Kick-off mission to Rwanda a success

Representatives of municipalities and institutions in Rhineland-Palatinate travelled to Rwanda from 7 to 14 July, in order to get to know their African partners in the project 'Local Governance Exchange Rhineland-Palatinate – Rwanda', and begin the dialogue on local governance.

The Rhineland-Palatinate municipalities taking part in the project are the town of Bad Kreuznach, the combined municipality of Birkenfeld, the administrative district Germersheim, the combined municipality of Hachenburg and the town of Landau. Each is partnering with a district in Rwanda. As well as strengthening individual municipal partnerships, the project also includes cooperation between institutions such as the Rhineland-Palatinate Association of Towns and Municipalities (GStB) and the Rwandan Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA). Also at the level of institutions, the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration Rhineland-Palatinate and the town of Mayen, together with the Municipal Academy Rhineland-Palatinate, have entered into a partnership with the Local Governance Institute in Rwanda.

The kick-off mission gave participants the opportunity to work out the specific thematic areas for cooperation over the next three years. These vary from partnership to partnership, encompassing good governance and citizen participation, urban planning, renewable energy, water supply and solid waste management.

The agenda began with the joint kickoff workshop with the Rwandan partner institutions, and the mayors and staff of the partner districts, in the Rwandan capital Kigali. The workshop was opened by Minister Francis Kaboneka of the Rwandan Ministry of Local Governance (MINALOC). He emphasised that the project could strengthen local authorities in both Rwanda and Rhineland-Palatinate by providing good practice examples.

Over the next few days, excursions and local meetings gave the participants from Rhineland-Palatinate an opportunity to see for themselves the circumstances and needs of their partner districts, and to dialogue directly with their Rwandan project partners on the ground.

Finally, at a concluding workshop in Kigali participants discussed what they had learned during the week, identified relevant topics for mutual dialogue and drew up concrete plans of action for the further course of the project. One of the highlights the conference was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, which set the seal on further cooperation.

Wolfang Treis, Mayor of the town of Mayen, sees 'huge potential in the digitalisation of governance processes, especially for joint and mutual learning'. The town of Mayen is supporting the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration during the project by acting as a model municipality in matters of practical work.

Bernhard Eck, Chair of the Board at the waste management and disposal company Landau (EWL), also sees digitalisation as presenting a good opportunity for mutual dialogue, particularly as regards municipal cost accounting: 'Our routines have been in place for many years, which makes it difficult to rethink structures and try out new approaches. Since Rwanda is at the beginning of this process there are many ways in which we can work together'.

Stefan Heck, Director of the Municipal Academy Rhineland-Palatinate in Boppard, which in its project partnership is focusing on improving the training of local authority staff, said how impressed he was with the lessons learned and the meetings in the districts: 'People's kindness and warm-heartedness impressed me deeply. That fact that we were able to develop really concrete areas for cooperation within a week was a great outcome!'

As the pilot project unfolds over the designated period from 2018 to 2010, it will develop in different ways in each individual partnership. Alongside general and regular knowledge transfer, possible platforms for exchange will include for instance expert missions to Rwanda or Rhineland-Palatinate, temporary placements, and exchange programmes between the local governance training institutions. Furthermore, in the autumn of this year the German Academy for International Cooperation (AIZ) is planning to hold a course on intercultural skills and country analysis for the participants from Rhineland-Palatinate. One network meeting each for the Rhineland-Palatinate and the Rwandan participants is scheduled for 2019.