E-Government Development in Rwanda

The success of Rwanda in e-Government development dates back to the implementation of its long-term Vision 2020 adopted in 2000. Three consecutive Rwanda National Information and Communication Infrastructure Plans (NICI plans) for 2000-2015 and the SMART Rwanda 2020 Masterplan were worked out in line with the Vision 2020.

The SMART Rwanda strategic plan focuses on the digital transformation in seven key sectors, namely, Governance, Education, Health, Finance, Gender and Youth mainstreaming, Trade and Industry, and Agriculture. The goal of SRMP is also aligned with all 3 pillars of the National Strategy for Transformation and Prosperity (NST-1) which aims at Economic, Social, and Governance transformation.

The Ministry of Information Communication Technology and Innovation (MINICT) supervises the ICT sector in Rwanda and is headed by Paula Ingabire, the coordinator of the Kigali Innovation City Project.

Mr. Moses Bayingana, who currently is the AG Director of the Department of Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union, has greatly contributed to the digital transformation of Rwanda. On behalf of RITA (Rwanda Information Technology Authority), he was in charge of implementation of Rwanda’s National ICT Plan NICI-2005 developed in 2000.

The ICT Sector Strategic Plan (2018-2024) is based on the initiatives of NST-1 and focuses on the same three pillars. The key objectives of the Plan are: 

• providing broadband for all members of the society,

• implementing the government digital transformation,

• enhancing digital literacy by 2024. 

In the SWOT analysis carried out by the Rwandan Ministry of IT and Communications the focus on e-Government and e-Governance is listed among the key strengths, while the lack of awareness about ICT and the benefits of e-government in both urban and rural areas is claimed to be one of the weaknesses.

Rankings

Given the achievements of Rwanda in e-Government implementation during the past decade, it is worth mentioning that the country joined the high EGDI group in the UN E-Government Survey 2022. The country ranked 119th in the Survey with an EGDI of 0.55.

Integration of Public Services

Over the period of 2001-2015 the Government of Rwanda has successively implemented a number of ICT projects, including a ‘one-stop shop’ e-Government portal – Irembo platform. It was launched in 2015 in partnership with Irembo, a private company founded in Kigali in 2014. Through the Irembo platform Rwandans now can access 89 public services via mobile devices or desktops. The portal provides Government to Citizen (G2C), Government to Business (G2B), and Government to Government (G2G) services.

Source: Irembo platform

Identification and Biometrics

The ID system of Rwanda consists of the National Population Register (NPR) and the National ID card database (NID). The latter stores data of Rwandans, foreigners and refugees over 16 years old. Data collected through the NID are attested with the issuance of an ID card that has a unique National Identity Number (NIN). This 16-digit NIN becomes an identifier of an individual and is used as the digital ID of Rwandans to obtain services provided by public institutions through Irembo. Applying for a National ID as well as its correction is also available on the same portal.

Biometrics (thumbprints) are being collected at the registration for a national ID card.

Government Certification Authority (GovCA) enables citizens to get a digital certificate bound to the identity of its owner by a pair of encryption keys that can be used to encrypt and digitally sign information. To set up a digital signature a person should have a valid digital certificate (otherwise GovCA allows to renew the certificate online). The Certificate Authority also provides a user guide on how to set up an e-signature in Adobe PDF Reader. 

Payment Systems

In accordance with the National Payment System Framework and Strategy: Vision 2020, e-payments in Rwanda grew rapidly between 2012 and 2016, with most growth attributed to mobile payments. However, MasterCard payment gateway is still the only one available to facilitate payments within Rwanda Online through the Irembo platform.

The Rwanda Integrated Payment Processing System (RIPPS) implemented in 2011 is based on the Automated Transfer System (ATS) through which Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Automated Clearing House (ACH) are offered. The Central Securities Depository (CSD) is a part of the system that was designed to provide depository services to the financial markets. The RIPPS serves as a national hub to support interoperable payments. 

Implementation of the Rwanda National Digital Payment System (RNDPS) is guided by the Business Plan for the Rwanda National Digital Payment System (‘RNDPS Blueprint’) which was developed with the support of Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) and agreed to by Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) and the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) in 2018. The RNDPS will be accessible to any licensed and approved financial services provider and is expected to be launched in June 2023

G2G Services

Document Tracking Management System (also known as E-Mboni) was launched in 2013. This service enables users to send and work on documents by eliminating the paper-based approach in institutions. The system is deployed in 116 public institutions (ministries, provinces, districts and other public institutions) by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). 

The Government Smart Administration System is a tool that serves for digitalisation of  internal administrative processes and improves Service Delivery across Government institutions and citizens.

Source: Government Smart Admin System

Education

In 2020, the Government established the Rwanda TVET Board (RTB) in order to promote quality education in technical education and vocational training. The Board coordinates all the programmes aimed at the development of TVET in Rwanda and provides a range of related services, including the TVET School GIS - the dashboard which contains the data on all the TVET schools in Rwanda. The aim of the MINECOFIN E-Learning platform is training participants to use the Integrated Financial Management System, both as Schools Data Management System and improving user skills of comprehending the financial concepts.

The School Data Management System also operated by MINECOFIN is a platform primarily focused on National Exam Services. It is possible to register for an exam, check the results and submit an appeal.

The E-Learning platform, provided by the Ministry of Health, offers a vast spectrum of courses for medical professionals and students. In 2021, completion of courses was announced to be mandatory for licence renewal for nurses and midwives.

Healthcare

Prior to establishment of Babyl, which is the largest digital health service provider in Rwanda, the Government signed a ten-year collaboration agreement with UK-headquartered remote consultations provider Babylon Health. Babyl allows for requesting an appointment by dialling a number and making a payment via mobile money. Laboratory test results and prescriptions are also issued via mobile phone with a unique Babyl code. 

The three-year agreement between the Eni Foundation (Italy), the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning was signed in 2022 with the target to strengthen the basic maternal and child health services, and focused on the management of obstetric emergencies.

Public Procurement

The Rwanda On-Line E-Procurement System, also known as UMUCYO, is provided by the MINECOFIN (Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning). It is designed to automate the public procurement process and enable G2B interactions. Overall, the system provides e-Catalog, e-Bidding, Procuring Entity registration as well as Supplier registration services.

Source: umucyo.gov.rw

Legislation

The Portal of Rwandan Laws and Case Laws hosts laws, executive orders and regulations classified into ten domains (Fundamental laws, Human rights related laws, Administrative laws, etc). The website also grants access to selected court decisions rendered by superior courts of Rwanda. 

Source: www.amategeko.gov.rw

The Rwanda Integrated Electronic Case Management System was launched in December 2015 and was put into operation in January 2016. This is an automated judicial case processing and management system developed by the Ministry of Justice in partnership with Synergy International Systems (USA). It provides securing and recording case-related information as well as its distribution among the institutions of the sector. The user fills the general information, information about parties submissions, court fees and court schedule and submits case to court. 

Source: iecms.gov.rw

Labour

The Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) operated by the MIFOTRA (Ministry of Public Service and Labour) is a service operated by the Government in order to improve the efficiency of the country’s human resource management. Among the modules of the system are the Rwanda Civil Service Recruitment Portal offering the latest vacancies in various professional fields including health science, public services, information technology, etc., and the Rwanda Employee Self-Service Portal (IPPIS-RMB) enabling employees to monitor their work performance.

Source: ippis.mifotra.gov.rw

The Integrated Labour Administration System (ILAS) provides an opportunity to report labour disputes and other related complaints. 

Source: ilas.mifotra.gov.rw

Land Use Services

In January 2023, the Rwandan National Land Authority (NLA) launched e-Title, an electronic certificate for land registration. With the new platform the land titles will be provided immediately following approval by the Land Registrar. The NLA also manages the Rwanda Land Dashboard which is an interactive land data visualisation containing information about all changes of land use. Through this platform users can examine the territory at different levels.

Source: rwandalanddashboard.lands.rw

Tourism

Visit Rwanda is a governmental platform for tourists with a user-friendly interface managed by the Rwanda Development Board. The service provides foreigners with tools to plan their travel and discover Rwanda. 

Source: visitrwandabookings.rdb.rw

Trade

The Rwanda Trade Portal, implemented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and RRA with technical assistance from UNCTAD and ITC, enables to calculate import duties and taxes, explore procedures of export, import and transit of various products and provides a list of commercial agreements.

Source: rwandatrade.rw

The Rwanda e-Single Window (ReSW) enables the submission of a single declaration, which contains all information required by the agencies responsible for controlling international trade in Rwanda, and allows these agencies to inform traders and their representatives on the progress of a release process.

e-Taxes

The Rwanda Revenue Authority offers the e-Tax services – a web platform launched in 2011 to centralise all tax processes, such as filling and paying of taxes and claiming refunds.

Source: etax.rra.gov.rw

Data Management and Statistics

The National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) provides interactive access to a number of data portals with each of them having a dedicated database system. Data Catalogues provide the data in tables, graphs and maps. Users can find the information filtered by topics, sources, collections and datasets. The search by keyword and year filter are also available. 

Source: www.statistics.gov.rw

Agriculture

One of the recent initiatives in the agriculture sector is the project Smart Nkunganire System (SNS) launched under a public-private partnership agreement between the Rwanda Agricultural and Animal Resources Development Board (DAB) and BK TecHouse (Bank of Kigali TecHouse). SNS aims at linking farmers and other sectoral stakeholders (such as the Ministry of agriculture and animal resources, agro-inputs dealers, suppliers, distributors, etc.) as well as simplifying access to information on ‘agricultural input’ subsidies. 

Another IT solution available in the agricultural sector is the e-Soko platform funded by The World Bank with the goal to provide access to the pricing information to farmers in order to make them more aware of the market situation.

Source: esoko.gov.rw

Satellite Communication

Rwanda’s first satellite RWASAT-1 was launched in 2019 with the support of the Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency (JAXA). The following year the Rwanda Space Agency (RSA) was established. In October 2021, the RSA filed Rwanda’s first request for Satellite Constellations to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In 2022, the chief executive officer of the Rwanda Space Agency Francis Ngabo signed the NASA Artemis Accords.

Author:
Daria Sukhova