'Igihugu	A school of civic values revived from pre-colonial Rwanda, training citizens in patriotism, integrity, unity and service. Purpose: build responsible, self-reliant citizens.	2007
Agaciro Development Fund	A national savings and investment fund started with contributions from Rwandans. Purpose: public savings for self-reliance and protection from economic shocks.	2012
Made in Rwanda	A campaign and then a national policy to produce more goods locally, improve their quality and encourage people to buy them. Purpose: create jobs and reduce imports.	campaign 2015; policy 2017

Worked example: reading a timeline for patterns

Question: What does Figure 3 show about the order in which Rwanda built its home-grown solutions?

Look at the first cluster. Between 1998 and 2004 come Umuganda, Ubudehe, Gacaca, Umushyikirano and Abunzi: measures for rebuilding communities, justice and dialogue after 1994.
Look at the second cluster. In 2006 and 2007 come Girinka, Imihigo and Itorero: tools for fighting poverty, making leaders accountable and teaching values.
Look at the last events. From 2012 come the Agaciro Fund and Made in Rwanda: measures for national economic self-reliance.
Conclude. The pattern moves from healing and justice, to poverty and accountability, to economic independence: each stage built on the one before.

Definition

Umuganda: "coming together in common purpose": the monthly national community work day, held on the last Saturday of each month, followed by a community meeting.

Definition

Ubudehe: a traditional practice of collective action to solve local problems, revived in 2001 as a programme of community planning and social protection.

Definition

Imihigo: public pledges or performance contracts in which leaders (and families) commit to targets and are later evaluated. The word comes from the vows that warriors once made before the king.

Definition

Girinka: "may you have a cow": the One Cow per Poor Family programme, in which the first female calf is passed on to another poor family.

Definition

Made in Rwanda: the national campaign (2015) and policy (2017) that support local production, better quality and the buying of Rwandan goods.

Important

Main measures and start years: Umuganda (1998), Ubudehe (2001), Imihigo and Girinka (2006), Itorero (2007), Agaciro Development Fund (2012), Made in Rwanda (2015, policy 2017).
They aim at self-reliance (meeting needs with Rwanda's own resources) and dignity (restoring worth, unity and pride).

Case study: how Imihigo works

In pre-colonial Rwanda, warriors publicly vowed before the king what they would achieve in battle, and were judged on their return. Since 2006, district mayors have signed imihigo with the President of the Republic each year. The cycle has four steps:

Plan: citizens' priorities, gathered in village and sector meetings, become targets, for example a number of classrooms or households connected to electricity.
Sign: the targets are signed publicly, so everyone knows what was promised.
Implement: the district works with citizens, including through umuganda.
Evaluate: an independent evaluation scores and ranks every district. From 2014 to 2018 this was done by the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR); since 2018 by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR).

Since 2009, imihigo have also been used below the district level, down to sectors, cells and villages, and by families.

Discussion

Which home-grown solution in the table do you think does most for self-reliance, and which does most for dignity? Are they the same one? Give reasons.

Tip

Memory hook, in time order: "U-U-I-G-I-A-M". Umuganda (1998), Ubudehe (2001), Imihigo and Girinka (2006), Itorero (2007), Agaciro (2012), Made in Rwanda (2015).

Rwandapedia: "Umuganda (Community Work) Documentary Part 2" (under 2 minutes). Watch for the kinds of projects built during umuganda and for what happens in the meeting after the work.

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Practice

What is umuganda, and when does it take place?
Match each measure to its year: Girinka, Agaciro Development Fund, Ubudehe, Made in Rwanda policy.
Explain the pass-on principle of Girinka.
Where do imihigo come from, and how are they used today?
Which measures in the table serve mainly (a) the national economy, and (b) values and unity?
Using Figure 3, describe the pattern in the order in which the measures began.
"Home-grown solutions are just old traditions brought back." Use two examples to show that this is only partly true.

Show answersHide answers

Monthly community work on public projects, followed by a community meeting; on the last Saturday of each month, for adults aged 18 to 65.
Girinka 2006; Agaciro Development Fund 2012; Ubudehe 2001; Made in Rwanda policy 2017 (campaign 2015).
A poor family that receives a cow gives the first female calf to another poor family, so the gift keeps spreading and ties between neighbours grow.
From the public vows warriors made before the king; today leaders, from districts down to villages, and families sign yearly targets and are evaluated and ranked.
(a) Agaciro Development Fund, Made in Rwanda (and Girinka for household incomes). (b) Itorero (and Umuganda for unity).
From healing, justice and dialogue (1998 to 2004), to poverty reduction, accountability and values (2006 to 2007), to national economic self-reliance (2012 onwards).
Partly true: Umuganda, Ubudehe, Imihigo and Itorero come from traditional practices. But they were changed for modern needs (laws, evaluation, national programmes), and some, such as the Agaciro Development Fund and Made in Rwanda, are new measures inspired by Rwandan values rather than old traditions.

Sources and credits

Photo: Launch of the Environment Week 2017: Umuganda at Nyandungu Wetland, Rwanda Environment Management Authority, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Home-grown solutions list: Rwanda Governance Board, Home Grown Solutions. Start years and descriptions checked against Rwandapedia, Home Grown Solutions (Government of Rwanda), the Rwanda Governance Board's Impact Assessment of Umuganda 2007 to 2016, agaciro.rw and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (Made in Rwanda Policy, 2017); rewritten by Ganzaa.
Video: "Umuganda (Community Work) Documentary Part 2", Rwandapedia, embedded from YouTube.
Figure 3, the table, the practice items and the rest of this lesson were written by Ganzaa.

1Read the timeline

2Case study: how Imihigo works

3Discussion

Read the timeline

Case study: how Imihigo works

Discussion