Paper short abstract:

Rwanda has achieved remarkable development since the end of the Civil War and the gruesome Genocide. Ethnic conflicts and civil wars were the major crises that Rwanda had to endure. The paper is on the need to leverage capabilities and commitments from crises to enhance participatory and accountable governance for fostering social cohesion and nurturing inclusive human development in Rwanda.

Paper long abstract:

Rwanda, a country in Central Africa, has achieved remarkable socio-economic development and progress since the end of the Civil War and the gruesome Genocide. When Rwanda became an independent nation in 1962, the first three decades were marred by unrest, massacres, civil wars, and dictatorship. Ethnic conflicts and civil wars were the major crises that Rwanda had to endure. The civil war that occurred between October 1990 and July 1994, followed by the Rwandan Genocide, not only destroyed the social and moral fabric of Rwanda but also left its economy in tatters. The Genocide of 1994 and its aftermath completely changed the course of life and development in Rwanda. The Rwandan experience shows that the crises facilitated the nation and its people's moulding and developing their capabilities to the fore and simultaneously strengthening them through their social, political, and moral commitments. Today, Rwanda is one of the world's most successful and fastest-growing economies (Bull and Vanek, 2024). Rwanda’s recovery from the 1994 Genocide and its rapid economic growth, about 8 percent on average over the last 15 years, inspires developing countries worldwide (UNDP, 2021). According to the World Bank, Rwanda’s economy grew by 9.2 percent in the first quarter of 2023, following 8.2 per cent growth in 2022 (World Bank, 2023). Between 1990 and 2017, Rwanda’s Human Development Index (HDI) doubled from 0.250 to 0.524; in 2021, it stood at 0.534 (UNDP, 2021). While Rwanda is still positioned in the Low Human Development category, between 1995 and 2021, its HDI value tremendously changed from 0.286 to 0.534 (UNDP – HDI,2021). Rwanda’s GNI per capita changed about 19.51 percent between 1995 and 2021.

Rwanda is also a global leader in health care in the East African region in alternative care reforms (Karim et al.,2021). Rwanda has made notable achievements in reducing maternal mortality rates by 42 percent, lowering them from 487 to 203 per 100,000 live births, and the country has successfully brought down under-five mortality rates to 50 percent from 152 deaths per 1,000 live births to 76 (Binagwaho and Kubwimana, 2023). Poverty rates have also substantially come down as Multidimensional Poverty in Rwanda has declined from 0.461 in 2005 to 0.266 in 2017 to 0.231 in 2021.

Rehabilitation and development processes in Rwanda were built on the foundation of sound political and institutional structures and mechanisms to foster resilience and transformation. Over the years, especially post-1994, the government of Rwanda has exhibited a strong commitment in reducing poverty by implementing pro-poor policies and economic reforms to raise the income and productivity of the poor, which have resulted in a tremendous decline in poverty and inequality. Rwanda is also a business and investment-friendly country. The effective, pragmatic, and zero tolerance on corruption have provided a conducive platform for public policy success and a conducive investment ecosystem to attract local and foreign investments (Ggeombe and Newfarmer, 2018). In the case of Gender Development Index, the 2021 female HDI value for Rwanda is 0.521 in contrast with 0.574 for males, resulting in a GDI value of 0.954. Today, Rwanda has 61 percent women Parliamentarians. In 2003, the Rwandan government put forward a bold gender equality initiative and ensured 30 percent quota in all the decision-making bodies. A Ministry of Gender was also set up in Rwanda, the first of its kind in Africa (Wallace et al., 2008). Rwanda has also introduced an Inheritance law favouring women. During the genocide, 10,00,000 lives were lost, and 250,000 women were subjected to sexual violence. After the Genocide, 70 per cent of those who survived were women. The crisis resulting from the Genocide forced the country to make use of the leadership and administrative capabilities of Rwandan women. The government that came into power was forced to look into policies that can accommodate women in powerful positions.

While the Democracy Index over the years classified Rwanda as an “authoritarian regime”, it is surprising to note that this country became a haven for effective home-grown solutions. Rwanda’s transformation journey from obscurity to development was also pioneered by “locally engineered policy innovations” known as home-grown solutions. Home-grown solutions have played an instrumental role in fostering the Rwandans' capabilities and cementing the commitments towards the nation as a whole in various facets. Peacebuilding processes and initiatives in Rwanda were a fruitful result of home-grown solutions in the world. No other country in the world has effectively made use of the power of home-grown solutions other than Rwanda, not only in post-conflict resolutions and reconstructions but also in strengthening political, social, and economic transformations. In the last 20 years, the Rwandan government has come up with several home-grown solutions built on the values and systems of Rwandan culture. The spirit of de-ethnicization (“I am Rwandan, not Hutu, Tutsi or Twa”) has also strengthened capabilities and commitments.

The introductory part of the paper offers a socio-economic and political profile of Rwanda before the 1994 Genocide and in the post- Genocide. The first part of the paper looks into the social, economic, and political reforms undertaken in Rwanda post-1994. It critically examines how the crises resulting from the Genocide led to a trajectory of capability and commitment framework in formulating and implementing these reforms. The second part looks into the role of political and social empowerment of Rwandan women in the aftermath of the Genocide and critically examines the Rwandan government's commitment to empowering women through pro-women policies and schemes. The third part of the paper looks into the role of locally-engineered home-grown solutions and de-ethnicization in Rwanda, their role in strengthening and developing the capabilities of the citizens and the nation, and how they translate into political, social, and moral commitments. It is followed by a detailed discussion and conclusion on the need to leverage capabilities and commitments to enhance decentralization and participatory and accountable governance for fostering social cohesion and nurturing inclusive human development in Rwanda. The methodology is based on empirical evidences and desk research.