The Three Questions

Published: Daily Outlook Afghanistan 20.01.2014
http://outlookafghanistan.net/topics.php?post_id=9160

One day it occurred to a King that if he only knew the answers to three questions, he would never fail in any matter. The questions were: What is the best time to do something? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at any given time?

The Emperor issued a decree throughout his kingdom announcing that whoever could answer these questions would receive a great reward. Many made their way to the palace at once, each person with a different answer. The Emperor however, was not pleased with any of the answers, and no reward was given.

After several nights, the Emperor decided to visit a hermit who lived up on the mountain and was said to be an enlightened man. Once before him he pleaded for answer to three questions that none could give a satisfying reply. With folded hands he begged to know: the best time to do something, the most important people to work with and the most important job at any times?

The present moment is the only time over which any one has control. The most important person is always the person with whom you are, who is right before you. The most important pursuit is making that person, the one standing by your side, happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life. That was Leo Tolstoy telling us eternal wisdom in most simple words.

Let us ask three similar questions a nation or a country faces?

What do citizens expect from the Government? What does the Government expect from the citizens? Between these expectations how can one marry the possibility where each side comes out a winner?

A very simple answer from the view of citizens is good governance. From the government’s perspective it is continuous support from the citizens so that the government of the day remains in power almost for indefinite period. Both sides are demanding something which is rational and possibly definitely achievable. None of the side seemingly is asking for the moon. The product being demanded is good governance and the price is patronage. Where is the problem then?

Seen from the “Government of the day” perspective, simple as it may appear the idea of “good governance” in itself throws immense challenges. It has different meanings for different segments of the society. While the rural areas crave for basic infrastructure, on the urban areas wish list is up gradation of existing infrastructure that can shoulder the increasing pressure of continuous invasion of migrating population that strain its infrastructure. Rural areas would be probably contended with decent employment opportunities, basic health, sanitation and access to primary education and controlled inflation on the whole. The urban centres on the other hand are more concerned about law and order, access to economic opportunities through expanding industries, trade, commerce and a quality of life that would enable them to become national assets and engines of economic growth. They are also concerned about environmental degradation, clean water and air, social security and the likes.

The challenges before the Government are numerous. For instances they come in the hues of integration of the poor and marginalized, equitable distribution of National wealth, transparency and civic engagement, and capacity building to say the least. On the social and political fronts Governments face groups who are proponents of transfer of certain powers and responsibilities and decision-making close to the scene of action and their devolution, arguing merits of larger and more meaningful participation by citizens in the development process.

There is something about the human personality that craves freedom, creativity, autonomy and human dignity. Governments are tempted to have everything controlled and dictated and to have a system where people do not challenge their leaders and express their minds at the drop of hat. Here lies the contradiction between those who govern and those who are governed. Sometimes even if the Governments wish to be inclusive, interest groups blind their ways. This leads to dissent often culminating into different shades of violence. Somewhere down the line the Government’s communication fails. Further, Governments rarely have sufficient resources and technology to collect desegregated local level data and maintain a database. Hence, data on various aspects and performance parameters is difficult to collect. In the absence of such dynamic data they lose the feel of the changing ground realities.

The challenge of the “Government of the day” therefore, is to respond to sentiments in the markets, in living rooms, near tea stalls, on the roads, in the restaurants and all the places where people converse. Challenge is to create space and voice to all its stakeholders through inclusive decision-making, since such decision-making is at the heart of good governance and brings governments close to its innate wish of remaining in power. The policy making in a country committed to the rule of law and democratic principles therefore faces the challenge of involving a large number of people who represent the entire population, and hence, making all of the voices heard and assimilated.

Democracy in some way helps solve this dilemma. However, the tendency is to equate democracy with one day affair of elections - this is not so. Voters go to the polls to express their preferences towards parties and make their favoured parties and individual candidates win once in five years or whatever period of time for term of office a Government follows. This should not end here. Citizens should make this more meaningful by participating in day today affairs. Public engagement can begin with staying informed about what is going around in our neighbourhoods and the policies that are important at household level. In the information age, not being aware has consequences.

The politicians on the other hand being intelligent learners should keep their ears tuned. In doing so, they can shape the agenda with their immense power of galvanising masses. Once this is done a two-way communication system is established. The strength of this two way communication system is the secret behind staying in power by the governments of the day and ensuring “good governance” for the good of citizens.

Sadly, everybody wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die. But this has to change because if we continue waiting for some magical power to end our miseries, that will never happen -in any case magic gives temporary elation. We ourselves must change, and see the sense in doing so. Voting wholeheartedly in elections is one such beginning towards owning a system that shapes our present as well as the future. Next in line is the internalization of the virtue of tolerance to divergent views among groups that appreciate the trade-offs towards a goal of common good. This applies to both the Politicians as well as Citizens. In nutshell, making Politics as representative as possible is the job of the Politician while making governance as participative as possible is the duty of the citizens.

Here lie the answers to our questions that promise a perfect happy marriage between citizens and the government.

RWANDISTAN

Published: Afghanistan Times 28 July 2013

UTTAM PRAKASH, RAHUL ARYA*

Imagine you are air dropped somewhere blind folded. As you open your eyes, you see grassy uplands and hills and take notice that the relief is mountainous. You also learn this is a landlocked country with a predominantly rural population. You wish to know more about the place and so you ask a passerby. He is in a hurry, but gives you some quick facts:

The country is heading towards what we can say a “failed state”

There are two major ethnic groups vying for power.

Two million people have died in genocide.

Social, political and economic structures have collapsed.

Until last year aid dependence is more than 40% of the budget.

There's a buzz about a constitutional amendment to enable a third term for the current President. The constitution only allows two terms.

People feel that the international community has not been fair to it.

The skill/capacity of the civil servants is low.

Did you guess it to be “Afghanistan” in 2013?

Sorry! We are referring to Rwanda of 1994, a small middle African country that is half the size of the province of Herat or Kandahar and a little bigger than that of Ghazni. Colonised by Germany in the 19th century, followed by Belgium in the 20th century, the country witnessed genocide in 1994 that killed an estimated million people which was over 10% of its population. Hutus and Tutsis, two major ethnic tribes bayed for blood of each other. Social, political and economic structures had collapsed. In 1994 Rwanda was written off as a failed state. There was indeed a buzz about a constitutional amendment for President Paul Kagame to have a third term. Few had trust in destiny of Rwanda and few believed in its recovery, for it to be able to become strong enough to stand on its own. The fallout of this tragedy was so severe that the then US President regretted, the West regretted, International community regretted for its failure to intervene and prevent this tragedy.

Fast forward to year 2013, Rwanda by every measure, is one of the most successful countries in Africa. Between 2005 and 2012, Rwanda reduced its poverty levels by 12.5% — the highest level ever recorded anywhere in the world. In 2010, Transparency International ranked Rwanda as the eighth cleanest out of 47 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and 66th cleanest out of 178 in the world in terms of corruption. It is also the safest place to live in the world according to the Gallup’s World Poll report "Global States of Mind: New Metrics for world leaders" published in October 2012. Rwanda has the fastest broadband internet in Africa, according to Ookla’s NetIndex.  Its capital Kigali is popularly known as the safest, cleanest, fastest and more liveable city in Africa.

Post 1994 – what started as unpromising beginning, Rwanda proved its adversaries wrong and is walking strongly on the path of progress and development. A look at the Country Data Report, World Bank on six governance indicators – Voice and Accountability, Political Stability and Absence of Violence, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law, and Control of Corruption – Rwanda has done exceptionally well considering the 1994 baseline. The percentile growth in five indicators except in Voice and Accountability has seen remarkable growth moving from around 10 percentile in all the five indicators and moving up to almost 50 percentile while in Government Effectiveness and Control of Corruption, it is touching 60 and 70 percentile respectively. The economy has strengthened, with per-capita GDP (PPP) estimated at USD 1,592 in 2013, compared with $416 in 1994. Rule of law and efforts to clear red tape have given it a business friendly climate, leading journalists to call Rwanda the "Singapore of Africa".

Sounds like a fairy tale? You may wish to Google if you have any slightest doubt. The big question is, can Afghanistan go the Rwanda way? Is there something that can be learnt and replicated here? But more importantly, how was this done? Probably the most appropriate word that can explain this miracle is “determination”. The nation accepted its follies, made good of the opportunities available and led its determination to prosperity with determination. The determination of course was from the entire population united.

President Kagame speaking at Harvard Business School on 11^th March 2013 remarked: “It's all about the ambition you have. People in Rwanda cannot afford to waste any opportunity. Every day we are looking to see what is it that will make a difference for us. We had to take on responsibility of rebuilding the country. Even though we benefited from external support, we decided early on to take the lead. We had to take the lead in building the foundation necessary for the country. We knew if we didn’t take ownership, it wasn't going to last.”

The other important word apart from determination is “ownership”. Rwanda’s transformation story can give Afghans lessons about a population that is shaping its future and believing in  its ability to govern  itself in these two words ‘determination’ and ‘ownership’. More lessons can be learnt from the ways Rwandans became Singaporeans.

The Rwandan story can be read in the policy decisions taken post 1994. Similar to the “Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS)”, the Rwandans developed the “Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS)”. As the strategy is named the goal, clearly were two Economic Development and Poverty Reduction. The strategy thus was designed to accelerate economic growth and promote human development.

The Poverty Alleviation Programmes were designed as they call it “the Rwandan Way” The Rwandan way was unique as the programmes were designed to be heavily embedded in local norms and traditions. This promoted a sense of ownership of the projects, ensuring not only effective implementation, but also their long term sustainability. This ability to localise solutions to development to fit Rwanda’s local context, has been one of the major drivers to the economic transformation that has taken shape in Rwanda.

Some of the programmes worth taking note of are:

Vision 2020 Umurenge: This is aimed at eliminating extreme poverty by 2020; the programme involves public works, credit packages and direct support.  It is implemented at village level through participatory methods.

One cow per family (Giringa project):  In this project cows are distributed to poor families. Once that cow gives birth, the calf is given to a neighbour who is poor. The project was chosen considering the cattle culture of Rwanda. The milk from the cow improves nutrition and milk sales supplements income. The cow dung used as manure improves soil fertility leading to overall food security.

Umurenge SACCO: This is a nationwide cooperative savings scheme aimed at improving access to finance for the unbanked village population. Villagers make frequent contributions to this savings scheme. Once their savings reach a given threshold, the government contributes to the scheme. Members of the community then borrow from the SACCOs and later pay back in order to sustain the revolving funds.

Performance contracts (Imihigo): Imihigo seeks to promote self government and greater citizen engagement. Performance targets under ERDPS are set and agreed upon as performance contracts. Citizens actively participate in defining their preferences and priorities and are empowered to hold national government and the ministries accountable against commitments made. Local communities are also encouraged to come up with their own solutions to problems. Citizen empowerment thus is a central element in the implementation of the Rwanda’s Poverty reduction Strategy

From 1961 to 1990, Rwanda had an administered economy, which imposed severe restrictions on trade and foreign exchange transactions. In 1995, a number of economic reforms were implemented. Rwanda embraced a market economy and introduced trade reforms. Reforms to the ‘soft’ infrastructure for business and reducing business costs were seen as the first priority. Incentives were provided for FDI including export processing zones and industrial parks. Tariffs were reduced considerably with the average rate decreasing to 18 percent a significant reform when compared with an average tariff rate of 34.8 percent. A one-stop centre called Rwanda Development Board was set up for attracting foreign direct investment and increasing jobs in the different sectors of the economy. In order to identify and plan national priorities and strategies, the Rwandan Government organises an annual Leadership Retreat. The retreat involves the President and heads of government ministries aimed at achieving private sector-led growth in Rwanda. Major reforms that have assisted the business community include easing the process of starting a business, registering property, protection for investors, trade across borders, access to credit and paying taxes. Getting credit was made easier. Paying taxes was made easier by introducing online applications. The implementation of these various policies and reforms contributed to Rwanda’s improved ranking in the World Bank’s 2010 Doing Business Report from 143rd to 67th place.

Rwanda thus pursued a developmental state approach with the key objective as sustainable economic growth and social development. The main aim of EDPRS was to overcome the key constraints to economic growth identified through a growth diagnostic and investment climate analysis by: systematically reducing the operating costs of business; investing in the private sector’s capacity to innovate; and widening and strengthening the public sector.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”. And the dreams were knit on the bedrock of the ugly history. To keep a constant reminder, Rwanda built a genocide memorial recording their bad experiences. In the words of their President Kagame, “The idea was in remembering, you create a consciousness that stops that thing from happening again. History should not be forgotten”. Certainly acknowledging pain and trauma strengthens the resolve to move further.

Rwanda’s vision is to build a knowledge-based economy and to become a private sector led middle income country by 2020. The question is can Afghanistan turn into a new avatar, shall we say Rwandistan? The answer is an emphatic YES provided we dare to dream to take off from the edge of an abyss. Because it is said, if a man can do it, a man can do it and the same applies to nations.

*The authors are Advisors with Civilian Technical Assistance Programme (CTAP) GoIRA. The views are personal.