Rwanda opposition trashes Senate study
The East African - 1 hour ago
By EMMANUEL RUTAYISIRE Special Correspondent
Posted Saturday, June 7 2014 at 11:43
A study, commissioned by the Senate and conducted by the Institute for
Policy Analysis and Research Rwanda, says Rwandans have a relatively
low trust in the courts of law and parliament but have much confidence
in the Head of State and Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF). Photo/FILE
IN SUMMARY
The study was commissioned by the Senate and conducted by the
Institute for Policy Analysis and Research Rwanda.
Researchers cite President Kagame's citizen approval as 98.7 per cent,
military at 96.2 per cent.
Political parties are the least trusted with approval ratings of 61.3
per cent while the RPF stands at 86.7 per cent and the Senate scored
83.4 per cent.
Critics said this scenario, where the president overshadows parliament
and courts, the would-be key defenders of people's rights, was a cause
for concern as it erodes institutional growth.
The opposition has described the recent research by the upper chamber
of parliament, that among other things, measured the approval ratings
of President Paul Kagame's governance credentials, as a façade that
casts a dark cloud on the integrity of the House that sponsored it.
The study, which was commissioned by the Senate and conducted by the
Institute for Policy Analysis and Research Rwanda, says Rwandans have
a relatively low trust in the courts of law and parliament but have
much confidence in the Head of State and Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF).
Working with an achieved sample size of 3,837 persons aged 18 years
and above, researchers cite President Kagame's citizen approval as
98.7 per cent.
He is followed by the military at 96.2 per cent. Interestingly,
respondents say they do not give the same approval to the ruling
Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) party, which the president leads.
Political parties are the least trusted with approval ratings of 61.3
per cent while the RPF stands at 86.7 per cent and the Senate scored
83.4 per cent.
But critics said this scenario, where the president overshadows
parliament and courts, the would-be key defenders of people's rights,
was a cause for concern as it erodes institutional growth.
Absolved ruling party from claims
They added that the motive of the Senate to gauge the popularity of
the president at a moment when the country was at a crossroads as
regards succession matters creates a probable relationship between the
report and events leading up to the 2017 General Election.
However, ahead of 2017, the point of contention among Rwandans remains
whether President Kagame will respect the constitution and stand down
as his mandate expires or he will seek to amend the supreme law to
allow him another term in office.
Senator Dr Tito Rutaremara, Prof Chrysologue Karangwa and Jean
Damascene Bizimana comprised the team that co-ordinated the research.
The first two men are senior RPF cadres while the last is a former
Cabinet minister.
Sen Rutaremara absolved his party from claims of crediting every
national achievement to the goodwill and wisdom of the president.
He noted: "You see, he [President Kagame] has been central to numerous
positives we have realised… so people will always take note."
Yet the report, titled The Quest for Solutions through Dialogue and
Consensus in Rwanda: The Mechanisms for Dialogue and Consensus, has
been described by the opposition as mere RPF propaganda.
"It's just raising points for the ruling party and a propaganda
whitepaper," said Dr Frank Habineza, the Democratic Green Party of
Rwanda leader.
"This report is, indeed, lacking; it has not raised issues concerning
the democratic process, freedoms of association, assembly and the
media and above all just concludes that RPF is the best."
While it is a constitutional obligation for the upper House to monitor
the mechanisms, the extension to measure popularity of the president
seems to have rubbed the opposition and a section of scholars the
wrong way.
"I do not have to labour to explain the sham reports produced by the
RPF institutions. I was its secretary-general and I ran Kagame's
presidency, as you know. I know the system inside out," Dr Theogene
Rudasingwa, the co-ordinator of Rwanda National Congress (RNC), an
exiled opposition group operating from Washington, told Rwanda Today.
Cannot deliver good governance
The RNC has announced that it will not participate in the 2017
presidential elections because it wants to unite Rwandans first before
pushing for regime change.
READ: Rwanda National Congress goes for new faces in party elections
The report rates knowledge of the mandatory community work (umuganda)
at 83 per cent while the annual national dialogue is least known – at
51 per cent. Also, respondents give favourable ratings to initiatives
like Ingando, Gacaca and Itorero.
But politicians outside government say these initiatives cannot
deliver good governance as citizens "go there to be informed of new
policies from above" instead of actively engaging the government on
how they want to be governed.
Asked whether the mechanisms for consensus building are working given
the influx of politicians fleeing the country, Sen Rutaremara said
some of those running away are not credible people. Rwanda has a
myriad political groups operating from exile.
A political commentator who sought anonymity observed: "Meaningful
dialogue should bring ruling and opposition politicians to the table…
the citizens must dialogue with the government on how they want to be
governed – through freedom of assembly and proper electoral process."
Omar Bizuru is a senior lecturer at the University of Rwanda College
of Arts and Social Sciences. He said he thought that, because exiled
groups tend to work together, the sitting government is left with no
option but to be suspicious of that arrangement – since some of them,
like FDLR, have a criminal record that dates to the 1994 Genocide
against the Tutsi.
"Therefore, mere political tendency becomes a serious security concern
as state institutions take interest in how these forces relate," the
don said.
Boniface Twagirimana of FDU-Inkingi however ruled out the possibility
that even parties operating from within can ever wrest state power
from RPF through an election, arguing that the periodic elections are
"a drama, kind of".
He said that, until the government's attitude towards democratic
changes, there was no need for elections.
Sen Rutaremara however said: "The elections are always free and fair…
we have others in 2017 – they [opposition groups] should wait and see
if they will not be free and fair."
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OPINION
Research should have had wider parameters

Posted Saturday, June 7 2014 at 10:36
IN SUMMARY
While the report says the country has embraced a pluralistic form of
politics, it shows that citizens give less endorsement for political
parties.
Last week the Senate released a research report on the progress of
dialogue and consensus building in the country. The report, among
other things, says that citizens appreciate initiatives like umuganda,
gacaca, abunzi and local councils.
The research was conducted by IPAR at the request of the Senate with
Senators Dr Tito Rutaremara, Prof Chrysologue Karangwa and Jean
Damascene Bizimana as co-ordinators. The former two are senior RPF
cadres and the latter a former Cabinet minister.
Researchers argued that these programmes enable the citizens to engage
with leaders to find solutions to problems affecting them — the
government calls them "home-grown solutions."
The research also delved into how citizens approve key institutions
such as the Judiciary and Parliament, where respondents exhibited
greater admiration for President Paul Kagame and the military than
they have for other institutions.
While the report says the country has embraced a pluralistic form of
politics, it shows that citizens give less endorsement for political
parties.
Instead of building consensus, the report has attracted criticism from
a section of the public, who have accused its framers of producing
untrue information to serve a selfish political agenda.
The timing and uncertainty of 2017, an election year, has not helped
matters, with some people linking the document to the politics of
Kagame succession.
Like opposition politicians have argued, and it is better we listen to
them if we need consensus as the Senate says, we think the country's
overarching governance issues go far beyond umuganda and popularity of
the Head of State.
There are founded arguments that the research could have resulted in a
roadmap for wider and meaningful national dialogue had it taken into
account matters critical to the emergence of a democratic system —like
the quality of electoral processes, the way our legislature is
constituted and freedom of speech and to assemble.
This nation, having suffered a genocide as a result of a prolonged
period of misrule, needs to avoid exclusion of any sort. For instance;
had the Senate broadened the co-ordination team, a consensus of some
kind would have emerged. Besides, the report could not have attracted
the criticism it has.
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