Never Again Rwanda and Interpeace through the support of the Swedish Embassy in Rwanda have phased out Citizen Forum so that their recorded gains are capitalized on to equally benefit other community members who were not part of the project as direct beneficiaries.
This particular cohort of Citizen fora were launched in March 2016, with each group consisting of on average 30 members. They served as a dialogue platform set up at the Sector level with the purpose “to empower citizens to become more active in participatory governance, strengthen their links with decision-makers, and therefore strengthen government accountability.
While officiating the phase-out ceremony in Rutare Sector of Gicumbi District, Jean Baptiste Hategekimana, Governance & Rights Senior Program Officer at NAR, mentioned that the Citizen Forum operations are not going to stop. “The phase-out is not the end, but rather the beginning of a journey of sustainable and inclusive governance.” During the phase-out ceremonies of Bigogwe and Mukamira sectors in Nyabihu, Head of Programs at Never Again Rwanda, Eric Mahoro reiterated that Citizen Fora complement and support the efforts of the Government of Rwanda geared towards promoting citizen-centred governance and local development.
In the phase-out ceremony of Nyabihu District Citizen Forum, the Mayor of Nyabihu District Odette Musabimana, emphasized their will to support the establishment of more Citizen Fora in the rest of the villages, noting its importance. “When citizens know their rights it is hard to manipulate them into paying corruption money for services they should be acquiring for free. We are going to support the establishment of more Citizen Fora in the rest of the villages of our district.”
Sustainability plans to preserve recorded gains
In terms of the sustainability, some Citizen Fora chose to establish a dialogue space modeled to the cell level. Others chose to maintain the Citizen Forum at the Sector level and run income-generating activities. In Fumbwe sector of Rwamagana District and Bwishyura sector of Karongi District, the members of the Citizen Forum set up another forum and split them into 2 zones to reflect on governance issues and discuss economic and financial development similar to the others.
In Gicumbi District, Rutare sector, the Citizen Forum members plan to recruit and train new members to expand its membership, while also in Nyabihu District, forum members have set up a community based organization and already have an office space. This, they intend to use as their address for the monthly meetings, and also to fundraise for communal activities at the cell level.
Testimonies from the Citizen Forum
Nyampinga Natalia – Nyange Village | Nyaruguru Citizen Forum
“I was previously marginalized as a widow and genocide survivor. I was very quiet, lacked confidence, and had low self-esteem. I never participated in anything until the citizen forum introduced the idea of speaking according to your seating arrangement. I found myself participating in all discussions and this boosted my confidence. Since then, I have been advocating and sensitizing my neighbours about the importance of health insurance (Mituelle de sante) to their families.”
Ulayeneza Merikuriya | Nyaruguru Citizen Forum
“I am a genocide survivor and was a victim of violence during the same genocide. My neighbour who had participated in the killing of my family used to always harass me, I would at times forget the way to my home from church because of trauma. The citizen forum gave me counseling; they encouraged me to express what was on my mind. Eventually, the local authorities got involved due to the advocacy by the citizen forum, the harassing neighbour was arrested and taken away after investigations. If it was not for the citizen forum, I would probably have committed suicide…”
Nzungize Augustin, Facilitator in Rutare Citizen Forum | Gicumbi
“The forum members mobilized the community to construct a new road. They worked together to decrease the number of school dropouts. They also held meetings with parents and teachers to find ways of ensuring that when children left their homes they actually went to school.”