7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017-2024 PDF
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2017
Edouard Ngirente (PhD)
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This document is a 7 Year Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) for Rwanda from 2017 to 2024. It details the strategy for Rwanda's socio-economic development, outlining targets for economic, social, and governance transformation, along with cross-cutting areas and macroeconomic frameworks.
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7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017–2024 Table of Contents Table of Contents........................................................................................................................ 3 Tables and Figures............................
7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017–2024 Table of Contents Table of Contents........................................................................................................................ 3 Tables and Figures..................................................................................................................... 4 Acronyms and Glossary...........................................................................................................5 Foreword......................................................................................................................................... 7 Executive Summary................................................................................................................... 8 I. Introduction................................................................................................................................ 14 II. Economic Transformation Pillar.....................................................................................17 III. Social Transformation Pillar.............................................................................................27 IV. Transformational Governance Pillar...........................................................................34 V. Cross-Cutting Areas............................................................................................................. 40 Capacity Development.....................................................................................................40 HIV/AIDS and Non-Communicable Diseases.........................................................41 Disability and Social Inclusion........................................................................................42 Gender and Family Promotion......................................................................................42 Regional Integration and International Positioning..............................................44 Environment and Climate Change...............................................................................43 Disaster Management........................................................................................................44 VI. Macroeconomic Framework.........................................................................................45 Growth and Structural Transformation.....................................................................45 Factors Contributing to Growth...................................................................................48 Investment................................................................................................................................ 49 The Real Sector..................................................................................................................... 50 The External Sector............................................................................................................. 52 Required investments to implement NST 1............................................................53 VII. Implementation Arrangements.................................................................................54 VIII. Monitoring and Evaluation Framework..................................................................56 Guiding Principles..............................................................................................................56 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 3 The Monitoring Framework................................................................................................. 57 Evaluation Framework............................................................................................................... 57 ANNEX 1: NST1 MONITORING AND EVALUATION MATRIX.................................... 58 ANNEX 2: NST 1 PRIORITY AREAS AND INTERVENTIONS MATRIX.................... 66 Tables and Figures FIGURE 1.1 THE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING FRAMEWORK FOR VISION 2050 AND NST1.....................................................................................................................................15 TABLE 6.1 OUTPUT AND GROWTH RATES........................................................................................46 TABLE 6.2 REAL GDP GROWTH BY SECTOR....................................................................................46 FIGURE 6.1 SECTOR COMPOSITION OF GDP............................................................................................ 47 FIGURE 6.2 INVESTMENT AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP......................................................................... 49 FIGURE 6.3 BALANCE OF PAYMENTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP............................................... 53 TABLE 7.1 DETAILED ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR NST 1 STAKEHOLDERS............ 54 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 4 Acronyms and Glossary 7YGP 7 Year Government Programme AGOA Africa Growth and Opportunity Act AIMS Africa Institute for Mathematical Sciences BPO Business Process Outsourcing CBHI Community Based Health Insurance CFSVA Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis CRC Citizen Report Card CSO Civil Society Organisation DDMP District Disaster Management Plan DDS District Development Strategy DHS Demographic and Health Survey EAC East African Community ECCAS Economic Community of Central African States ECD Early Childhood Development ECE Early Childhood Education EICV Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey EDPRS Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy EPA Economic Partnership Agreement FARG National Fund for Support and Assistance to the Neediest Survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi FONERWA Fund for Environment and Climate Change GGCRS Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy HGS Home Grown Solutions IDP Integrated Development Program IECMS Integrated Electronic Case Management System IFMIS Integrated Financial Management Information System KSEZ Kigali Special Economic Zone LMIS Labour Market Information System MAJ Maison d’Assistance Juridique/ Access to Justice Bureaus MICE Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events MINEMA Ministry in charge of Emergency Management 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 5 MIFOTRA Ministry of Public Service and Labour MIGEPROF Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion MINALOC Ministry of Local Government MINICOM Ministry of Trade and Industry MINECOFIN Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning MINEDUC Ministry of Education MINICT Ministry of ICT and Innovation MININFRA Ministry of Infrastructure MoH Ministry of Health NCD Non-Communicable Disease NEP National Employment Program NISR National Institute of Statistics Rwanda NISS National Intelligence and Security Service NST National Strategy for Transformation OAG Office of the Auditor General PEFA Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment PIC Public Investment Committee PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategic Plan PSDYE Private Sector Development and Youth Employment PSTA Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture PwDs People with Disabilities RBM Results Based Management REMA Rwanda Environment Management Authority RGB Rwanda Governance Board RGS Rwanda Governance Scorecard SDGs Sustainable Development Goals SDMS School Data Management System STEM Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics TB Tuberculosis TVET Technical Vocational Education Trainning VUP Vision 2020 Umurenge Program 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 6 Foreword The development landscape in Rwanda has changed considerably since the adoption of the Vision 2020 in the year 2000. The progress made in less than two decades has given Rwandans much hope and belief to aspire for greater achievements. The National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) which is also the Seven Year Government Programme (7YGP) comes at a unique moment in the country’s development trajectory which will see the crossover from Vision 2020 towards Vision 2050. This strategy is expected to lay the foundation for decades of sustained growth and transformation that will accelerate the move towards achieving high standards of living for all Rwandans. The NST 1 will pick up from where the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS 2) left off, and continues in an effort to accelerate the transformation and economic growth with the private sector at the helm. With this new strategy, Rwanda’s public policy will focus on developing and transforming Rwandans into a capable and skilled people ready to compete in a global environment. The NST 1 targets are ambitious but achievable. Realizing this target will require strengthening collaboration and partnership among all stakeholders and enhancing ownership at all levels. Rwanda has achieved a significant progress in the past, building on the same principles while tapping into our Home-Grown Solutions and Values. Edouard Ngirente (PhD) Prime Minister Republic of Rwanda 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 7 Executive Summary 1. Since the emergency and recovery period that followed the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, Rwanda has achieved substantial socioeconomic progress, with economic growth rates among the fastest in the world coupled with substantial gains in poverty reduction. Growth across all sectors has been positive and resilient in the face of a slowing global economy. Signs of socio-economic transformation have emerged as the labor force moves from agriculture to higher productive services and industry. 2. Rwanda adopted its Vision 2020 in the year 2000. Through a succession of poverty reduction and economic development strategies, Rwanda has developed the necessary policies and tools for attaining Vision 2020 aspirations, driven by visionary leadership, mutual trust in the society, self-belief, hard work of citizens, and support of partners. 3. Development improved Rwandans’ livelihoods across the Nation. Life expectancy has increased from 49 in 2000 to 66.6 years in 2017. Poverty has reduced considerably from 60.4% in 2000 to 38.2% in 2016/2017 and extreme poverty reduced from 40% to 16% over the same period. Maternal and child health has improved significantly over the last two decades and exceeded MDGs ambitions. Maternal mortality reduced by 80% between 2000 and 2014 while infant and child mortality decreased by over 70% in the same period. Free universal basic education was initiated and scaled up to 12 years’ cycle. This resulted in net enrolment of nearly 100% in primary for both boys and girls. Gender parity was achieved with more girls than boys in primary school. Rationale for the National Strategy for Transformation 4. Vision 2020 is ending at the close of the decade while EDPRS2 and its associated Sector Strategic Plans and District Development Plans end in June 2018. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 8 National development during the seven years (aligned to the mandate of the President) will be guided by the new Vision 2050 and the associated 2035 targets. 5. Vision 2050 aspires to take Rwanda to high living standards by the middle of the 21st century and high quality livelihoods. The implementation instrument for the remainder of Vision 2020 and for the first four years of Vision 2050 will be the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1). NST1 will provide the foundation and vehicle towards Vision 2050. Specific priorities and strategies are presented in different pillars discussed below. Vision 2050 aspirations focuses on five broad priorities: High Quality and Standards of Life Developing Modern Infrastructure and Livelihoods Transformation for Prosperity Values for Vision 2050 International cooperation and positioning Challenges and Opportunities facing NST 1 Challenges 7. Rwanda is cognizant of the developmental challenges which will need to be addressed during NST1. 8. Economic growth was solid, averaging 6.1% over (2013-2016) against the target of 11.5% over the period 2013-2020. Growth in all sectors while positive and resilient in the face of a slowing global economy, did not meet targets. Agriculture averaged 4.1% compared to (8.5% targeted), industry averaged 6.5% compared to (14% targeted), and services grew by 7.5% compared to (13.5% targeted) over the same period. Agriculture growth was mainly affected by crop diseases and climate change effects. Other constraints included small holding sizes of land, challenges in accessing credit due to risk perception, low value chain development, market connectivity and low 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 9 farmer professionalization. External factors such as global market price fluctuations also affected performance of the economy. 9. Exports have become more diversified, but both traditional and non-traditional exports performance have been weaker than projected. Better performance was observed in services driven by tourism. Exports averaged a growth of about 15% between 2013 and 2016, against a 28% annual growth target. Cross border trade was also affected by non-tariff barriers in countries like DRC and Burundi. Capacity to generate financing for private sector investment has been constrained by low domestic savings. 10. Access to primary education has reached near universal levels but there has been a mixed overall performance in education. Completion and transition rates at both primary and secondary levels have not achieved the set targets. Opportunities 11. Rwanda’s progress has been grounded in favorable transformational factors in the form of its visionary leadership as well as the results-based culture, Home Grown Solutions, security, stability, law and order, and zero tolerance to corruption among others. 12. The country’s demographics provide an opportunity for a future demographic dividend as the population aged 15-35 and children aged 0-14 accounts for 38% and 40% of the total population respectively compared to 22% of population above 35 years. 13. Rwanda’s membership to regional economic blocs provides access to bigger market size and increased opportunities for economic growth. 14. Rwanda has potential to develop knowledge-based sectors building on its strong governance and major investments already undertaken. These 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 10 include vastly improved air connectivity, a state-of-the-art conference hub in the Kigali Convention Centre, a fully developed special economic zone in Kigali, country-wide fiber optic roll out and rapid adoption of ICT, and a well maintained and expanding road network in urban and rural areas. 15. Rwanda’s mining, oil and gas potential is still to be fully exploited while preliminary studies indicate potential significant reserves in rare earth minerals, petroleum and gas. 16. With nearly 70% of the workforce still in agriculture, the potential for productivity gains from structural transformation, urbanization and industrialization is significant. Agriculture has not reached its full potential and investments in climate resilient techniques for farming coupled with improvements in value chains is expected to yield significant future gains in both growth and poverty reduction. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 11 Priorities for NST1 Economic Transformation 17. The Economic Transformation Pillar presents a strategy to accelerate private- sector-led economic growth and increased productivity. This pillar entails the following priorities: Create 1,500,000 (214,000 annually) decent and productive jobs. Accelerate sustainable urbanization from 18.4% (2016/17) to 35% by 2024. Establish Rwanda as a globally competitive knowledge-based economy. Promote industrialization and attain a structural shift in the export base to high-value goods and services with the aim of growing exports by 17% annu- ally. Increase domestic savings and position Rwanda as a hub for financial services to promote investments. Modernize and increase the productivity of agriculture and livestock. Promote sustainable management of the environment and natural resources to transition Rwanda towards a Green Economy. Social Transformation 18. This pillar entails strategic interventions for social transformation and goes beyond measures such as GDP per capita to bringing positive qualitative change in all aspects of people’s lives. Priorities for this pillar includes the following: Promote resilience to shocks and enhance Graduation from Poverty and extreme Poverty through improving and scaling up core and complementary social protection programs. Eradicate Malnutrition through enhanced prevention and management of all forms of malnutrition. Enhance the Demographic Dividend through ensuring access to quality health for all. Focus will be on improving health care services at all levels, strengthening financial sustainability of the health sector, and enhancing capacity of health workforce. Enhance the Demographic Dividend through Improved access to quality education. Focus will be on strategic investments in all levels of education 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 12 (pre-primary, basic and tertiary), and improved teachers’ welfare. Move Towards a Modern Rwandan Household through ensuring universal access to affordable and adequate infrastructure and services. Transformational Governance 19. The Transformational Governance pillar will build on the strong governance architecture established over the aftermath of genocide committed against Tutsi in 1994 to consolidate and provide building blocks for equitable transformational and sustainable national development. The following will be prioritized under this pillar: Reinforce Rwandan Culture and Values as a Foundation for Peace and Unity. Ensure Safety and Security of Citizens and Property. Strengthen Diplomatic and International Cooperation to Accelerate Rwanda and Africa’s Development. Strengthen Justice, Law and Order. Strengthen Capacity, Service Delivery and Accountability of Public Institutions. Increase Citizens’ Participation and Engagement in Development. 20. The strategy will also prioritize the following cross-cutting areas: Capacity Development, HIV/AIDS and Non-Communicable Diseases, Disability and Social Inclusion, Environment and Climate Change, Regional Integration and International Positioning, Gender and Family Promotion, Disaster Management. 21. The macroeconomic framework for NST1 requires an average GDP growth of 9.1% over the NST1 period for the country to remain on its path of economic transformation. This will require considerable efforts in boosting private and public investment financed by domestic savings and capital inflows; massive improvements in education; achieving significant increases in land efficiency and innovative capacity; and sustained efforts to boost production of tradable goods and services. At the same time, the rising working-age share of the population should generate gains in per capita income as Rwanda continues to benefit from a demographic dividend with a growing labor force, contributing to high economic growth rates. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 13 I. Introduction 1. NST1 builds on lessons learned, successes and challenges encountered in previous medium term development strategies. It therefore entails interventions to enable the transformation journey towards achieving Vision 2050 aspirations. Rationale for the National Strategy for Transformation 2. Vision 2020 will come to an end with the year 2020. EDPRS2 and its associated Sector Strategic Plans (SSPs) and District Development Plans (DDPs) end in June 2018, and a new 7 Year Government Program presents the mandate of the government to cover the period from 2017 to 2024. 3. The implementation instrument for the remainder of Vision 2020 and for the first four years of the journey under Vision 2050 will be the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1). NST1 integrates far-sighted, long-range global and regional commitments by embracing: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) consisting of 17 Goals with associated targets and indicators, across a range of economic, social and environmental aspects; The African Union Agenda 2063 and its First 10-Year Implementation Plan 2014-2023 which is dedicated to the building of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena; The East African Community (EAC) Vision 2050 which focuses on initiatives for job creation and employment by prioritizing development enablers which are integral to long-term transformation, value addition and acceleration of sustained growth; The COP 21 Paris Agreement on Climate Change and other agreements. 4. NST1 merges the 7 Year Government Program (2017-2024) and the national medium term development strategy, which were previously standalone documents. 5. The strategy will be implemented through SSPs and DDSs elaborated in parallel and will use the existing delivery frameworks summarized in Figure 1.1 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 14 NST1 key considerations for elaboration and implementation 6. The formulation of NST1 has been guided by the following considerations which will also be critical for its delivery: Laying the foundation for Vision 2050 implementation and removing binding constraints to achieving the longer-term Vision 2050 targets Adopting and scaling up Home-Grown Solutions based on Rwandan culture, values and the country’s unique developmental context Further developing the Private Sector as the engine/driver of economic growth Ensuring Sustainability for long-lasting results Ensuring Inclusiveness for all to benefit without leaving anyone behind Completing unfinished business from EDPRS 2 and Vision 2020 7. Overall, NST1 will provide the platform and pillars for accelerated transformation on the pathway to the prosperity sought by Vision 2050. The strategy will be implemented and coordinated through the framework presented in the figure below: Figure 1.1 the Development Planning Framework for Vision 2050 and NST1 Vision 2020/2050 7YGP/NST1 (2017-2024) (NST1) Sector Strategic Plans/SSPs District Development Strategies (Covering Specific areas (Integrating National/sectoral e.g. health, education) priorities with District/City of Kigali specificities) MTEF, Annual plans and budgets, Imihigo, M&E 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 15 Structure of the NST1 Document 8. The strategies designed to achieve the NST1 objectives and informed by the above principles and are set out in the following chapters. Chapters 2-4 present the three Pillars which form the basis of the continuing drive towards Rwanda’s transformation path. Chapter 2 deals with Economic Transformation, Chapter 3 Social Transformation and Chapter 4 covers Transformational Governance. Chapter 5 presents Cross-cutting Areas to be mainstreamed in NST1. Chapter 6 presents the Macroeconomic Framework and Costing of NST 1. Chapter 7 presents Implementation Arrangements and Chapter 8 covers Monitoring and Evaluation. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 16 II. Economic Transformation Pillar The overarching objective of the Economic Transformation pillar is to: Accelerate inclusive economic growth and development founded on the Private Sector, knowledge and Rwanda’s Natural Resources. Broad objectives Create decent and productive jobs for economic development and poverty reduction Accelerate Urbanization to facilitate economic growth Promote industrial development, export promotion and expansion of trade related infrastructure Develop and promote a service-led and knowledge-based economy Increase agriculture and livestock quality, productivity and production Sustainably exploit natural resources and protect the environment These objectives will be delivered through focusing on 7 key priority areas and interventions as identified below: Priority Area 1: Create 1,500,000 (over 214,000 annually) decent and productive jobs for economic development Key strategic interventions: 1. Develop and support priority sub-sectors with high potential for growth and employment including: Agro-processing, Construction, Light manufacturing, Meat and Dairy, Leather, Textiles and Garments, Horticulture, Tourism, Knowledge based services, Value addition and processing of Mining products, Creative Arts, Aviation, Logistics, and Transportation. 2. Support and empower youth and women to create business through entrepreneurship and access to finance. 3. Develop and enhance strategic partnerships with private sector companies in the implementation of Work Place Learning (Rapid Response Training, Industrial based training and apprenticeship). 4. Scale up the number of TVET graduates with skills relevant to the labor 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 17 market. This will be done through working with the private sector to update the Labor Market Information System (LMIS) and identify critical skills required in the labor market to inform training programs in TVET. 5. Mainstream employment planning into all key sectors of the economy and strengthen the coordination, implementation and monitoring of the National Employment Programme (NEP). 6. Develop a mechanism to support at least one model income and employment- generating project in each village. Priority Area 2: Accelerate Sustainable Urbanization from 18.4% (2016/17) to 35% by 2024 Key strategic interventions: 7. Develop Flagship projects in secondary cities and other key urban areas to support thriving and sustainable urban economies (with employment and incomes). 8. Update Master plans of secondary cities and other key towns to reflect the ambition to become modern cities and towns. Master plans will be implemented and monitored to ensure sustainable development of cities and towns. 9. Promote and develop Local construction materials in collaboration with the private sector in line with the ‘Made in Rwanda’ policy to support the growth of the construction sector and the affordable and low cost housing programme. 10. Improve rural and urban transportation services through the establishment of 14,100km (13,932.5km currently) of scheduled bus routes countrywide. In Kigali city, 22 km of dedicated bus lines will be constructed. As a result, average waiting time in the City of Kigali for buses during peak hours will be reduced from 30 minutes (2016/17) to 15 minutes by 2023/24. 11. Develop Basic infrastructure through servicing 250 km of new residential zones and upgrading 288 km of unpaved urban roads. Public lighting will also be installed on major national and district roads. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 18 Priority Area 3: Establish Rwanda as a Globally Competitive Knowledge-based Economy Key strategic interventions: 12. Develop and operationalize a thriving skills ecosystem for attracting and nurturing local and international talent around the Kigali Innovation City (KIC) model. 13. Operationalize the innovation fund to support firms in the innovation and technology industry. 14. Ensure digital literacy for all youth (16 to 30 years) by 2024 through implementation of a national digital literacy program with the objective of achieving digital literacy of at least 60% among adults by 2024. This will be supplemented by initiatives to develop local contents and facilitate citizens (including people with disabilities) to access digital devices that will enable them use online services. 15. Support the establishment and operationalization of new and existing Centers of Excellence with a focus on science, technology and innovation. Partnership will be reinforced with these sectors to build skills with practical application in: health, education, industry, cyber security among others. 16. Promote research and development as a key to fast-tracking Rwanda’s economic transformation especially in the area of technology for industrial development. Priority Area 4: Promote industrialization and attain a structural shift in the export base to High-value goods and services with the aim of growing exports by 17% annually. Key strategic interventions: 17. Continue to promote the ‘Made in Rwanda’ brand working with the private sector to recapture at least USD 400 Millions of imports by 2024. 18. Establish and expand industries working with the private sector to promote locally produced materials and “Made in Rwanda” including: a pharmaceutical plant, a mosquito nets manufacturing plant, a chemical fertilizer plant, Industries for the production of construction materials such as ceramics, steel & Iron, cement and a packaging materials plant. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 19 19. Identify and develop priority value chains. A pro-active investor targeting will be made to attract the right anchor firms with market linkages for each priority economic value chain. The priority value chains of focus will include agro- processing, construction materials, light manufacturing, meat and dairy, leather, textiles and garments, horticulture, tourism (including MICE tourism), knowledge based services, logistics and transport. 20. A big shift in Rwanda’s export outlook will be oriented towards services export, including in high-tech areas such as Financial Services/Fin-tech/e- payment, BPOs, Legal, Security services, and other professional services. A BPO services development program will be established to capitalize on previous investments in fiber optic. Interventions will include: leveraging Kigali Innovation City as a mechanism to spur ICT services including BPOs, supporting universities and education centers to upgrade skills related to BPO services, facilitating BPO companies to access finance especially in the fields of accounting, legal and security services, and securing a master developer for Kigali BPO park (infrastructure and real estate) and its anchor tenants. 21. Double tourism revenues to USD 800 million by 2024 from USD 374 million in 2016. This will be achieved through: Positioning Rwanda as a world class and high end ecotourism destination; Increasing investments in tourism infrastructure including the development of the Kivu Belt tourism master plan; Developing the hospitality industry and build the capacity of the private sector to provide high levels of service delivery. Accelerating MICE tourism growth by attracting big events and conferences and developing cultural and religious tourism working with the private sector. The target is to increase revenues generated from USD 64 million (in 2016 from 27,000 delegates) to USD 171 million by 2024 (from 65,000 delegates). The Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB) will be strengthened to play a leading role in attracting big events and conferences and ensuring the branding of Rwanda as a world class conference destination. 22. Develop a vibrant aviation sector including: Expansion of RwandAir to connect Rwanda to Africa, Europe, America and Asia; 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 20 Completion and operationalization of Bugesera Airport phase 1 with a capacity of 1.7 million passengers annually and develop backward and forward linkages to local industries, Establishing a center of excellence in aviation to develop critical skills in the sector Rehabilitation of Kamembe airport and expansion of Rubavu airport 23. Reduce the cost of doing business and facilitate trade by implementing key projects: Finalize planning for an appropriate railway connection and initiate construction. Construct 800 km of National asphalt roads including: Ngoma-Bugesera-Nyanza, Base–Gicumbi-Rukomo-Nyagatare, Huye-Kibeho-Munini, Kagitumba-Kayonza- Rusumo and Kigali Ring road. Construct, rehabilitate and maintain 3,000km of feeder roads. Operationalize Kigali Logistics Platform, bonded warehouses and work with private sector to develop international transport and logistics companies. Construct new modern cross border markets to facilitate cross border trade. Construct ports on Lake Kivu in Rusizi, Nyamasheke, Karongi and Rubavu districts working with private sector Operationalize foreign multi service centers. Construct and develop industrial parks in provinces and expand the Kigali Special Economic Zone with capacity of 350 companies operating therein by 2024. Scale up electricity generation and improve quality, affordability and reliability. Generation plans will be informed by medium and long-term projections and analysis of supply and demand. Long-term generation plans will include identification of least cost sources of energy generation with the objective of ensuring a cost-reflective and competitive tariff. A pro-active strategy will be developed to attract industries for economic growth and to ensure that they are supplied with available, reliable and 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 21 affordable electricity. Key sectors of focus to increase demand include mining, manufacturing, ICT and commercial premises. Quality of electricity will be improved by continuing investments in network upgrading and strengthening as well as investing in loss reduction projects. Priority will be given to productive use connections such as industrial zones, market centers and other socio-economic facilities such as schools and health centers. Scale up and reform the export growth fund to increase access to finance for exporters. 24. Upscale mining by completing exploration of potential mineral areas to establish the extent of national resources and reserves, in terms of quantity and quality with the aim of exporting USD 800 million by 2020 and USD 1.5 billion annually by 2024 from USD 373 million in 2017. 25. Prioritize increased value addition for mineral and quarry products to reach the international and local market expectations. The private sector will be attracted to invest in mineral processing and value addition. The artisanal mining sector will be professionalized through training, financing and equipment. 26. Value addition upgrading will be a key component of agricultural export growth. Fully washed coffee to increase from 54% (2017) to 80% by 2024. Tea processing factories will be increased in numbers and in capacity (from 15 to 19 factories). Agro processing industries will be facilitated to access raw materials working with farmers and the private sector through improving the framework of contract farming and setting up of industrial blocs among others. 27. Growth of Agricultural exports will be complemented by increasing the volume of traditional agriculture export crops and products. Coffee productivity per tree will be increased from 2.8kg to 4kg; and tea productivity from 7MT/ha to 8MT/ha. This will involve an expansion of cultivated area, replacement of old trees and most importantly through increased fertilizer application from 7,000MT to 9,000MT per year and through adoption of innovative system in combating climate change. Coffee planted will increase from 37,500 ha (2017) to 40,000 ha by 2024 while area planted with tea will increase from 26,879 ha (2017) to 32,800 ha by 2024 working with the private sector. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 22 Priority Area 5: Increase domestic savings and position Rwanda as a hub for financial services to promote investments Key strategic interventions: 28. Develop Rwanda into a financial services center. This will entail developing specialized skills and establishing incentive mechanisms to attract investors in the financial sector. 29. Increase value of payment transactions done electronically as percentage of GDP from 26.9% (2017) to 80% by 2024. This will be supported by automation of Umurenge SACCOs and implementing a series of sensitizations to increase uptake of electronic and digital financial services. 30. Bring financial services closer to people by increasing the percentage of adult Rwandans financially included at 100% by 2024 (from 89% in 2017). 31. Develop the capital market and increase dynamism in line with the ten-year capital market master plan. This will entail identifying, attracting and exploiting new sources of financing such as: green bonds, municipal bonds, crowdfunding, venture capital funds among others. 32. Operationalize long-term savings scheme and pension for all Rwandans including those in the informal sector as a basis to support long-term domestic investments. The scheme aims to have at least 700,000 subscribers by 2024. The scheme will eventually be leveraged by beneficiaries to save for housing, investment and child education. Long term investment funds will be expanded through mobilization and investment of Agaciro Development Fund (AgDF) as well as promotion of collective investment schemes through Rwanda National Investment Trust (RNIT). Priority Area 6: Modernize and increase productivity of Agriculture and livestock Key strategic interventions: 33. Strengthen the commercialization of crop and animal resource value chains by increasing private sector engagement, promoting market-oriented agri-businesses, and capturing greater in-country surplus and value added. This will be done by increasing volumes of investment in the agriculture sector 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 23 through the promotion of public private partnerships (PPPs). The existing market information system, e-soko+ will be strengthened with the aim of expanding this service to provide ICT solutions to a broader set of challenges faced in the agricultural sector. 34. Work with the private sector to increase the surface of consolidated and irrigated land and promote agricultural mechanization. Area under irrigation will increase from 48,508 ha (2017) to 102,284 ha in 2024. Priority will be the scale up of marshland and small-scale technologies for irrigation, which are cost-effective. Furthermore, the percentage of mechanized farm operations will increase from 25% (2017) to 50% in 2024. Finally, the consolidated land will increase from 635,603 ha (2017) to 980,000 ha (2024). 35. Promote new models of irrigation scheme management, including the development and strengthening of farmers’ and water users’ associations, and the piloting and scaling up of public-private partnership models involving private service providers in managing irrigation schemes. 36. Increases the land area covered by terraces and ensure their optimal use, land covered by radical terraces will increase from 110,905 ha (2017) to 142,500 ha by 2024. Similarly, land covered by progressive terraces will increase from 923,604 ha (2017) to 1,007,624 ha by 2024. 37. Enhance farmers’ access to improved seeds, from 52% (2016) on consolidated sites to 75% by 2024 and fertilizers application (kg/ha/annum) from 32 kg/Ha (2016/17) to 75kg/ha by 2024. Review the system of management of distribution of inputs to ensure efficiency and timeliness in delivery working with the private sector and other stakeholders. 38. Promote research and develop new seed varieties. Local seed production will be scaled up significantly on priority crops to reduce reliance on imports. Research projects will also emphasize the interactions between extension workers and farmers to ensure research responds to the practical needs in the field, while the extension services program will be expanded through the Twigire-Muhinzi model. 39. Average productivity of key crops measured in tons per hectare will be increased between 2017 and 2024 with an anticipated doubling of yields in 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 24 Maize, Irish potato, Beans, and Fruits; and an increase of at least 30 % on average in Rice, Wheat, Cassava, Sweet potatoes, Soybean, and Vegetables. 40. Work with the private sector to build post-harvest handling and storage facilities across the country and to add value to agricultural produce (processing). Public and Private investments in post-harvest infrastructure will be facilitated to reduce post-harvest losses. Metric tons of grains (maize and beans) stored as strategic reserves including stores for the districts and of the private sector will increase from 184,814 MT (2017) to 260,052 MT (2024) and capacity of storage facilities constructed will be scaled up from 295,495 MT (2017) to 350,431 MT by 2024. 41. Scale up the production of high-value crops including: horticulture (flowers, vegetables, fruits), among others 42. Establish a program to improve professionalization of livestock farmers and increase their output in terms of quality, volume and productivity. This will be achieved through improved animal health, enhanced research for increased productivity, promotion of local animal feed industries and processing of animal products with required standards and certification. Furthermore, the construction of dams and boreholes for livestock in drought prone areas will be scaled up and promoted as well as the storage of animal fodder. 43. Attract private sector and farmers to invest in flagship projects in the livestock sub sector including: the construction and operationalization of Milk Collection Centers (MCCs), modern fish farming, animal feeds production, Gako beef farm, processing and value addition of leather. As a result, the quantity of meat and dairy products will increase especially: milk from 776,284 MT (2017) to 925,748 MT (2024), Meat from 138,231 MT (2017) to 175,164 MT in 2024 and eggs produced from 7,475 MT (2017) to 11,211 MT by 2024. 44. Put in place mechanisms to increase access to finance for farmers. A comprehensive agricultural ecosystem financing program including lease financing and insurance with a focus on priority value chains will be established. As a result, Credit to Agriculture sector (primary farming and agro processing in agriculture, fisheries & livestock) as percentage of total loans (all sectors) is expected to double from 5.2% (2017) to 10.4% in 2024. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 25 Priority 7 Area: Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Environment to Transition Rwanda towards a green economy Key strategic interventions: 45. Continue to strengthen forest management and ensure their sustainable exploitation working with the private sector. The target is to increase the percentage of Public forest allocated to private operators from 14.1% (2017) to 80% by 2024. Private smallholder forests will be promoted and the owners encouraged to work in cooperatives for market oriented production. This will be supported by effective PPP model to be developed in the forest sector. 46. The area covered by forest will be increased and sustained at 30% till 2024 from 29.6% in 2017 through forest landscape restoration. This will be supported by activities of forestation and reforestation in line with National and District Forest Management Plans. Tree species planted will be increasingly oriented towards commercially viable ones to support development of the wood industry and agroforestry. 47. Halve the number of households depending on firewood as a source of energy for cooking from 79.9% (2016/17) to 42% by 2024. This will be achieved by focusing on promoting use of alternative fuels such as cooking gas and biogas. Efforts will be concentrated on promoting use of cooking gas in urban areas. 48. Develop a project to manage water flows from the volcano region and other rivers to mitigate related disasters and improve water resource management. A detailed feasibility study will provide alternative options for managing the water flows productively. To further improve integrated water resource management, water catchment areas will be effectively managed and protected to mitigate disasters in partnership with communities. 49. Strengthen land administration and management to ensure optimal allocation and use of land. This will include rationalization and harmonization of land use master plans at both national and districts level. This will be supported by a fully functioning Land Administration Information System (LAIS). 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 26 III. Social Transformation Pillar The overarching goal for the Social Transformation Pillar is to; Develop Rwandans into a capable and skilled people with quality standards of living and a stable and secure society. The pillar has 5 broad objectives highlighted below; Move towards a Poverty Free Rwanda. Ensure a Quality Healthy Population Develop a Competitive and Capable Rwandan Population Ensure Quality of education for all aiming at building a knowledge-based economy Transition to a Modern Rwandan Household in urban and rural areas These objectives will be achieved through 5 priority areas and the following related strategic interventions: Priority Area 1: Promoting resilience and enhancing graduation from poverty and extreme poverty Eradication of Poverty will require multiple interventions across different sectors that offer incomes, decent jobs and savings (covered under the Economic Transformation Pillar) as well as pro-poor and inclusive social protection (core and complementary) programmes that offer support and allow asset accumulation to promote resilience to shocks while reducing income inequality among Rwandans, which are entailed under the Social Transformation Pillar. Specifically, the NST1 targets eradication of extreme poverty by 2024. Key strategic interventions: 50. Enhance programs designed to support vulnerable groups to eradicate extreme poverty. Specific interventions include; Scale up the minimum package for graduation (MPG); prioritize nationwide roll-out of VUP expanded Public Works (with focus on female-headed households caring for young children) and refocus VUP Classic Public Works to areas of the Country at most risk of seasonal and climate-related shocks. Improve the management of the One Cow per Poor Family (Girinka) 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 27 Program and other social programs run at the village level and support poor households to acquire small livestock. The objective is to improve the effectiveness of the programs taking into account lessons learned. This will be achieved through; revision of Girinka program guidelines, strengthening of pass on mechanism, development of a scalable model for acquisition and pass on of small livestock as well as finalization and operationalization of the Social Protection Management Information System (SPMIS). Enhance targeting based on the nationwide roll-out of the household profiling as well as strengthen partnerships and coordination between government, non- governmental organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), and the private sector in implementing poverty eradication programmes. Priority Area 2: Eradicating Malnutrition Key strategic interventions: 51. Implement both prevention and management strategies to eradicate all forms of malnutrition. Specific interventions will include; Strengthening Multi-sectoral coordination through the Nutrition Secretariat and strengthen the social cluster coordination at decentralized levels up to the village. Ensuring and sustaining food security (covered under Economic Transformation pillar), Distributing Food and vitamin supplements using Fortified Blended Food (FBF), and one Cup of milk per child, to those already affected. Promoting at the village level the 1,000 days of good nutrition and antenatal care. This will involve sensitizing households on good nutrition and hygiene practices at household and community level through Early Childhood Development Centers (ECDs), health centers and family based campaigns, Priority Area 3: Enhancing demographic dividend through ensuring access to quality health for all Quality health care will be enhanced through providing adequate health infrastructure, skilled and motivated health workforce as well as enabling health systems. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 28 Key strategic interventions: 52. Construct and upgrade health facilities with adequate equipment. Specific Hospitals to be constructed and upgraded will include: Ruhengeri, Munini, Byumba, Nyabikenke, Masaka, Gatunda, Gatonde and Muhororo. In addition, 17 health centers will be constructed in the remaining sectors that have no health centers and additional 150 health posts across the country. Furthermore, 100% access to electricity and water for health facilities will be ensured by 2024. Internet connectivity will also increase from 10% (2016) to 100% by 2024. 53. Improve Maternal Mortality and Child Health by reducing maternal mortality ratio to 126/100,000 in 2024 from 210/100,000 (2013/14) and under five mortality rate to 35/1000 in 2024 from 50/1000 (2013/14). Specific interventions will include maintaining high vaccination coverage and delivery at health facilities above 90%. 54. Increase the number and capacity of human resources for health including: general practitioners, specialists, nurses, midwives and qualified administrators so as to avail one medical doctor per 7,000 people from 10,055, one nurse per 800 people from 1,142 and one midwife per 2,500 women from 4,064 (2013/14). This will be achieved through improving the coordination of health workforce production based on the actual and projected needs as well as establishing retention strategies for the skilled workforce. 55. Establish model health centers of excellence through partnership with private investors for treatment of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) that normally require treatment abroad such as cancer, cardiac surgery, and complex trauma among others. 56. Identify innovative sources of financing for the health sector including Public Private Partnerships, Public Community Partnership for health financing and sustainable model for Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI). 57. Promote industries in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing of medical equipment as well as support medical research. This will be achieved through attracting and supporting identified industries through sector specific incentives to enhance their competitiveness and expansion, investing in capacity building of priority sectors and suppliers and supporting technology acquisition and upgrading. 58. Strengthen disease prevention awareness and reduce Communicable and 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 29 Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). This will be achieved through undertaking community mobilization to prevent diseases through maintaining hygiene, promoting physical exercises for all age groups, regular health checkups and scaling up screening services in communities and health facilities. Furthermore, this will be reinforced by sustaining the universal access to TB, Malaria, HIV treatment for all, ensuring availability, accessibility and affordability of quality care and treatment for NCD patients. 59. Prevent and fight drug abuse and trafficking among all sections of the population especially youth through sensitization campaigns in partnership with stakeholders. 60. Scale up efforts to raise awareness on reproductive health and family planning to increase contraceptive prevalence from 48% (2013/14) to 60% in 2024. This will be achieved through ensuring universal access to contraceptive information and services to avoid unplanned pregnancies and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases with a particular focus on the youth. Priority Area 4: Enhancing the demographic dividend through improved access to quality education Strategic interventions will be geared towards laying a strong foundation of quality education to the Rwandan Child. Accordingly, the following will be prioritized: Key strategic interventions: 61. Ensure access to pre-primary education so as to increase pre-primary net enrolment rate from 17.5% (2016) to 45% by 2024. This will be achieved through providing standardized Early Childhood Education schools in all villages through partnership with private sector, communities and putting in place public- private partnership models for ECE and ECDs to enhance cost-effective rollout. The provision of education at lower primary level will be strengthened so that children develop better foundational skills in Kinyarwanda, English and Mathematics to enable them perform well at upper primary and secondary levels. 62. Upgrading and increasing school infrastructure and ensuring access to adequate equipment including modern laboratories, and appropriate teaching and modern learning materials. Home-grown solutions (HGS) will be leveraged through 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 30 mobilizing the population in the construction of classrooms using Umuganda and other community-based activities. 63. Increase the number of qualified teachers and improve their welfare. This will be done through in-service education in learner-centered trainings, provision of incentives will be undertaken to attract brilliant students to join the teaching profession and retain high performing staff. Furthermore, Umwalimu SACCO will be strengthened to cater for teachers’ access to affordable finance and housing. 64. Increase the use of ICT in teaching and learning through scaling up SMART classrooms and ICT devices as well as implementation of the new competence based curriculum. 65. NST1 will also ensure people with disabilities are able to start school and progress through all levels. This will be achieved by developing a system for identifying children with special education needs, availing suitable special needs education materials, building capacity of teachers and ensuring accessibility of infrastructure such as inclusive sanitation facilities in order to create favorable learning environment. 66. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) will further be promoted. In this regard the proportion of students pursuing TVET will increase from 31.1% in (2017) to 60% by 2024 to address the challenge of mismatch in labor market demand. 67. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) across all levels of education will be promoted at all levels. This will be done through identification and attraction of the most excellent and suitable students for STEM, increasing the capacity of STEM research centers and science schools. As a result, STEM students enrolling in higher education and TVET courses will increase from 59.3% in 2017 to 80% by 2024. 68. Increase effort to reduce dropout in primary, lower secondary and upper secondary from 5.6%, 6.3% and 3% in 2017 to 1.2%, 1.7% and 1% respectively by 2024. This will be done through: (i) introducing Abajyanama b’Uburezi/Education community workers at Cell levels (Utugari). (ii) improving school data management system (SDMS) by introducing student identification numbers to track students’ evolution and fight school dropouts, (iii) working with parents through School General Assembly Committees (SGACs). 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 31 Priority Area 5: Moving Towards a Modern Rwandan household This will be achieved through Universal access to basic infrastructure such as electricity, water, sanitation and internet broadband. Key strategic interventions: 69. Access to electricity will be scaled up to all from 34.4% (EICV5) to 100% by 2024 in collaboration with the private sector to reach off-grid areas and investments in grid expansion. 70. Access to water will be scaled up to all from 87.4% (EICV5) to 100% by 2024 through investments in: Construction, extension, rehabilitation of 1,937 Km of water supply systems in city of Kigali and other towns, and of 1,851 Km of water supply systems in rural areas and Daily water production capacity shall be increased from 182,120 to 303,120 cubic meters per day. 71. Access to sanitation and hygiene will be scaled up to all from 86.2% (EICV5) to 100% and waste management systems will be developed in cities, towns and rural areas. Key investments to be undertaken include: Development of the standards for the construction of household toilets Construction of public toilets (public institutions, commercial premises, etc.) Construction of Kigali Centralized Sewerage System (120,000m3/d) Construction of Kigali faecal sludge treatment plant (1000m3/d) Rehabilitation and upgrading of semi-centralized sewerage system in Kigali Estates Construction of Semi centralized sewerage systems in all planned and grouped settlements Construction of modern landfills in all districts and, putting in place waste treatment facilities. 72. Broadband coverage will be rolled out to all citizens through the roll out of the 4G network, promoting internet of things and increase in smart devices penetration. The mobile broadband subscription will also increase from 28% (2016/17) to 47% by 2023/24. 73. Develop and facilitate decent settlement of Rwandans including relocation of those living in high-risk zones. 10,209 Households will be relocated from high risk zones and 205,488 households will be mobilized and facilitated to relocate from scattered settlements to integrated planned settlements. This will be further enhanced through: development of affordable and sustainable housing models for urban and rural areas that can be scaled up drawing from the experience of the 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 32 Integrated Development Program (IDP) model villages, review and elaboration of rural settlements lay out plans. The percentage of households settled in planned settlements will increase from 61.7% (EICV5) to 80% by 2024. 74. The affordable housing fund will be operationalized to facilitate citizens acquire affordable and decent housing. The fund will offer affordable interest rates to both private sector and beneficiaries. 75. Promote recreational activities and sports for all to increase the socioeconomic impact of sports facilities to the citizens. Private sector will be engaged in the construction and management of stadia including Gahanga Sports Complex, Ngoma, Bugesera and Nyagatare stadiums. 76. Strengthen prevention and response strategies to fight gender-based violence (GBV) and child abuse. Specific interventions will include; establishing and strengthening family cohesion home grown initiatives and implementing the integrated health care services for GBV victims. In addition, partnerships will be strengthened with the Private sector, CSOs, Faith Based Organizations as well to conduct community awareness campaigns for fighting GBV and child abuse. 77. Ensure that orphans are raised in families through; conducting awareness campaigns on “Tubarere Mu Muryango” program, reintegrating and following up reintegrated children as well as building the capacity of family protection volunteers/ Inshuti z’Umuryango. 78. Continue to improve mechanisms for disaster preparedness response and mitigation in different sectors with priority to big sectors such as; agriculture, infrastructure, education, urbanization, ICT, health, environment and natural resources. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 33 IV. Transformational Governance Pillar The overarching goal for the Transformational Governance Pillar is to consolidate Good Governance and Justice as, building blocks for equitable and sustainable National Development. The transformational governance pillar has the following 6 broad objectives: Consolidate values and unity of Rwandans, committed to a self-reliant and peaceful Rwanda, Strengthen partnerships between Government, private sector, citizens, NGOs, CSOs and FBOs to fast track national development and people centered prosperity, Strengthen capable and responsible public institutions committed to citizens’ advancement and efficient service delivery, Establish legal frameworks that spur economic development and instill fairness, transparency and accountability across institutions and individuals, Strengthen foreign policy that is driven by economic diplomacy, regional cooperation/Integration and Pan Africanism, Strengthen capacity of security institutions/organs to preserve national security and protect Rwandans, as well as actively participate in socio- economic development of the Nation. These objectives will be achieved through 6 priority areas and the following related strategic interventions. Priority Area 1: Reinforce Rwandan culture and values as a foundation for peace and unity Key strategic interventions: 79. Enshrine Kinyarwanda language and Rwandan values of integrity, transparency, fighting injustice and intolerance for corruption among Rwandans in families, schools’ curricula and the youth. This will be achieved through the operationalization of Itorero in all villages and schools. A model National Civic 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 34 Education Center for the “Itorero ry’Igihugu” and one branch per Province will be established to foster a mindset that accelerates development and national self-reliance. 80. Promote unity and reconciliation among Rwandans through Institutionalization of “Ndi Umunyarwanda and Abarinzi b’Igihango” programmes in Local government and scale up of unity clubs to village level. The level of unity and reconciliation is targeted to increase from 92.5% (RGB 2015) to 96% by 2024. 81. Strengthen and promote gender equality and ensure equal opportunities for all Rwandans by fostering the culture of solidarity and support to vulnerable groups; this will be achieved through mainstreaming gender across sectors, district strategies and investments. 82. Reinforce values and culture of excellence, patriotism, dedication and service while striving for dignity of the nation and putting citizens at the center. Priority Area 2: Ensure Safety and Security of citizens and property Key strategic interventions: 83. Strengthen Crime prevention through community policing working with citizens. The percentage of proportion of population with confidence in safety and security is targeted to increase from 92.62% to above 95%. The level of citizen satisfaction with personal and property security is targeted at 98.7% and 92.1% by 2024 from 98.1% and 86.1% (CRC 2015) respectively. 84. Strengthen capacity of all security organs (Armed Forces, Police, security companies and NISS) for effective discharge of their functions. Rwanda Defense Force and other security organs will continue to play a constructive role in development programmes and projects where required. 85. Enhance and expand regional and international security partnerships to fight and prevent cross-border crimes, human and drug trafficking and cybercrimes; Priority Area 3: Strengthen diplomatic and international cooperation to accelerate Rwanda and Africa’s development Key strategic interventions: 86. Strengthen diplomacy and international cooperation to support the promotion 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 35 of investment, tourism and expansion of the market for products made in Rwanda. This will be achieved through opening of new embassies and coordination of commercial attaches to attract potential investors in priority sectors to Rwanda. Rwanda will also advocate for continued removal of barriers to intra-African trade such as visa requirements and other obstacles to free movement of people and goods within the continent. 87. Strive for unity of Africans and development of the continent based on cooperation and trade aimed at positioning Africa internationally and increasing its self-reliance; this will include promoting the spirit of Pan-Africanism and following through on the initiated reforms for the sustainability of the AU. 88. Continue contributing to peace and security in Africa and globally while ensuring that Rwandan Peacekeepers maintain a culture of excellence in humanitarian and peacekeeping activities. 89. Expand services delivered to the diaspora community and sensitize the Rwandan diaspora to promote unity and reconciliation, increase participation in national development programs, and mobilize friends of Rwanda. 90. Put in place mechanisms to raise awareness of Rwanda’s Home-Grown Solutions locally and internationally to support development. Priority Area 4: Strengthen Justice, Law and Order Key strategic interventions: 91. Reform the Judiciary to tackle backlog cases, especially for Supreme Court with the aim of reducing the rate of backlog cases from 27.5% (2016 Supreme Court) to below 10% by 2024. Unconventional methods will also be adopted to reduce backlog of cases at the Ombudsman. 92. Improve Access to quality justice by modernizing the Criminal, Commercial and Civil Justice System, enhancing professionalism in the judicial system and establishing specialized units in areas of criminal, commercial and civil justice system. The Integrated Electronic case management system will also be fully operationalized and used in all relevant institutions involved in case management. 93. Legal Aid Provision will be streamlined to ensure Universal and affordable quality justice. For this purpose, MAJ outreach activities will be scaled up from Districts to Sector levels. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 36 94. Draft, revise and modernize Laws taking into account Rwanda’s cultural context. By 2024, all laws will have been assessed and revised where applicable. A total of 134 civil and administrative laws, 38 criminal judicial litigations and security organ laws and 73 business laws in force that are not in all 3 official languages will be translated. At least 50% of laws will be harmonized/ approximated with internationally ratified legal instruments. 95. Enhance Alternative Dispute resolution mechanisms to promote the culture of problem-solving in families and reinforce amicable settlement of disputes. The cases resolved at Abunzi level are targeted to increase from 86% (Judiciary annual report 2015/16) to 94% by 2024. The Abunzi Management Information System will be put in place to facilitate data collection and sharing. Activities of Abunzi at Sector level (Umurenge) will be reinforced. 96. Efforts to prevent and fight corruption will be intensified. The capacity of the Ombudsman to investigate corruption will be strengthened. The protection of whistle- blowers and incentive scheme for whistleblowing will be strengthened. Prosecution of corruption cases will be enhanced with development of specialized capacities to investigate related crimes. Recovery of embezzled public funds will be doubled from 44.3% (2017) to 90% by 2024 through use of professional bailiffs among others. The level of satisfaction with the control of corruption will increase from 86.56% (RGS 2016) to 92.56% by 2024. 97. Intensify fight against genocide ideology in Rwanda and anywhere in the world. This will be achieved by enhancing regional and international cooperation in Genocide ideology prevention and prosecution. Also conservation and preservation of proofs of the Genocide against Tutsi will be reinforced. The percentage of Genocide proofs from Gacaca courts conserved will be increased from 77.8% (CNLG 2016/17) to 100% by 2020. Priority area 5: Strengthen Capacity, Service delivery and Accountability of public Institutions Key strategic interventions: 98. Mainstream governance for production across sectors and enhance capacities of public institutions and performance. This will include 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 37 enshrining a culture of dedicated service to citizens for fast and effective service delivery. 99. Percentage of citizens satisfied with service delivery will increase from 67.7% (2016 RGS) to 90% by 2024. 100. Ensure 100% Government services are delivered online by 2024 from 40% in 2017. 101. All public projects funded for implementation to be appraised by the Public Investment Committee as provided by the National Investment Policy to assure their quality and desired impact. Feasibility studies will be undertaken before implementing projects in line with the aforementioned policy. 102. Strengthen the functioning of clusters, sector working groups and JADF to enhance coordination in planning and implementation. 103. Increase the number of entities obtaining unqualified audit opinion on financial statements and compliance with laws and regulations from 50% (2016/17) to 80% by 2023/24. This will be supported by creation of a critical mass of professional accountants and the roll out of Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to sub- national entities including sectors (Imirenge), Districts Hospitals and health centers and schools. 104. Increase districts revenue capacity to finance their development needs by promoting local economic development and reforming laws on locally administered taxes and fees. Priority Area 6: Increase citizens’ participation, engagement and partnerships in Development Key strategic interventions: 105. Build capacities of media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), FBOs, and the private sector to effectively engage in and substantively contribute to national development, democratic governance and improving citizens’ social welfare. 106. Reinforce mechanisms at decentralized levels for citizens particularly women and youth to effectively contribute to districts planning and prioritization. Develop and utilize online platforms and social media to 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 38 interact with citizens on the national development agenda. 107. Promote the culture of self-reliance, teamwork spirit, integrity, solidarity and patriotism among Rwandans and develop Home-Grown Solutions to problems encountered by different categories of our society; Strengthen the voluntary national service program (Urugerero) under the national civic education institution (Itorero ry’Igihugu) with the objective of developing the Rwandan youth into citizens who aspire to become self-reliant and hardworking. 108. Consolidate and develop home-grown solutions and innovations to leverage growth opportunities and scale up their (HGS) impact on improving citizens’ livelihood and welfare. Establish and fully operationalize Home Grown Solutions Center of Excellence to preserve and promote productive cultural heritage and innovations that constitute drivers of recovery and development for post-genocide Rwanda. Document the legacies, impacts and trends of Rwanda’s transformational leadership in social, economic and political spheres and make them available for lessons and use by future generations, Africa and the Global Community. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 39 V. Cross-Cutting Areas 5.1 In addition to the strategic interventions under the three pillars, NST1 has considered seven (7) cross-cutting areas to attain inclusive and sustainable development. These are: Capacity Development, HIV/AIDS and Non- Communicable Diseases, Disability and Social Inclusion, Gender and Family Promotion, Regional Integration and International Positioning, Disaster Management, Environment and Climate Change. 5.2 The cross-cutting areas will be embedded within Sector Strategic Plans and District Development Strategies. The sectors responsible for cross-cutting areas came up with key strategic interventions that other sectors and districts will consider during their strategic plans’ elaboration and implementation. Identification of these key strategic interventions followed a participatory process and brought together all sectors responsible for each cross-cutting area. Capacity Development 5.3 To achieve NST1 targets, a competent and skilled workforce with capable and performing organizations will be required. The National Capacity Development Policy, Strategy and Implementation Plan approved by Cabinet in 2016 will provide the framework and act as the main reference for guiding capacity development interventions. The policy: Offers a conceptual framework to ensure common understanding and key principles for approaching capacity development; Describes the key actors and stakeholders involved in delivering capacity development support and proposes a framework for coordination, planning, M&E and reporting on capacity development; Identifies different dimensions of the capacity development delivery system that will be strengthened to enhance the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of interventions. 5.4 Public and private institutions will undertake capacity development initiatives for their workforce. This will be done through examining capacity 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 40 gaps and preparation of annual capacity development plans with strategies required for enhanced delivery. Emphasis will be put in appropriate coordination at the institutional level through setting standards in providing trainings, promoting innovation and learning, and using the RBM policy framework for monitoring and evaluation. 5.5 The focus for Capacity Development under NST1 will be on current and emerging sectors that are key economic drivers with the potential to contribute significantly to job creation and productive employment. Priority sectors include energy, agriculture; private sector development; environment and natural resources; urbanization; transport; tourism; manufacturing and ICT. HIV/AIDS and Non-Communicable Diseases 5.6 During EDPRS2 Rwanda has made extensive gains in the prevention and management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) using an integrated package of components such as Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), Prevention of mother-to-child Transmission (PMTCT), male circumcision, Behavior Change Communication (BCC), HIV treatment, and the recently introduced test and treat program for scaling-up prevention and treatment. 5.7 Going forward, the focus will be on: i) sustaining and scaling gains made in the above mentioned interventions ii) promoting self-testing methods, increasing awareness and promoting behavior change. 5.8 Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are now the leading causes of death globally, and are among the top public health challenges of the 21st century. The four main non-injury NCDs are defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases. NCDs contribute to individual, family and community poverty because of their high costs and opportunity costs in the form of treatment and lifelong medical care and lost productivity from premature death in productive age groups. In low- and middle-income countries, 29% of NCD deaths occur among people under the age of 60. 5.9 Rwanda’s strategy will focus on 3 aspects: i) prevention through promoting mass sports for all, early screening, behavior change with regards to risk factors and 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 41 healthy nutrition. ii) scaling up specialized treatment options including building capacity at different levels of health care and medical personnel iii) working with health insurance schemes to expand coverage of NCDs in packages offered to address the issue of affordability. Disability and Social Inclusion 5.10 Progress made in supporting People with Disabilities (PwDs) will be sustained and scaled up taking into account national and international commitments. Specific interventions will include: Scaling up coverage and re-designing social protection schemes to eligible People with Disabilities, Ensuring easy access to public and private infrastructure by enforcing the building code; Strengthening skills and increasing the number of professionals in inclusive and special needs education; Scaling up assistive devices and appropriate learning resources in education. Continuing to support and engage PwDs to participate in all decision making processes 5.11 Critical areas that will need to mainstream disability and social inclusion include Infrastructure, Health, Education, ICT, Job creation and Social Protection. Gender and Family Promotion 5.12 Achievements registered in gender mainstreaming, family promotion and women empowerment will be sustained through a number of interventions including: i) Continuing to facilitate women to access finance; ii) Mainstreaming gender in employment and job creation strategies; Strengthening capacities of gender machinery and use of gender mainstreaming tools and disaggregated data to inform policy formulation and resource allocation; iii) Scaling up ECDs services at village level; iv) Continuing awareness and fight against gender based violence and human trafficking; and 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 42 v) Enhancing coordination among stakeholders to reintegrate street children and prevent delinquency. Regional Integration and International Positioning 5.13 Rwanda is a member of four key regional integration blocs: The East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL) and Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Rwanda is also engaged in a tripartite Agreement between EAC- COMESA-SADC and the African Union (AU) and has international trade agreements such as the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), with the EU and USA, respectively. 5.14 Rwanda will continue the integration pathway to Regional Integration and International positioning to accelerate achievements of its development goals. Areas of focus will include: i) Increased value addition and competitiveness to maximize benefits from trade pattern ships; ii) Promoting intra Africa and global trade through continued advocacy to eliminate Non-Tariff Barriers (NTB); and iii) Further mobilization of resources to implement joint infrastructure flagship projects to facilitate trade. Environment and Climate Change 5.15 Rwanda has made significant progress in environment and climate change mainstreaming, as reported in State of Environment Reports (SEORs, 2009 and 2015). The environment is protected by relevant environmental laws and regulations that are captured under the Environmental Organic Law of 2005, as revised to date, and Climate Change has been addressed and informed by cross sectoral strategies, including the Green Growth and Climate Resilient Strategy (GGCRS) and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for climate change mitigation and adaptation. 5.16 Focus will be on improving cross sectoral coordination to ensure smooth implementation of environmental policies and regulations. In this regard, 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 43 critical sectors identified for strengthening include: agriculture, urbanization, infrastructure and land use management. 5.17 Additional emphasis will be put on strengthening monitoring and evaluation. High impact areas selected include implementation of: Environmental and social Impact Assessments, biodiversity and ecosystem management, pollution and waste management. Disaster Management 5.18 Significant progress has been registered in disaster management including the development of institutional, policy and legal frameworks and infrastructure for improving preparedness response and mitigation. To sustain progress and strengthen capacities for disaster management, the following will be undertaken: i) Strengthening capacities for weather forecasting and early warning systems to increase reliability and accuracy of information for informed decision making; ii) Improving coordination and engagement of all stakeholders to enhance information sharing, timely response and joint delivery of interventions; and iii) Continuing implementation of the disaster management plans and tools including district disaster management plans and other contingency plans. 5.19 NST1 areas of interventions in disaster management will focus on key sectors such as; agriculture, infrastructure, education, environment and natural resources, information and communication technology, health, the private sector and youth and social protection. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 44 VI. Macroeconomic Framework 6.1 This chapter outlines the macroeconomic outlook for the NST1 period from 2017 to 2024. The NST1 macroeconomic scenario aims at achieving Rwanda’s ambitions outlined in the Vision 2050: becoming an upper middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2050. In order to achieve this goal, the NST1 will be an essential phase in creating the economic environment for the Rwandan economy to thrive. The underlying policy choices described in the pillars above seek to achieve this through accelerated economic transformation that provides quality livelihoods for all Rwandans. 6.2 Average GDP growth of 9.1% will be needed during the NST1 period for the country to reach upper middle-income status by 2035 (USD 4,035 per capita). To achieve this transformation, by 2024 the GDP per capita is projected to be USD 1,382 (current US$). This requires considerable efforts in boosting private and public investment financed by domestic savings and capital inflows; massive improvements in education; achieving significant increases in land efficiency and innovative capacity; and sustained efforts to boost production of tradeable. At the same time, the rising working-age share of the population should generate gains in per capita income as Rwanda benefits from a demographic dividend with a growing labor force. Growth and Structural Transformation 6.3 Economic and social transformation over the NST1 period will be driven by accelerating GDP growth from 2017 onwards, to reach an overall average growth rate of 9.1% over 2017 to 2024. Along this growth path, GDP per capita will reach USD 1,382 and GNI per capita will reach USD 1,320 by the end of the NST1 period. 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 45 Table 6.1 Output and Growth Rates 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Real GDP 5.2 6.8 8.6 9.2 9.9 10.5 11.0 11.6 Growth (in %) GDP per cap- ita (in current 754 791 847 923 1,013 1,118 1,240 1,382 USD) GNI per capi- ta (in current 726 759 810 881 969 1,069 1,185 1,320 USD) Source: MINECOFIN Estimates and Projections 6.4 Growth will be driven primarily by the services and industry sectors, with 9.3% and 13.0% average growth per year, respectively; growth will be accompanied by robust performance in the agriculture sector with 5.7% average growth per year during the NST1 period. On average, agriculture will contribute 1.4%, industry will contribute 2.7%, and services will contribute 4.5%, with the remaining growth accounted for by taxes and subsidies. Table 6.2 Real GDP Growth by Sector Growth 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Average Rates (in %) Real GDP 5.2 6.8 8.6 9.2 9.9 10.5 11.0 11.6 9.1 Agriculture 5.5 4.6 5.0 5.0 5.9 6.0 6.7 6.7 5.7 Industry 4.8 12.4 14.2 13.6 14.4 14.8 14.5 15.2 13.0 Trade & 5.4 6.1 8.5 9.6 10.1 10.9 11.5 12.3 9.3 Services Source: MINECOFIN Estimates and Projections 6.5 Rwanda’s structural transformation is reflected in the shifting shares of each sector in the economy, as the share of employment and GDP in agriculture shifts over time into industry and, to a lesser extent, services. The share of services in GDP will remain relatively stable, with only modest increases from 47.7% in 2017 to 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 46 48.3% in 2024. The share of industry in GDP will rise from 16.5% in 2017 to 21.8% in 2024 while the share of agriculture in GDP will fall from 29.6% to 22.9% over the same period. This structural transformation will be essential for Rwanda’s future economic prospects. Figure 6.1 Sector Composition of GDP 47.4% 47.4% 47.7% 47.6% 47.7% 47.8% 48.0% 48.3% 16.5% 17.3% 18.2% 19.0% 19.7% 20.5% 21.1% 21.8% 29.6% 29.0% 28.0% 27.0% 26.0% 24.9% 24.0% 22.9% 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Agriculture Industry Trade & Services 6.6 The NST1 growth trajectory will depend significantly on the timing of key contributions from different sectors. Initial investments will lay the groundwork for future growth. These investments will begin to impact the economy in 2019, notably from the mining sector. For 2020- 2021, GDP growth is anticipated to rise sharply, driven by the completion of large investment projects. Several industrial parks in secondary cities will be ready to begin production, especially in the textiles and agro processing industries which will experience significant growth. With the planned opening of the Bugesera international airport in 2020, the services sector will be boosted through increased tourism, improving the hotels and restaurants sector. From 2022 onwards, the economy will build on the momentum of all these investments, achieving even higher growth rates until the end of the NST1 period. 6.7 In this framework, the contributors to growth have been determined through an empirical analysis of the growth experiences for Rwanda and other successful countries. The interaction between investment, the real sector and the external sector all contribute towards building a platform for Rwanda’s 7 Years Government Programme: National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) 2017 – 2024 47 economic growth, putting the country on its path towards achieving the targets outlined in Vision 2050. Factors Contributing to Growth 6.8 Sustained higher economic growth will involve orienting the economy towards higher value added activities and the production of tradeable, requiring investment, scale, innovation and the strengthening of regional and global trade connections. These initiatives will work towards building the production capacity of the Rwandan economy by expanding the factors of production. 6.9 The main contributing factor to real GDP growth will be growth in labor inputs: quantity improvements through a growing labor force, and quality improvements through increasing the human capital and productivity of workers. Combined, labor inputs will contribute an average of 3.4% to real GDP growth, with 1.8% attributed to the growth in employment and 1.6% attributed to the growth in human capital. Private capital inputs will also contribute significantly, with growth in the private capital stock responsible for an average of 2.8% of real GDP growth. Due to the physical restrictions on land, improvements will mainly derive from increasing the efficiency of land which will only contribute an average of 0.04% to real GDP growth. Finally, total factor productivity will contribute 2.9% to real GDP, with 1.2% attributed to public capital growth and 1.7% attributed to other productivity factors, primarily from ICT-led innovation. 6.10 The prerequisite for these objectives is to lift dramatically the rate of domestic savings to boost investment. Through financial sector development, including the introduction of innovative savings mobilization schemes, the private domestic savings rate is projected to increase from 12.1% in 2017 to 23.9% in 2024. This will provide domestic resources to help finance the expansion of investment, while also encouraging a gradual increase in the share of private domestic savings in private investment financing. Furthermore, these domestic savings will reduce Rwand