GLoBe Rwanda - Rwandan local authorities improve local participation for sustainable urbanisation to ensure inclusive decision-making and

Rwandan local authorities improve local participation for sustainable urbanisation to ensure inclusive decision-making and responsive service delivery The VVSG’s ‘GLoBe’ (Goed Lokaal Bestuur) programme is committed to good local governance for sustainable and coherent policies. Local governments can play an important role as duty bearers to contribute to safeguarding human rights, to realising the SDGs and to improving living conditions for populations. In Rwanda, GLoBe supports local governments in the development of qualitive and sustainable urbanisation policies by increasing their capacities to organise inclusive participatory processes. By strengthening and updating tools, knowledge and skills on local participation mechanisms of RALGA staff and of councillors, technical staff and community representatives of 2 pilot districts, the programme strives to ensure more inclusive local decision-making and responsive service delivery by these local authorities. The involvement of all stakeholder groups (including vulnerable groups such as youth, women and people with disabilities) in the development and implementation of sustainable urbanisation processes is a key focus of the programme. GLoBe is in line with the global movement for decentralisation in which authorities and resources are transferred from central to local governments. This brings opportunities, but also challenges, such as the need to strengthen legitimacy and local participation, professionalise local administrations, and enhance qualitative service delivery to the entire population. In Rwanda, we contribute to the necessary capacity building of local administrations through a partnership between VVSG and RALGA, the Rwandan Association of Local Government Authorities. Peer-to-peer learning and exchange of good practices has proven to be an efficient and effective way to build capacity for good local governance. This partnership provides the opportunity to develop new approaches to strengthening inclusive participation for sustainable urbanisation and the opportunity to impact other Rwandan local governments, through RALGA’s national reach.