E-governance in Rwanda: Application of ICT in the delivery of public services

Abstract

This study is an assessment of the implementation of the e-governance programme in Rwanda. The study argues that years of bad governance culminated in the 1994 genocide, a traumatic event in the country’s history. After the genocide the government that came to power, in a bid to re-unify the country and reconcile it, adopted a different approach to the management of public affairs, one different from that favored by the pre-1994 regimes. Thus was born the concept of e-governance. The findings of the study indicate that e-governance is part of the wider development efforts of the government of Rwanda, efforts that aim at making Rwanda a medium income country in twenty years. The study found out that in the fifth year of its implementation the e-governance program has taken of to a good start and several tangible benefits are already being felt both by the government and the public. However the study also points out that the e-governance program faces various challenges many of which will need to be surmounted before it can successfully deliver the expected results. These challenges include lack of resource, poor human resource capability, and institutional resistance among others. Finally the study makes recommendations that can probably benefit the program.