Benon Herbert Oluka
24 December 2011
If ever there was a Cabinet review of presidential visits this year, the one that President Museveni, his wife Janet and more than half a dozen of his ministers made to Rwanda in August, must rank there as a source of several topics of reflection.
Speaking to Rwanda’s Parliament, First Lady Janet Museveni, also the Minister for Karamoja Affairs, praised Rwanda’s communal work ethic that had been institutionalised across the country through the Umuganda programme.
She urged Rwandans to teach their Ugandan counterparts the spirit in which it is done.
Trade and Industry Minister Amelia Kyambadde was similarly all praises for the programme, saying she would import it to her constituency.
And it was not just talk. During the Umuganda exercise at Nyarugunga Primary School, which Presidents Kagame of Rwanda and Museveni participated in, all Ugandan ministers who had travelled, folded their sleeves and got fully involved beyond just the ceremonial moments for the camera.
Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa picked a hoe and dug while Jessica Alupo (Education), Irene Muloni (Energy) and Ms Kyambadde ferried bricks to the construction site. Yet, less than six months since that visit, and in spite of promises to return home and inculcate a similar work ethic within their communities, Uganda’s ministers have done little to come good on their promises while in Rwanda.
As the year ends, and a country that has lurched from one political crisis to another reflects on what has happened this year, questions are likely to arise on whether any lessons can be taken from a programme that many of Uganda’s cabinet officials clearly waxed lyrical about. So how has Rwanda developed the culture of Umuganda? Which programmes can Uganda adapt to mirror that initiative?
The Mayor of Kigali, Mr Fidele Ndayisaba, who was one of the leaders spearheading the construction of classroom blocks at Nyarugunga Primary School on the day the Ugandan delegation took part in the exercise, said Umuganda has been a part of Rwanda’s social fabric for generations.
“Umuganda means support and mutual assistance. Now it has been transformed into a national programme supporting the government to achieve its goals and support the budget… From the very beginning of our country, they used to have Umuganda,” he explained.
Mr Ndayisaba said the cost of one classroom block is six million Rwanda Francs. However, the government only allocates one million for materials such as iron sheets and cement. “The remaining part of the budget is supported by the community through labour and fundraising. Even bricks are made by the people themselves,” he said.
Every first week of the month, Rwandans are expected to dedicate their mornings to Umuganda. Work starts around 8am and ends after 10:30am, depending on the amount of work to be done.
Sharing ideas
Thereafter, according to officials, the people can have a meeting in which they share ideas about issues relevant to their community. On special occasions, they share food and drinks during the meetings. Rwanda’s Finance Minister John Rwangombwa said: “Across the country, we do it once a month, but depending on the challenge we have in different areas, they can even decide to do it more than once a month.”
Mr Ndayisaba says Umuganda has grown into a fundamental part of the Rwanda national calendar because the activity that was already entrenched in the culture of Rwandans, is now backed by institutional organisation.
“We have committees from the lowest level called Umudugudu and we have got a law governing Umuganda; all that helps to back the culture. If you talk to anybody in Rwanda, they know that if they are above 18 years, they should carry out Umuganda,” he said.
According to Mr Ndayisaba, although punishments are prescribed for those who do not participate, it is really “the pride of participating in Umuganda” that is responsible for the massive attendances. He believes the massive attendances are indicative of the successful civic education supported by cultural values.
Mr Ndayisaba’s view is shared by the Chief of Staff of Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF), Lt. Gen. Caeser Kayizari, who believes that an individual’s guilt for not participating is often worse punishment than anything written in the law.
“When somebody sees people are working for the common good of everybody and you avoid it without a reason, you will feel guilty and that is a punishment to yourself,” he said.
Gen. Kayizari says one does not have to be an expert in construction, for instance, to get involved. He said the organisers of Umuganda normally factor in the need for expertise when carrying out any activity. “In every technical work, there is something for the layman to do,” he said.
“If it is getting the stones, timber or preparing the cement, normally you will find all of us involved. Like now we are building classrooms, there are people who are experts in construction but the rest of us can mix the sand and bring the stones. In extreme circumstances when only the technicians are involved, then the rest go on the side and appreciate what is being done.”
The government of Rwanda estimates that the work done by ordinary Rwandans contributes about 1.5-2 billion Rwanda Francs ($3 million) per month to the country’s development through activities such as road construction and maintenance, construction of schools, health centres and bridges, afforestation, cleaning of the cities, and construction of houses for the poor.
Finance Minister Rwangombwa said beyond the monetary value to the economy, the participation of ordinary Rwandans in the construction of infrastructure instills a sense of ownership within the population. “The fact that we come together and work means we are owning these assets we are putting up together, so it contributes to that spirit of ownership of our development programmes and also the self-confidence we need to give ourselves as Rwandans that some of these things we can do by ourselves. It also contributes to unity because we are all working for a common good,” he said.
Gen. Kayizari said Umuganda had was central to Rwanda’s social and economic recovery. “The most important thing in nation building is being together, sharing and saying, ‘I contributed to that.’ The fact that we built this school, we can’t spoil it. It is our school. But when it is done from tax payers’ money through the central bank and ministry of finance, there is a tendency to feel you are not part of it.”
The army officer also sees another benefit in the camaraderie that is built between Rwandans and their leaders.
“You can see us all getting together; civilians and military and police, political leaders and wanainchi. That kind of solidarity is something you want to be part of,” he said.
Revival time for Uganda
In the past, Ugandan communities have had similar programmes in the form of activities such as Bulungi bwa nsi in Buganda. However, years of civil wars and political uncertainty wiped out the practice.
Such programmes are what many of the ministers who visited Rwanda said they would want to help revive, but have not yet done.
For Uganda, every day that passes without such programmes being revived means social and economic losses to the country. Asked what lessons he thought Ugandans would draw from Rwanda’s Umuganda, Gen. Kayizari said: “They already have the lesson; that it was once there and it was doing well. It is a lesson of saying it is being done somewhere else and it is doing well and you can do it too.”
AllAfrica – All the Time