News

Gender Accountability in Decentralization

Date: 26 May 2009

Kigali — As decentralization gains pace in Rwanda, the Government has instituted District Performance Contracts – commonly known as Imihigo – between the President of the Republic and the districts. With support from UNIFEM, a newly established Gender Monitoring Office (GMO) has taken on the gender mainstreaming of Imihigo.

Imihigo is an accountability mechanism for local government and draws on a traditional practice in Rwanda whereby two parties commit themselves to the achievement of a particular task. The modern Imihigo between local authorities and central government is based on four pillars; good governance, economic development, social welfare and justice. By signing the Imihigo, district mayors are bound to implement their commitments, with follow-up on performance twice a year.

With technical support from UNIFEM, GMO and the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion performed an analysis of achievements, existing gaps and possible entry points for a more gender sensitive implementation of Imihigo. The results were presented at a meeting in Kigali on 25 May, attended by all district mayors, the governors from the southern, northern and eastern provinces, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economical Planning, the Minister of Social Affairs, the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

“You do not have to be scared of tackling gender issues on the pretext that it will cost more than the available budget – it is simply a matter of killing two birds with one stone through a more gender responsive budget,” said Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya, the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, during a discussion following the presentation.

Several recommendations for gender issues to be incorporated in the 2009/2010 Imihigo emerged from the discussion, including that the performance contracts should ensure girls’ education, strengthen women’s economic security initiatives, put in place programmes to fight sexual and gender-based violence, guarantee the collection of sex disaggregated data, and provide for family planning services.

Accountability for addressing gender-based violence (GBV) has for a couple of years been included in some district contracts, leading to important achievements in the fight against GBV on a local level. However, gender mainstreaming of Imihigo has not been institutionalized before, even though gender is a cross-cutting theme in the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) of Rwanda.

For more information, please contact Ms Nora Kokanova, Communication Officer, UNIFEM Central Africa Regional Office, Rwanda, nora.kokanova[at]unifem.org.