Rwanda Making Strides In Fighting Corruption –Anti-Graft Body

By Jean d’Amour Mugabo

Rwanda’s efforts to combat corruption have been effective at the rate of 79.35% compared to 70.2% recorded last year, according to the Rwanda Bribery Index (RBI) 2023.

The survey conducted in September 2023 assessing experiences and perceptions of bribery in Rwanda indicate that 50.84% of respondents (up from 39% in 2022) consider the level of corruption to be low in Rwanda, while 25.51% and 17.13% perceive that it is of medium and high levels, respectively.

Launching the survey findings in Kigali on Thursday, Albert Rwego Kavatiri, the Programme Manager at Transparency International Rwanda (TI-Rwanda), said despite the government’s improvements in fighting the graft, some government institutions have slipped back to high levels of corruption. These include Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), primary and secondary schools.

“RURA is ranked second in terms of the likelihood of demand of bribes in the last 12

months which calls for deep analysis as to examine what is behind the increase of

corruption observed in this particular public institution during the year under review,” said Kavatiri, quoting the report.

The survey indicates that the private sector and RURA have registered the highest likelihood of bribery, with 15.60% and 13.80%, respectively. It is worth noting that for RURA, the likelihood sharply increased from 2.90% in 2021 to 6% in 2022 and further to 13.80% in 2023. Rwanda National Police comes third with bribery likelihood of 11.02% down from 16.40% in 2022when it was second to private sector with 21.20%.

In this year, RURA was relieved of the responsibilities of issuing licenses of public transport and transferred this role to districts and the City of Kigali due to the failure of RURA to effectively deliver transport services and in transparent manner.

“We commend the remarkable progress and efforts made by the government of Rwanda in the fight against corruption. This is not only depicted in the RBI findings but is also evidenced by various corruption surveys, including Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks Rwanda fourth in Africa with a rating of 51%,” said Apollinaire Mupiganyi, TI-Rwanda Executive Director. “However, we still have a long journey ahead. We need to crack on and sort out the existing bottlenecks. It is up to all anti-corruption actors and stakeholders to renew their commitment and join efforts in this fight.”

While the national prevalence of bribery stands at 2.60% in 2023, down from 4.50% in 2022, the findings reveal the private sector and secondary schools registered the highest prevalence of bribery, with 9.60% and 8.30%, respectively.

According to RBI 2023 findings, over the last 12 months, 22% of Rwandans directly or indirectly demanded or offered a bribe in interactions with institutions, reflecting a decrease of 7.10% compared to RBI 2022.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Ombudsman Madeleine Nirere lauded TI-Rwanda for pointing out the areas with the highest levels of corruption and pledged government’s increased efforts to combating the graft.

“We are going to look into new strategies and keep enforcing the existing measures towards combating corruption. I call on everyone to join the battle to ensure that Rwanda emerges among the best in the world. I also urge our citizens to report corruption to us and other concerned institutions, and we pledge to protect them,” she said.

Illegal constructions or building and renovating houses in places not allowed by the master plan, along with obtaining a construction permit, emerge as the most prone to corruption payments in 2023, according to 52.4% and 34.9% of respondents, respectively. Moreover, the school feeding program in the Nine Years Basic Education Programme is also found to be affected by corruption, as perceived by 25% of citizens participating in this survey.

Regarding bribery occurrences within the business community, the study indicates that at least 8% of business people were demanded to pay bribes in 2023, and 5.1% of them ended up paying. Among those who paid, 42.17% did so for business purposes.

The report underscores that a low level of reporting remains among the challenges impeding the fight against corruption. The findings reveal that 94.2% did not report encountered corruption cases, up from 87.5% in 2022. The main reasons provided were that “it did not occur to me that I should report” (32%), fear of self-incrimination (21.30%), the belief that no action would be taken even if they reported corruption (15.40%) and fear of intimidation (11.50%).

Rwanda is known for its strict measures in the fight against corruption in Africa, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index released in January ranking the East African country as 54^th globally and 4^th in Africa with the score of 51% behind Seychelles scoring 70%, Botswana and Cabo Verde tying at the score of 60%.