A nation in a hurry’: The costs of local governance reforms in Rwanda'
Gaynor, NiamhORCID: 0000-0001-5645-7032
(2015)
A nation in a hurry’: The costs of local governance reforms in Rwanda'.
Review of African Political Economy, 41
(S1).
S49-S63.
ISSN 0305-6244
Almost twenty years on from the horrors of the genocide, Rwanda is drawing considerable
international attention as it emerges as a leading African success story. Its strong economic
performance, with growth rates averaging eight percent over the last ten years, has led some
to argue that it represents a new form of African developmental state. This article draws on
fieldwork conducted in early 2013 to examine the political impact of the government‟s
developmental reforms at local levels. Charting developments in local governance over the
last decade, it demonstrates an increasing centralisation of deliberation and decision-making
on local development in tandem with growing pressures and demands on local communities
to invest – physically and financially – in centrally promoted activities and programmes. The
findings, which uncover growing levels of popular disquiet and dissent with the centrally
driven approach, raise questions regarding the level of embeddedness and legitimacy of the
regime and therefore the sustainability of its development project, The findings also
challenge the currently popular „good enough governance‟ agenda in that they demonstrate
that local governance and state-societal relations do matter, most especially when the
pressures and costs for local development outcomes fall heavily on local communities.