Local Government Capacity Building

The project directly supported the Rwanda government decentralization strategy. The project had three main components:

– Strategic planning support to MINALOC and to line ministries to devise strategies and plans for decentralization of responsibilities and services to provinces and districts. This component also included capacity building and organizational analysis to strengthen the internal capacity of MINALOC

– Establishment and support to the Rwanda Association of Local Authorities

– Institutional support and capacity building for local governments within the provinces of Butare and Gigongoro. Task teams composed of district and provincial staff members and politicians have been formed to develop plans of operations for municipal tasks and project planning

Gender issues were a part of all strategies and capacity building within the three components. Trainings on Gender equality, more balanced representation of women and men in politics and decision-making have been carried out to all Task Teams. Consultants of Sipu International assisted Rwandan Local Government Association, RALGA to design and carry out a two days’ conference on gender equality and contributed with material for the booklet on gender mainstreaming. Gender Task Team was also trained in simple methods of gender mainstreaming. Manual for gender training was prepared and tested.