This study investigated the influence of decentralisation on community development in the Gasabo district of Rwanda. It was based on the assumption that the participation of citizens in decision-making, planning based on local needs and priorities and the implementation of development programmes associated with the decentralisation policy can improve service delivery and result in community development. It is vital that the decentralization policy be well understood so that appropriate strategies may be adopted and implemented with the aim of maximising advantages associated with it. This study provides, in addition to a literature review, a brief historical background of the evolution and transformation of governance in Rwanda. The country‟s system of governance as well as the challenges it has encountered along the way through different régimes are briefly addressed. Also, the legal and regulatory framework of the decentralization policy and strategies adopted and mechanisms of resource transfer are explained. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Primary and secondary data were used in analysing the influence of decentralisation on community development in the Gasabo district of Rwanda. Primary data was collected through survey questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions, while secondary data were gathered through a literature survey of relevant textbooks, peer-reviewed journals, reports and legislation. The research findings indicated that in the Gasabo district, decentralisation has contributed significantly towards improving governance aspects such as accountability, and citizen participation in development programmes, which are prerequisite factors of development. Concerning the planning process, the research found that the district development plan (DDP) was crafted through drawing its priorities from the national development plans embedded in the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategies (EDPRS) and Rwanda‟s Vision 2020. However, despite the existence of the Joint Action Development Forum (JADF), created to join the development plans of development partners to the DDP, testimonies from development partners revealed that their relationship with the district is characterised by the lack of frank collaboration, leading to their not being fully associated in the planning process. This research also found that the decentralisation policy has contributed only to a limited extent to the improvement of service delivery in Gasabo district. It was observed that effective service delivery is still hampered by the lack of skilled employees, especially in the areas of education, health and engineering, a budget insufficient for the effective implementation of development projects in such a way as to satisfy the expectations of beneficiaries. In view of the aforementioned findings, the study recommends that the central government intervene in training district tax officers regarding mechanisms and strategies of maximising tax collection to draw sufficient funds to carry out development plans. Through building their capacity, the imbalance between the responsibilities and means allocated for carrying out their achievement can be progressively reduced. Furthermore, to prevent development from taking place in a random manner, district authorities should receive technical support from the central government through linking the local planning process to national poverty reduction efforts. The annual performance contract system needs to be strengthened and monitored to evaluate the implementation of district development plans so as to prevent any kind of poor leadership performance, with the aim of optimising available resources.

Thesis (MPA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A community-centred development which can be qualified as authentic development leads to the sustainability of the community. This must be understood as a process of economic, political and social change springing from the efforts of people themselves working for the benefit of themselves, their families and, hopefully, their communities, which process can be referred to as a self-reliant participatory development. This calls for active mutual self-help among people working together in their common struggle, at the grassroots level, to deal with their common problems. It is also acknowledged that if development efforts are to be effective, then the participation of problem-affected groups is necessary, with support from local government, NGO’s, local resource people and donors, willing to live and work among them. The success of this self-reliant participatory development approach accompanied by inner conviction, a shared understanding, and awareness or consciousness-awakening that people have of their common problems, and finding ways of mobilising resources, planning, implementing and eventually controlling their own development activities. Against this background, however, the roles of government as well as of NGOs, in fighting against poverty and social transformation that leads to the development of the community, remain indispensable. Government roles should be enabling and supportive, and create a space for communities’ needs. This study aimed to explore the decentralisation process to boost the community efforts towards participation in local development management. As the public participation processes in local government do not yield the outcomes that reveal a fully optimised process, the role of the community developer is merely to create an environment of freedom within which the latent development potential of the community can bloom (Schutte, 2000:5). This Rwandan case study offers an overview of its decentralisation and community development policies. The literature review provides the definitions of key concepts regarding the topic, in both the international context as well as Rwandan context. It discusses the topic and highlights definition, objective, different forms of decentralisation, community development and its delivery framework. The findings show that community development depends on the political will that establishes effective and favourable institutions to sustain the self-reliance of the community as well as the awareness of the community of its daily problems and its participation in planning and implementing solutions. The SWOT analysis provides a situation from which to adopt new alternatives and strengthen the existing one in order to face challenges. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gemeenskapgesentreerde ontwikkeling wat kwalifiseer as oorspronklike ontwikkeling, lei tot die volhoudbaarheid van die gemeenskap. Dit moet gesien word as ‘n proses van ekonomiese, politieke en sosiale verandering wat sy oorsprong het in die pogings van die mense self, wat werk tot voordeel van hulself, hulle gesinne, en hopelik hulle gemeenskappe. Hierdie proses kan na verwys word as selfstandige deelnemende ontwikkeling. Dit vereis aktiewe, onderlinge selfhulp waar mense saamwerk en saamstreef op voetsoolvlak, om hulle gemeenskaplike probleme te oorkom. Daar word ook erken dat om doeltreffend te wees, die deelname van die voordeeltrekkers nodig is, met die ondersteuning van plaaslike regering, Nie-Regerings Organisasies (NGOs), plaaslike kundiges en donateure wat gewillig is om tussen die mense te woon en te werk. Om die sukses van hierdie deelnemende ontwikkelingsbenadering te verseker, moet dit gesteun word deur innerlike oortuiging, ‘n gesamentlike siening, en die bewuswording van die mense self van hulle gesamentlike probleme. Hulle moet maniere vind om hulle hulpbronne te mobiliseer, om te beplan, die planne te implementeer en uiteindelik om hulle eie ontwikkelingsaktiwiteite te beheer. Teen hierdie agtergrond, egter, is die rolle van die regering en die nie-regerings organisasies in die stryd teen armoede onontbeerlik en is dit nodig om sosiale transformasie wat kan lei tot die ontwikkeling van die gemeenskap, te bewerkstellig. Die regering se rol is om die gemeenskap te bekwaam en te ondersteun, en om spasie te skep vir die vervulling van die gemeenskap se behoeftes. In hierdie studie word die desentralisasieproses wat die gemeenskap se pogings tot deelname in plaaslike bestuur bevorder, ondersoek. Aangesien die uitkomste van publieke deelname prosesse in plaaslike regering nog nie ten volle geoptimaliseer is nie, moet die gemeenskapontwikkelaar ‘n omgewing skep waarin die latente ontwikkelingspotensiaal van die gemeenskap vryelik kan blom (Schutte, 2000:5). Hierdie Rwandese gevallestudie bied ‘n oorsig van die desentralisasie en gemeenskapsontwikkeling beleid in Rwanda. Definisies van sleutelkonsepte rakende die onderwerp, in beide die internasionale konteks en die Rwandese konteks word in die literatuuroorsig verskaf. Die onderwerp word bespreek en die definisie, doelwit, verskillende vorme van desentralisasie, gemeenskapontwikkeling en die raamwerk waarbinne dit moet plaasvind, word beklemtoon. Die bevindinge toon dat gemeenskapsontwikkeling afhang van die politieke wil om doeltreffende instansies te skep vir gemeenskappe wat op hulleself kan steun en wat bewus is van hulle daaglikse probleme asook hoe hulle moet deelneem in die beplanning en implementering van oplossings. Die SWOT ontleding verskaf ‘n situasie waaruit nuwe oplossings kan ontstaan en bestaande oplossings versterk kan word, om sodoende nuwe uitdagings tegemoet te gaan.