Rwanda: Local Government Transforming Service Delivery Through the Irembo eGovernment Platform

The mission of Local Government is to " promote the well-being of the population through good governance, community development and social welfare"; among its objectives, the Ministry is tasked with putting in place democratic, decentralized administrative structures, which are able to mobilize the population in order to implement Government programs and resolve problems.

The Government of Rwanda took the initiative to digitize and transform services to citizens. Through the Irembo platform (available on mobile, *909#, and online, www.irembo.gov.rw) Rwandans can apply for governments services, pay and wait for the service from the local government office - they can go to the sector to collect the requested document, after having received a message acknowledging that the document is ready, without going back and forth between different services.

Citizens have numerous questions on how to take advantage of this technology, especially those without access to the Internet. We approached the management of RwandaOnline, the private technology company in partnership with the Rwandan Government to build and operate Irembo; the CEO, Clément Uwajeneza, explained some of the adopted strategies in these terms: "We recruited agents to facilitate citizens. These agents can be found at all sectors in Kigali and we are working with other local government partners to replicate the model nationwide. For example Bugesera district has already deployed agents at its sectors".

He also added: "We signed agreements with different institutions such as MobiCash, Rwanda Telecenter Network (RTN), Business Development Fund (BDF), TIGO, MTN and BK Yacu. All these partners help citizens to apply and pay for a service. Essentially we are looking at collaboration between the private and public sector to deliver better services to Rwandans".

Mr. Nyagahene Pascal, CEO of MobiCash, one of RwandaOnline's private partners, informed us that they have more than 1000 employees in every sector of the country. These employees work hand in hand with all SACCOs helping every citizen to benefit from all services, given that they have been facilitating citizens to access services for a few years (Mobicash is in partnership with Rwanda Revenue Authority to facilitate payments). All this is aiming at improving service delivery for citizens.

Today Irembo offers about 30 government services: citizens can access these services by visiting www.irembo.gov.rw (register and follow the instructions until you get a billing number). 13 of these services can be accessed on mobile: dial *909#, and follow the instructions. Once application is complete, payment can be made via: MTN Mobile Money, TIGO Cash, Airtel Money, Visa, MasterCard, as well as at BK branches.

Some of the services offered on the Irembo include: Driving license-related services, Birth Certificates, Certificate of being single, Marriage certificates, Death registration, Land transfer, Criminal Record clearance certificate, among others.

SOURCE:RWANDAFOCUS