What kind of government does rwanda have now

Senate has 12 members indirectly elected by regional governing councils, 8 members appointed by the president, 4 members appointed by the Political Organizations Forum, and 2 members are selected by Institutions of higher learning.

Chamber of Deputies has 53 members elected through a closed-list proportional representation system and 27 members indirectly elected by special interest groups.

Supreme Court judges are nominated by the president of the republic and approved by the Senate. Also sought to prevent Hutu or Tutsi hegemony over political power. Government Type: Republic. The prime minister also presides over abinet meetings when the president is absent, assigns duties to ministers of state, and may appoint military officers and civil officers. Rwanda has a bicameral parliamentary system made up of the senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

The senate has 26 members who are either appointed or elected for to represent for an eight-year term. Four members are elected by the Forum of Political Parties, while two are chosen by university staff. The Chamber of Deputies consists of 80 deputies who sit in the chamber. One deputy is chosen by the Federation of the Associations of the Disabled, while two receive their appointment from the National Youth Council. The highest court in the country is the supreme court, which is made up of the chief justice, deputy chief justices, and 15 judges who are organized into panels of three judges.

The high court consists of the court president, vice president, and 24 judges who are structured into five chambers.

The president, in consultation with the cabinet and the Superior Council of the Judiciary SCJ , nominates judges of the supreme court, who in turn must be approved by the senate. The chief justice and its deputy are appointed to serve for a single, non-renewable 8-year term.

The president appoints a president and vice president of the high court, and these appointments need to be approved by the senate. Other than the supreme court and the high court, the country has commercial courts, high commercial courts, primary courts, intermediate courts, military specialized courts, and Gacaca Court.

Trade unions do not play a major role. All interest groups and NGOs are obliged to participate in state-controlled umbrella organizations.

They lack sufficient space for independent initiatives and actions. Reliable opinion polls cannot be conducted in Rwanda. The last nonrepresentative survey on democratic norms was commissioned by the Senate in In this survey, almost half of respondents were in favor of a democratic system and the participation of all political, social and ethnic groups in the government. As a result of the genocide, the Gacaca trials, the land conflicts and the strict political control, there is very little trust between the poor rural and urban Hutu, middle-class Hutu, returned Tutsi refugees and their descendants and those who survived the genocide.

The gap between the poor and the new administration increases the feeling of powerlessness and general passivity among the vast majority of the poor population. Many see themselves increasingly excluded from economic participation because of agricultural reform, discriminatory treatment of small traders and casual workers or strict state regulations on housing, sanitation and other sectors. In order to counter the growing mistrust of the population and to demonstrate its commitment to poverty reduction especially to the most important donors, the government of Rwanda has concentrated above all on improving health care and offering countrywide educational opportunities.

Its basic idea is to offer the poor incentives and opportunities to increase their economic participation and build social trust. The program supports the poor by employing them in public works cash for work , granting microfinance loans and directly supporting the poorest and most in need families. The costs of the program were offset to a considerable extent against international financing, in particular from the World Bank.

However, efforts to reduce extreme poverty through this initiative met with only limited success. The program reached only half of the Rwandan villages, granted only a very limited number of small loans and remained dependent on foreign funds.

VUP is an example of an initiative driven by the elite to counter potential political unrest and is therefore closely intertwined with the political legitimacy of the regime. It is typical of how top-down initiatives encounter internal administrative difficulties and eventually disappear. Rwanda is one of the smallest but most densely populated countries in Africa. The population grew from 2. It reached Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector.

As the population density reached inhabitants per square kilometer, the government deemed that farms had become too small. Its goal is therefore to bundle as many participants into cooperatives as possible and to increase their productivity and thus their income through the use of modern technologies. However, this is likely to result in fewer agricultural jobs. Alternative employment opportunities in commercial enterprises on state-owned land, in agriculture and in mining will only partially compensate for this.

Jobs in light industry are slowly emerging and are mainly created by foreign private investment. The majority of people work in social services, transport and trade, construction and utilities, finance and real estate. Most economic activity is concentrated in the booming capital Kigali.

Only about 3. For a further , their age or disabilities prevent them from working. Another 1. To make matters worse, the government is trying to restrict informal employment and even criminalize it.

Emigration to neighboring countries offers no solution as these face economic challenges of their own. The situation is becoming more challenging due to the high birth rate in the country: every year between , and , young people increase the number of job seekers. In , the government faced a scenario in which over 2 million people lacked jobs with incomes that could adequately support them. This figure will increase in the coming years. Overpopulation and underemployment as sources of poverty and inequality will remain the main socioeconomic challenge for the next decade.

Nevertheless, there has been a slow but steady decline in poverty from However, this decline is mainly due to developments in the capital Kigali, which has a poverty rate of only Rwanda has the highest inequality rate in East Africa. Although there has been social progress, such as improvements in health care, literacy rates and gender equality, the HDI rank has stagnated at around since This class has an ethnic bias that emerged from the upheavals and that has benefited and will continue to benefit most from government policies.

The country is far from achieving the Vision goals and becoming a regional center. Progress has been similarly slow in neighboring Tanzania and Uganda. The government of Rwanda has therefore decided to postpone the deadline for the Vision targets to The structural social and economic exclusion of large population groups without prospects could lead to severe frustration, with the risk of violent outbreaks. It is hoped that the government will dismantle existing social barriers and recognize that new jobs for less skilled people in the formal sector are as important as the development of a knowledge-based economy for the middle and upper class.

This includes expanding the formal sector of the economy. The government of Rwanda is committed to the principles of a market-based and competitive economy, which it considers key to sustainable development.

These include respect for property rights, currency convertibility, the reduction of bureaucratic obstacles for enterprises, regional integration, trade liberalization and the attraction of private foreign investment.

The government is particularly interested in foreign investment and has successfully removed obstacles to it. The country is ranked 29th worldwide and second in sub-Saharan Africa after Mauritius. However, the regime has retained some state control through the promotion of party- and military-led enterprises to ensure the priority of economic transformation while safeguarding its power base.

The use of party and military enterprises places the ruling party at the center of the economy. It empowers the president to determine who gains economic power, which in turn undermines the ability of opponents to raise money and at the same time enables a legal and hidden form of reward for the most important aides.

Market competition is also challenged by the reform of agriculture, which is the pillar of exports. In order to increase the export of higher quality processed agricultural products, small landowners are forced into cooperatives, which significantly restricts their own decision-making. For its remarkable improvements in the regulatory environment for private business, Rwanda has been internationally commended as a leading reformer in East Africa. The privately organized party- and military-led enterprises, holdings and banks so far seem not to have constituted an obstacle to other domestic or foreign investment.

Larger and longer-term financing is still limited to a small section of businesspeople. The weighted mean tariff rate was 7. Rwanda is also a strong supporter of an African free trade area. The banking system is free, dynamic and meets international standards. It has grown in size in recent years, and its stability, structure and efficiency have improved significantly as a result of central bank enforcement rules.

The authorities are actively taking measures to improve access to finance and encourage the creation of new financial institutions. The banking system is highly concentrated but competitive. According to the World Bank, the share of non-performing loans was 7.

The bank capital to assets ratio in was These figures fulfill international requirements. Microfinance institutions MFIs have also grown rapidly in number, although many still suffer from a lack of capacity to finance and develop new products or extend their reach to rural customers.

International and regional banks have joined as shareholders and competitors. So far, the banking sector consists of 12 commercial banks, three microfinance banks, one development bank and one cooperative bank.

All commercial banks have international correspondent banks operating in major cities of the world. The banks are largely private and partly owned by foreign investors. Other assets are held by the government, the ruling party and the national army. The government is committed to the stability of the national currency and prices.

The Rwandan franc floats freely against the dollar. This depreciation was slowed in to 3. The BNR - formally independent - calls for budgetary discipline and for a reduction of the foreign trade and current payments deficit. Since monetary and fiscal policy are strictly overseen by the IMF and World Bank, the government rarely attempts to influence the decisions of the central bank.

Consumer price inflation increased to 8. As part of a strategy to deepen regional integration and development Rwanda created in with the other member states of the EAC the East African Monetary Union EAMU providing a set of primary convergence criteria, i. The government has attempted to maintain a tight fiscal stance aimed at achieving fiscal and debt sustainability, reducing the external current account deficit, supporting the reliance on external financing and meeting the EAMU-convergence criteria.

The level of the budget deficit could only be maintained through budget aid and other transfers, since the increase of export was modest and FDI and remittances of expatriate Rwandans remained below expectations.

Since further investment in infrastructure will be necessary to sustain economic growth, debt service could once again become a heavy burden. The risks are even higher than in the past. The macroeconomic stability of Rwanda also depends on political developments, since the limited potential of the country could be blocked by political insecurity in the region and internal unrest. The constitution and laws guarantee property rights.

However, in practice, this applies only to the titled property of urban and rural land in the hands of the small elite and urban middle class. Agricultural non-titled land was traditionally property of the state, the assignment of land to the small subsistence farmers being regulated by local traditions. As a result of the massive refugee movements of the s and s, in which hundreds of thousands of people lost or left their land while others illegally took possession of it, rural land ownership became highly intricate.

The government decided therefore to introduce land registration and titling combined with land consolidation by a land act passed in The project was completed in The fertile marshlands remain state property. The hillsides are assigned to the farmers on leases of 99 years. The minimum size of an assigned unit was fixed to one hectare and the holding cannot be divided further.

Farmland deemed to not be properly cultivated can be reappropriated by the administration. Through these regulations, the government aims not only to settle conflicts over ownership and to stop the further fragmentation of the land but also facilitate its program of agricultural modernization. The project is de facto a program of state-controlled social engineering and runs counter to the right of disposition of the large majority of small farmers, discouraging their individual responsibilities and initiatives.

In principle, private companies can be established and can act freely. In particular, privatization of formerly state-owned companies has contributed to progress. However, the small middle class owns at best only a fractional share of private companies. Holdings that incorporate their finances and objectives with those of the ruling party and the army are able to combine investment by Rwandan funds, foreign private stakeholders and development funding.

They are active in civil work, communication, security services, property development, financial services and increasingly in mining and commercial agriculture. The labor law ensures the protection of basic labor standards while facilitating the flexibility of labor contracts with the aim of increasing the international competitiveness of the Rwandan economy. For the underemployed, comprising mainly small farmers, craftsmen, traders and casual laborers, there are no special regulations and safety nets to counter the risks of accidents, illness and old age.

Since the government insists that childbirth takes place in health care centers, life expectancy at birth has improved in the last decade to Despite amendments in the premium schedule to assure the financial sustainability of the scheme, it requires large budgetary subsidies from the government, foreign donors and NGOs.

The poorest families receive food aid, the provision of which is aided by international donors, to reduce malnutrition, especially in children. The government has also launched the VUP - as mentioned above - for the poorest and most vulnerable people. Although these programs are selective and do not attack the causes of mass poverty, they have led to a decrease in the rate of poverty. However, poverty remains twice as high in rural areas as in cities, which underscores the fact that economic opportunities and welfare provision are still primarily concentrated in urban areas, especially in Kigali.

Education for all is a priority for the government. The literacy rate for those aged to years has reached The primary net enrollment rate is now However, the average pupil attends secondary school for just 3.

In response, the government has expanded the free basic education program to six years of secondary education. Higher education enrollment has also increased sharply, with , young people over the age of 16 currently attending educational institutions. There is, however, a concern that the recent rapid expansion in education has led to a decline in quality. Pupils and students in rural and poor urban areas still face difficulties in gaining access to higher education.

Nevertheless, progress in public education is the most visible evidence that the regime cares for equal opportunities for all citizens. In the institutions that are important for keeping the regime in power, only applicants who are judged to be trustworthy are preferred. Hidden discrimination along political and ethnic lines therefore continues in the security forces, the public administration and in the private firms under the control of the army and the ruling party RPF. To achieve this goal, agricultural reform, industrialization, commercialization, mining and the rationalization of the service sector would need to significantly improve the balance of trade and labor productivity, including the creation of , to , new jobs annually.

The production of coffee and tea could be increased, since these crops are important pillars of the export. The contribution of tourism to GDP is indicated in publications as a maximum of However, these figures are not confirmed by official statistics. Overall, however, progress of agricultural reform has slowed. Through the land registration and consolidation described above, the government of Rwanda not only aimed to settle ownership conflicts and stop further fragmentation of holdings, but intended to facilitate agricultural modernization by creating creditworthy units that enable modern cultivation methods.

To this end, the government introduced a resource-intensive priority crop program that supports contract farming, land sharing and cooperatives, irrigation, terracing, mechanization, improved seeds, and increased use of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. In , while Services contribute to more than half of GDP. Growth has taken place primarily in information technology-activated shared services and business process outsourcing. These services have been prioritized as a means for Rwanda to become a regional hub that offers lower costs for quality products.

This also applies to shared services that attract banking with service centers for the establishment of international operations in Rwanda. The corresponding services and public administration have grown considerably. However, to this point growth has had very little effect on exports and the balance of payments. Returns on mineral exports declined due to lower volumes and falling international prices, but the government expects that reforms to the mining sector initiated a few years ago, including commercialization, mechanization, development of new deposits and improved production, will lead to significantly higher export revenues and effectively reduce the trade deficit.

Opinions differ as to whether these expectations are realistic. In any case, the increased reliance on exports of mining products constitutes a return to the mainstream of African foreign trade policy. The foreign exchange balance with regard to services remains negative despite recent growth. This also includes private tourism and conference tourism, both of which are heavily supported by state investment.

The deficit was covered by development grants and loans, remittances and borrowing. Therefore, foreign aid has macroeconomic weight in Rwanda, like in no other sub-Saharan country. If aid were to be curtailed substantially, the Rwandan economy could collapse. For the foreseeable future, the equilibrium of external accounts, budget and debt service, as well as the necessary investments in infrastructure, will continue to depend on a constant inflow of foreign aid resources.

Despite government initiatives, Rwanda remains one of the least transformed countries in Africa. Population density dynamics and the distribution of land resources - which have resulted in soil degradation, deforestation, biodiversity depletion, hillside erosion and pollution — increase the environmental challenges that threaten economic development.

To modernize agriculture, the government follows the conventional path of introducing better seeds, promoting increased use of chemical fertilizer and the terracing of hillsides.

Productivity has increased, but it remains to be seen whether these measures are sustainable. In other fields, such as the provision of energy, water management and waste disposal, the government follows a policy of environmental conservation.

In recognition of its good intentions, Rwanda became a pilot country of the U. Education and technical training are priorities for the government.

However, in the last few years expenditure has been reduced to 3. In , the primary school net enrollment rate increased to While the authorities were committed to delivering education to the poor, rural primary schools are unfortunately delivering a poor-quality education. The frustration of the poor is visible in the primary school completion rate: there was an alarmingly decline from Enrollment in secondary schools has doubled, and the number of teachers has almost tripled.

A further priority is the increase in the number of vocational training schools. Strengthening technical and vocational education will ensure that the labor market offers the right skills required by a modern economy.

In the last five years, the number of students in Tertiary Technical Institutions increased, a modest but promising beginning.

Improvements in education and research are seen by the government as indispensable prerequisites for the modernization of the country. The quality of university education is being improved by private initiatives, such as branches set up by international universities. Just as in tertiary education, where the number of expensive places at private institutions has significantly grown while the number of places at state institutions remains stagnant, there is a danger of a growing bias in favor of the upper class.

Changes to the scholarship system introduced as part of the Ubudehe social protection program in , which have extended scholarships into rural communities, may begin to address this. Since , Rwanda has considerably improved its educational system. The U. Education index rose from in to in The structural constraints acting on the development of the country are grave. Before , the predominantly rural population lived under precarious conditions, which through the accelerated post-independence population growth continued to deteriorate.

The new regime underestimated the constraints and announced a far-reaching technocratic reform program called Vision , transforming the country to a thriving regional trade and investment hub based on knowledge-based services, a vibrant middle class of entrepreneurs and a productive and market-oriented agriculture. However, it has become clear that agricultural exports cannot be increased sustainably because of rising domestic demand, that the results of the services sector are difficult to market internationally and that hundreds of thousands of jobs need to be created for a growing workforce that is no longer required in a more productive agricultural sector.

Labor-intensive industrialization can only be developed gradually and the export of minerals, even if new deposits can be successfully identified and exploited, will face fierce international competition. However, there is no alternative to the continued modernization of agriculture and the search for productive non-agricultural employment, supported by appropriate education and training.

Before there existed a relatively dense social fabric of religious and community-based development organizations encouraged by the contemporary authorities that followed a bottom-up approach to development. They were also intimately linked to the local elite. The civil war, genocide and resulting repression terminated these hopeful beginnings. In the last two decades, the current regime completely reshaped the territorial structure and cut the links between the former elite and the rural population.

Local representatives are subject to strict control by the central bureaucracy through the detailed personal performance contracts with the president imihigo. Projects that meet the wishes and expectations of the local people and offer them a sense of ownership are therefore rare. The degree of social trust amongst the rural and urban poor is difficult to assess and may differ from sector to sector. Therefore, they have little innovative impact. The civil war, the genocide and their aftermath still divide Rwandan society.