............ . . Kagame's effective skills of good governance   By George Kalisa   LIKE many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Rwanda’s service delivery lacked in many ways. Howerver, President Kagame and his government have devised ways of improving it in order to fulfill the promises they made to the people six years ago. A big shot in the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), who preferred not to be named says the president promised to improve lives by transforming the economy through the Vision2020 and Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS). Kagame has improved service delivery alongside the fight against corruption. Immense success has been achieved through adaptation of strict rules in fighting corruption code-named, ‘zero tolerance to corruption’. President Kagame decided to look to the traditional Rwandan society as it flowed with milk and honey in the past. He vowed to restore the dignity and the pride (ishema) of Rwandans and its glory.   President Kagame waves to supporters. His traditional leadership approach has done wonders in Rwanda As a focused, charismatic and enterprising leader, his government, revisited the leadership code and concepts of leadership of the ancestors (Abakurambere) and modified them to match the needs of the modern society. This is largely the magic of good governance in Rwanda. These concepts include: imihigo (performance contracts), intore, ubudehe, abunzi and gacaca (a traditional justice system). Imihigo refers to the traditional leadership codes in Rwandan society, where the mayors make commitments and promises to their people. They vow before the President and the people through an agreement called Performance Contract, as an external and visible sign that they would do whatever it takes to fulfill their promises to the people. These promises centre on the social and economic developments. The Imihigo were launched in 2003 after Kagame became president. Since the integration of imihigo, immense development has been achieved. The principle has trickled down to the Umudugudu level (lowest administrative unit) and to the family level as an ideal that serves as impetus for hard-work. The practice has, irrefutably promoted collective responsibility, unity and reconciliation among Rwandans. They annually celebrate success on achieving the set goals as they make commitments for the next year. Such home-grown approaches to development, social analysts here say, have a bearing on the process of social and economic transformation. Besides they have checked and/or prevented corruption and led to improved service delivery country-wide. The intore (a philosophy that emphasises values of integrity, self-esteem, nationalism, unity, altruism hard-work and trustworthiness) have greately shaped Rwanda. This a concept had been abolished by the colonial administration in 1923 during king Musinga’s reign. On November 16, 2007 President Kagame re-launched it. There are other attributes like indangakakiro that distinguish good citizens from bad ones and ibyigwari. Bonaface Rucagu, the chairman of the national task force of this noble institution and governor of the northern province recently said that since the intore was re-launched, about 15,228 Rwandans from nearly all walks of life have undergone training. “The beneficiaries include; local administrators, teachers, executive secretaries, coffee farmers, agronomists and health workers” Rucagu said. The need to integrate this kind of leadership training in the politics of the country was strenghtened in 1999 by the National Unity and Reconciliation (NURC) programme. Kagame’s resolve to address poverty is reflected in the ubudehe initiative, where every village is allocated about 660,000Rwandese francs for an approved project. The rural population uses the money to start income generating activities and the majority of the people confess they have not remained the same since. They have started piggery units, poultry farming, goat rearing and beekeeping. To increase land productivity, a response to Kagame’s campaign. Farmers also use the money to introduce modern terracing and have made Rwanda’s countryside boast of breathtaking sceneries. Needless to mention, the living standards of the rural people have improved. This is exactly what President Kagame meant in his manifesto six years ago when he promised to uphold justice Members of the community through their administrative structures, dubbed, Ubudehe have encouraged mutual responsibility. Now, each Rwandan village has a social chart, a bank account and two ubudehe committees that monitor and evaluate the progress of the projects. Entrusting local people with the management of their own affairs has had a sea of multiplier effects that range from increased dialogue between the government and the local people and solution to social conflict that hit the country. Rwanda’s Vision2020 in which unity, public accountability and love of one’s country are enriched is a force to reckon with.