From 4th to 8th February 2019, LODA and some of its Development Partners (DPs) namely Enabel Rwanda, KfW/ German Cooperation and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Rwanda kick-started the annual joint monitoring mission on some local economic development (LED) projects implemented thanks to their financial support. 

This periodical exercise is ultimately aimed at monitoring LED project implementation progress in Districts, discussing progress on the LED process, examining financial performance of Districts, findings and actions taken on previous audits. Projects on target are those financed and implemented from 2017/2018, plus the ones the recommendations of which have been provided under the last monitoring mission. They all fall into areas of Transportation, Water Supply, Education, Energy, Private Sector Development, Health Facility, Sports Infrastructure, Decentralization, and Environment.

The mission was launched in Rwamagana District and shall be extended to Ngoma and Gatsibo in Eastern Province, Musanze in Northern Province, Nyabihu, Rubavu and Rutsiro in Western Province, plus Ruhango and Kamonyi in Southern Province. At Rwamagana, the delegation was welcomed by Mr. MBONYUMUVUNYI Rajab, Mayor of the District, who thanked LODA and its development partners not only for the financial support to the District he represents, but also for the assistance in terms of technical expertise and project implementation to positively impact citizens’ lives. In his turn, Mr. NGENDAHIMANA Pascal, Division Manager of Local Economic Development at LODA (and Head of the Delegation), lauded District efforts in implementing LED projects to better serve citizens. He reiterated the mission objectives and pointed out that the outcome of the mission is meant to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the projects for considerable change in citizens’ lives.

The sampled projects which were visited in Rwamagana District include the following: Complete Construction Works of Cobbled Stone Paved Road in Rwamagana Town (1.1. Km), Complete Construction Works of  Gatare-Mabare-Byinza Water Pipeline in Rubona Sector (23.063 Km), and Rubona TVET Phase II. Upon completion, the aforementioned water pipeline project is daily managed by AYATEKE STAR COMPMANY Ltd, in respect of Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) regulations and the established Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the company and the District. Mr. NTIRENGANYA Evariste, Branch Manager of AYATEKE STAR COMPMANY Ltd in Rwamagana stated: “Our company is in charge of managing and distributing water from Gatare-Byinza-Mabare water pipeline amongst Rwamagana residents. Our company is involved in water distribution since 2013. This project is one of water pipelines managed by our company in this District. It was basically established to serve 8,854 people, but other neighboring inhabitants also tap into it due to water insufficiency in their villages.  We have encountered no big challenges so far apart from the biggest quantity of water needed by citizens especially during the dry season”. As per WASAC regulations, managing companies of public water pipelines get 90% of collected funds from beneficiaries, while the 10% goes to the District’s account and is meant for maintenance purposes.  

Beneficiaries of the project appreciate the GoR efforts in providing clean water to its people, but also point out that more should be done to ensure access to water for all. Mr. NGOBOKA Pierre, resident of Kabatasi Cell (closer to the water source) and beneficiary of the reserved public fountain, revealed that he makes around 15 minutes on bicycle while pedestrians can even use 30 minutes to get water. He expressed the need to also connect Murehe village, Kabatasi Cell to the pipeline.

At the end of the visit to the project sites, the delegation and District authorities gathered for a debriefing session whereby a number of findings, comments and recommendations are shared. The latter turn around proper filing of procurement documents, timely payment of contractors, maintenance of LED infrastructures and mostly advice on technical aspects of the projects.