REPUBLIC OF RWANDA
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE
ON
ENHANCING HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC
INSTITUTIONS AS A PILLAR FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE THAT LEADS TO
EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY AND PRODUCTIVITY
Hotel UMUBANO, 27-28 July 2011
Table of contents
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................ II
ORGANISATION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ........................................................................... 1
GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE CONFERENCE ....................................................................................................... 3
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................................... 3
EXPECTED RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................. 4
PARTICIPATION .................................................................................................................................................... 4
AGENDA OF THE CONFERENCE ............................................................................................................................. 6
DAY ONE. ......................................................................................................................................................... 7
OPENING REMARKS ......................................................................................................................................... 7
1. WELCOME NOTE BY THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, PSC ................................................................................... 7
2. OFFICIAL OPENING REMARKS BY MR. EMMANUEL NDAHIMANA, REPRESENTATIVE OF
CHAIRPERSON OF BOC, PSC .............................................................................................................................. 9
PRESENTATIONS BY KEYNOTE SPEAKERS ....................................................................................................... 11
1. COMPETITIVE RECRUITMENT: A PILLAR OF GOOD GOVERNANCE LEADING TO EFFECTIVE SERVICE
DELIVERY AND PRODUCTIVITY ................................................................................................................................ 11
2. PRESENTATION BY DR BENJAMIN AKINYEMI, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRE FOR PROFESSIONAL AND
EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT, SFB: ............................................................................................................................ 15
3. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: ISSUES ARISING FROM GROUP DISCUSSIONS ........................................................................ 24
4. FINDINGS FROM GROUP WORKSHOPS ..................................................................................................................... 31
DAY TWO ....................................................................................................................................................... 37
1. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SERVICE WORK PLACE: THE ROLE OF MANAGEMENT AND WHAT
A PUBLIC SERVANT MUST DO. .............................................................................................................................. 37
2. PRESENTATION BY MR KARAMAGA WILSON, RESEARCHER AT CENTRE FOR CONFLICT MANAGEMENT, NUR ..................... 45
3. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ................................................................................................................................... 50
4. RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM GROUP DISCUSSIONS ......................................................................................... 53
4.1. ON IMPROVING PERFORMANCE AT WORK PLACE USING PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS; ........................................... 53
4.2. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AT WORKPLACE: MECHANISMS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT........................................ 57
PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD ......................................................................... 60
1. CONCERNING COMPETITIVE RECRUITMENT AS A PILLAR OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY: ............. 60
2. CONCERNING CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SERVICE WORK PLACE: THE ROLE OF MANAGEMENT
AND WHAT A PUBLIC SERVANT MUST DO: ............................................................................................................... 62
3. AS FOR THE ROLE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION FOR IMPROVED PUBLIC SECTOR PERFORMANCES ........................... 63
CLOSING REMARKS ........................................................................................................................................ 65
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................................... 68
i
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
BOC
: Board of Commissioners
CCM
: Centre for Conflict Management (NUR)
CEPGL
: Communauté Economique des Pays Des Grands Lacs (Economic Community of the
Great Lakes States)
COMESA
: Common market For Eastern and Southern Africa
EAC
: East African Community
HR
: Human Resources
HRM
: Human Resource Management
IGG
: Inspector General of the Government (Ombudsman)
MDG
: Millennium Development Goals
MIFOTRA
: Ministry of Public Service and Labour
NUR
: National University of Rwanda
PSC
: Public Service Commission
PSM
: Public Service Motivation
RALGA
: Rwanda Association of Local government Authorities
RIAM
: Rwanda Institute of Administration Management
SCA
: Sustainable Competitive Advantage
SFB
: School of Finance and Banking
SMART
: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound (Objectives)
ii
ORGANISATION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
This conference was organised in the framework of sharing experiences on the achievements of the
Public Service Commission (PSC) since its inception in 2008 and the setting up of its organs, especially
the Board of Commissioners composed of seven commissioners.
Some of the Commissioners present in the conference,
The Headquarters of the Public Service Commission, Kigali City in Kiyovu
1
The 2011 Conference was facilitated by the Executive Secretariat and officers of the PSC.
Members of the Conference Secretariat register participants at the beginning of the Conference
This conference is also a continuation of another similar gathering that was organised by the PSC in
2008, that recommended regular organisation of such annual Human Resource conferences,
workshops and seminars of PSC and all stakeholders in human resource management to share
experience learnt in the Rwandan human resources in the Public Service and how Public service
productivity can be maximised as well as to, review the mission of the PSC and to share information
and knowledge and discuss issues related to enhancing HRM in Public institutions. The theme of the
conference for this year was:
“ENHANCING HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
AS A PILLAR FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE THAT LEADS TO EFFICIENT SERVICE
DELIVERY AD PRODUCTIVITY”
2
It was held at Hotel UMUBANO, Kigali, Rwanda, from the 27th through 28th July 2011 under the
auspices of the Public Service Commission.
The conference was officially opened by Mr. Emmanuel NDAHIMANA, Commissioner in the PSC,
former Minister of State in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Finance, who represented the
Chairperson of the PSC who was withheld.
As for the methodology of the two-day conference, it was divided into plenary sessions during which
invited speakers and consultants presented various topics, followed by questions and answers,
thematic breakout group workshops, presentations of the findings from group workshops in plenary
sessions, presentation of final resolutions and recommendations and then the closing session.
General Objectives of the Conference
The objective of the conference was to propose an action plan and a Road Map for enhancing Human
Resource management and productivity in Public Institutions as the theme of the conference
suggests. The conference also was aimed at discussing issues related ways and means of improving
performance and productivity for more efficient and effective service delivery as Rwanda strives to
achieve the Vision 2020 and its components such as EDPRS, MDG’s as well regional, continental and
international compositeness.
The conference was also aimed at helping Heads of Public Institutions and HR Managers to
understand laws and decrees governing recruitment, conflict management and disciplinary
procedures as well as the law governing Public Servants.
Specific Objectives
The specific objectives of the conferences were:

To emphasise best practices in the management of Public employees from recruitment so
as to improve the rights of Public employees, employers and foster better relations
between the two parties;

To discuss the laws and practices in the recruitment of Public servants, conflict
management grievances, and discipline management in the Public service;

To make known the powers and functions of the PSC.
3
Expected Results
The conference expected to achieve the following outputs:

Efficient management of Public service employees in accordance with the law and
standing orders or regulations;

Reduced complaints from employees on issues related to mistreatment and arbitrary
punishment by employers;

Recruitment of Public servants in conformity with the law in a fair and transparent
manner;

Increased satisfaction and morale of employees in the Public Service;

Increased awareness of the PSC and its mission.
Participation
The conference was graced by the presence of Mr. Emmanuel NDAHIMANA, Guest of Honour, former
Minister of State in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Finance, who represented the Chairperson
of PSC Board of Commissioners, Mr. Bonaventure NIYIBIZI who was withheld with other duties, Mrs.
Angelina MUGANZA, Executive Secretary, PSC, and former Minister of State in the Ministry of Public
Service and Labour, Mr. Thėogène KARAKE, Secretary General of RALGA, participants from the Upper
and Lower Chambers of the parliament, the Judiciary, Central Government Ministries, Public Service
Organisations, representatives from Local Government Authorities and consultants and facilitators of
the conference from various institutions of higher leaning. The full list of participants is appended to
the present report.
4
Participants listen attentively to the presentation by the keynote speakers
Plenary Session
Group workshop session
5
Agenda of the Conference
The agenda of the conference was composed of the following items:
1.
2.
OPENING REMARKS
1.1.
Welcome note from the Executive Secretary, PSC
1.2.
Official opening remarks by the Chairperson, BOC, Public Service Commission
1.3.
Official opening by the Guest of Honour, Hon. Minister of Public Service and Labour
PRESENTATIONS BY KEYNOTE SPEAKERSCompetitive Recruitment: A pillar of good governance
leading to effective service delivery and productivity
2.1.1.
2.2.
Group workshops
Conflict management in Public Service Work Place: The role of management and what a
Public Servant must do.
2.2.1. Group Workshops
2.3.
The Role of the Public Service Commission for improved Public Sector performances
2.3.1. Group Workshops
3.
PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD
4.
CLOSING REMARKS
6
DAY ONE.
OPENING REMARKS
1. Welcome note by the Executive Secretary, PSC
In her introduction, Mrs. Angelina MUGANZA, Executive Secretary, PSC, first welcomed ail the
participants and resource persons and thanked them for having set off some of their precious time
on their busy schedule to attend this important conference on enhancing the performance of the
Public Service in Rwanda.
The Executive Secretary of the Public Service Commission, Mrs. Angelina MUGANZA, making her
welcome remarks at the official opening of the Conference
Then she gave the historical background of the PSC that was created in 2008, followed by the
nomination of organs of the Commission, especially the Board of Commissioners and the organic
structure of the Commission. She highlighted the objective of the Conference, which was to discuss
issues related enhancing human resource management in the Public
7
Sector, which is in the
framework of the Mission of the PSC as an oversight body that monitor the performance and
effective of Public institutions
The mission of the Public Service Commission as it was revised to date, is to provide independent
oversight Public Service recruitment and appeals over grievances, to senate Public servants are
fairly and impartially recruited, managed and supported, based on principles of equity, governance
and integrity to deliver high quality service in an effective in an efficient manner.
Mrs. Angelina MUGANZA, ES, PSC, exchanging views with Mr. Emmanuel NDAHIMANA, a
Commissioner, representing the Chairman of the PSC Board of Commissioners at the official
opening of the Conference
She then introduced some commissioners of the PSC Board of Commissioners present, namely Mr.
Emmanuel NDAHIMANA, who was the Guest of Honour, representing the Chairperson of the PSC
Board of Commissioners and Mr. François HABIYAKARE, Commissioner of the PSC and former
Minister of public Service
8
Mr. Francois HABIYAKARE, a Commissioner in the PSC
After presenting the general outline of the agenda and the general organisation of the Conference,
she wished the participants from various institutions to commit themselves to and participate
actively in the deliberations of the Conference.
It was on this note that she invited the Guest of Honour to make his opening remarks and officially
open the Conference.
2. OFFICIAL OPENING REMARKS BY MR. EMMANUEL NDAHIMANA, REPRESENTATIVE OF
CHAIRPERSON OF BOC, PSC
In his introductory remarks, Mr. Emmanuel NDAHIMANA thanked the participants and their
respective institutions for their participation in this important conference and urged participants and
resource persons in this conference to propose concrete recommendations for the way forward to
attain effective and efficient and customer-oriented Public Service. He therefore stressed that the
theme of the conference “Enhancing Human Resource Management in Public Institutions as a
pillar for good governance that leads to effective service delivery and productivity tallies with this
vision and objective of improving human resource management in Public institutions through
9
increase of knowledge, and building more dynamic collaboration between the PSC and Public
institutions.
He recalled that the PSC was given the mandate to monitor the application of standards and
principles of good governance in the Public sector, to ensure good working relations between
employees and employers in the Public sector and to contribute to solving conflicts that may arise
between them.
He emphasised that the development of the country depended on efficient and effective Public
service and highlighted the indispensable need for proper recruitment of Public servants and the
role of the PSC to monitor the observance of principles governing recruitment which should be
characterised by transparency, the respect of the law so as to ensure a lean but productive and
efficient Public service, which would not be achieved without the recruitment of competent Public
servants willing and committed to serve the Public in a selfless manner. .
He urged participants to think how this conference can act as a forum for exchanging views, best
practices in HRD and challenged all participants to come with an action plan and recommendations
that would be submitted to the Government, PSC and specific institutions for action as a way forward
to build a more performing Public service and to improve service delivery to the public.
He also expressed gratitude to various resource persons and moderators of the conference and
urged them to identify the existing gaps and inadequacies in HRM in the Public Sector and propose
solutions to address them while requesting all participants to maximally gain from their experience
and expertise so as to make public servants in Rwanda exemplary nationally, regionally, continentally
and even worldwide.
He also hailed the PSC Secretariat for its commitment to build a customer-oriented and productive
Public service as it was evidenced by the organisation of this conference on HRM in the Public Sector.
It was no this notes that, on behalf of the Chairperson of the PSC Board of Commissioners, he
officially opened the conference.
10
PRESENTATIONS BY KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
This session was moderated by Hon. François HABIYAKARE, Commissioner in the PSC, former
Minister of Public Service.
1. Competitive Recruitment: A pillar of good governance leading to effective service
delivery and productivity
The resource persons of this topic were Mrs. Jane WAMBUI, MWUIRURI, Lecturer at the National
University of Rwanda and Jean MUKUNZI, Trainer at and Researcher RIAM, and Dr Benjamin
AKINYEMI, Director of the Centre for Professional and Executive Development at SFB.
Under this main topic, the following sub topics were discussed:

Historical phases of recruitment
practices in Rwanda since the colonial times until
recently;

Identification of arising issues in the conduct of improper recruitment;

How Public institutions can be aware of the risks of improper recruitments and modalities
for managing them and be held accountable;

The benefits of competitive recruitment in the Public Service;

How competitive recruitment directly contributes to good governance and lead to effective
service delivery and productivity;

The role of senior mangers in promoting competitive recruitment in Public Service.
Presentation by Mrs. Jane WAMBUI, MUIRURI, Lecturer, National University of Rwanda
In beginning her presentation, the presenter revisited the history of recruitment practice in the
Rwanda Public Service divided into categories, namely the colonial era, the post-independence
period, including the current situation characterised by the ongoing Public Service Reforms as well
and future perspectives or the way forward. She concurred that the post-independence period until
the recent Public Service reforms had been characterised by nepotism, regionalism, divisionism and
corrupt tendencies.
11
It therefore became imperative for the current Government to adopt a Presidential Order No
83/2010 of the 9th of December 2010 which emphasized that role of the PSC in the competitive and
fair recruitment process in all public institutions.
Mrs. WAMBUI MWUIRURI, Lecturer at NUR during her presentation on Competitive Recruitment as
a Pillar of Good Governance in the Public Service and Efficient Service Delivery
She reminded participants that May 2008 the Public Service Commission (PSC) was created by the
law No 06/2007 of 01 February 2007 which with the mission of promoting fairness in the recruitment
process. In 2010, the Constitutional review through a constitutional amendment No. 4 of the 17th of
June 2010 redefined and reinforced the role of the PSC as an oversight organ of the Public Service, a
referee of the recruitment process with the aim of promoting good governance in the Public Service
through the auditing of recruitment, ensure the respect of laws and policies governing Public Service
recruitment and administration.
Thanks for these legal and administrative measures, the conference noted that today thee
recruitment landscape has highly improved, despite existing major challenges that need to be
addressed, especially:

Ignorance of the Laws on recruitment;

Poorly designed advertisements that lack key details and clarity of the job descriptions and
what is expected of the candidate to be recruited;

The HR officer is not in most cases involved in the recruitment process;
12

Poor management of the organizational flow chart and structures, especially in relation to
contractual and permanent staffing;

Poorly done job designs which lacking skill and qualification that match with position tasks;

Transfer is often irregularly carried out as part of recruitment, with the risk of candidates
being recruited in positions for which they are not qualified.

Poor recruitment database management and the tendency of not taking advantage of ICT to
save money and time;

Lack or improper use of ICT in the recruitment process, whereas Rwanda Public institutions
have some of the best designed websites and given excellent internet connectivity in the
country;

Conflict of interest especially between panel members and candidates or due to the fact
that some candidates are part of the recruitment process
It was therefore noted that this inadequacy and generally poor planning of the recruitment process
results in unprofessional and unethical interviewing process, which may open room for improper
recruitment. Other negative effects of these inadequacies of the recruitment process include the
following:
 Waste of time as a precious resource;
 Costly in terms of actual money through advertisements, paper work, etc;
 Demoralizes the best candidates due to this lengthy and tedious process and hence the
best performers may be taken up by other organizations;
 Improper recruitment may be a source of conflict between non performing wrongly
recruited candidates and those who were correctly recruited;
 It may open room for corrupt practices
 Improper recruitment makes the working environment unfriendly, leading to complaints,
reduced production and productivity.
As for future perspectives and the way forward of Rwanda's’ Public Service the following measures
were proposed:

Strict respect the law and the recruitment process to avoid ambiguous and vague directives;

Prior and progressive consultations with the PSC before and during the recruitment process;
13

The need to involve ethical professionals, if necessary, to ensure that the right people are
recruited at the right time for the right posts and in the right framework;

The need to plan the recruitment process to save time and get value for the money and other
resources used in the recruitment by matching relevant skills to expected deliverables;

Transfers should be part of the recruitment process to avoid moving persons to wrong positions,
with the obvious negative impacts;

The use of ICT (websites) to reduce costs and make work more efficient since applications can be
done online and digital trail of the recruitment process created, which may be useful in case of
appeals or other complaints/grievances by unsatisfied candidates. Websites also user-friendly
since information is open and available on the websites for everybody who is interested.

The involvement of Human resource managers and the senior management of the recruiting
authority

Outsourcing qualified firms or professionals if necessary. In conclusion therefore the PSC that
Rwanda wants should be:

A PSC that guarantees:
o
Good governance and promotion of mutual understanding and cooperation between
PSC and stakeholders;
o
Frequent consultations between PSC and stakeholders to solve identified challenges,
sharing experiences and lessons;
o
Life long learning process and sustainable recruitment practices;
o
Proactive participation of stakeholders.
14
Participants listen attentively to the presentations by key discussants
2. Presentation by Dr Benjamin AKINYEMI, Director of the Centre for Professional and
Executive Development, SFB:
In his introduction, he outlines major highlights of his presentation as follows:
 Definition of the Public Service
 Role of the Public Service
 Elements and Values of an Ideal Public Service
 Meaning and Importance of Recruitment
 Rules of Recruitment and Selection
 Summary of the Public Service Staffing Process
 Competitive Recruitment in the Public Service
 Recruitment Risks
 Costs of Faulty Public Service Recruitment
 Mitigating the Risks: Managerial Role
 Golden Rules of Recruitment and Selection
 Conclusion
15
Dr Benjamin AKIMENYI, of School of Finance and Banking (SFB) presenting his topic on benefits of
competitive recruitment
As for the defining of recruitment in the Public Service, he expiated that recruitment was
independent variable while service delivery and good governance was a dependent variable, hence
the need for a strong link between competitive recruitment and good governance.
Concerning the definition of governance, he described it as a process of decision making and
implementation
of
decisions,
adding
that
governance
takes
different
forms,
namely
political/administrative governance, corporate governance and international governance.
Coming back to the definition of the Public Service, it is referred to as an agglomeration of all
organizations that exist as part of the Government machinery for the delivery of services.
He therefore stressed that quality Public Service must be transparent, participatory, responsive,
effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, as well as predictive to ensure the attainment of
expected outputs.
16
Dr Benjamin AKINYEMI (left), answering questions from participants during The Q&A Session,
moderated by Mr. Francois HABIYAKARE, Commissioner, BOC
Concerning the role of the Public Service, it main mission is:
 To make and enforce economic and social policies destined for delivering services to the
citizenry as well as to trigger development initiatives;
 To think strategically so as to translate these policies into concrete deliverables so as to
respond to development challenges, which is very crucial in the 21st century characterised
by stiff competition for dwindling natural resources
 To design and implement Public programmes;
 To mobilise revenues for the State;
 To manage multiple levels of Public accountability (managerial,, political and financial)
 To advise the Government on policy options to enable it to select the most effective choices;
 To serve as an administrative machinery of Government for implementing policy decisions
and delivering services;
 To driver of all development initiatives and stimulate economic growth;
 To lead institution in strategic thinking and translation of intentions to policies for the
delivery of improved quality of life;
 To fulfil the mandate of the Government, in conjunction with the political leadership, i.e. to
serve the people.
Therefore to achieve this mission the Public Service must be characterised by the following
indispensable qualities:
17
o
It must be competent bath quantitatively and qualitatively ;
o
It must be merit-based and politically neutral;
o
It must be accountable, professional and generally free of corruption;
o
It must be well structured with required complementary staff rather than being overbloated;
o
It must be relatively autonomous, responsive and representative;
o
It must be well-trained, performance-oriented and relatively open, and;
o
It must be creative, modern, efficient, serve as an agent of change, people-oriented,
progressive, ready to improve and take initiative, ready to respond to change in this era of
technological advances
However, the presenter warned that these qualities cannot be attained without proper and
competitive recruitment of Public Servants, which is a foundation to an ideal Public Service.
Recruited Public Servants must as a matter of imperative need shun from arm-chair tendencies and
develop a cooperative spirit, be competent, development-oriented, be governed by the principle of
neutrality, high integrity, competitiveness and productivity, continuous drive for and commitment to
efficiency and effectiveness in their service delivery to the pubic.
It was therefore emphasized that the kind of a Public Service Rwanda need in the framework of its
Vision 2020 and beyond is an institution that is responsive, disciplined; that takes innovative,
strategic/future oriented, participative, resourceful, proactive, adaptive, productive, competitive,
progressive, techno-Savvy, committed to excellence, service oriented and customer focused
It was noted if the Rwanda Public Service could adhere to the above principles, there was no doubt
that by 2020 the country would stand out in the region and globally in the area of effective service
delivery.
The conference observed that emerging economies in South-Eastern Asia such as Singapore, South
Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, People’s Republic of China, etc were at the same level of economical and
technological development as Rwanda was in the 1970’s.
Singling out the example of Singapore, participants concurred that this country has been able to
achieve a miraculous socio-economic and technological transformation for the last 30 years, thanks
to the following positive attributes of its Public Service:
18
o
Continuous drive for efficiency in task execution in a way which is responsive and economic;
o
commitment to the values of meritocracy and freedom from corruption and nepotism;
o
judging effectiveness by results achieved with pragmatism and a sense of urgency;
o
fairness
and impartiality
in serving the Public
but not neutral
about executing
government policy;
o
instincts of what are national concerns and interests and good understanding of national
imperatives; and;
o
Future-oriented, adaptable, innovative, citizen and customer-focused.
It was strongly stressed that this quick and irreversible socio-economic transformation cannot be
achieved if the human resource factor is not seriously taken into consideration. It was observed that
the quality of human resources is critical to the development of any country. Human resources in
the Public Sector must be knowledgeable, embrace the technological know-how, skills, critical
technical and technological innovations establish networks and be ready to change their attitudes
and mindsets so as to improve and sustain high levels of performance since it is through them and by
them that services are planned and delivered, as citizens and salary earners
It was for this reason therefore that the conference highlighted the important role of recruitment
and selection in the Public Service to ensure recruitment of the nest performers that are able and
committed to attain the required socio-economic transformation descried above.
It was warned that recruitment is not an issue of refilling the existing vacant posts.
It was
emphasized that competitive recruitment is an open door to high performance by attracting the
most highly performing candidates into the Public Service. According to Dr AKIMENYI, competitive
recruitment “is about making a continuous, long-term investment in attracting a high-quality
workforce capable of accomplishing the organization’s mission now and in the future.”
Recruitment is determined or characterized by competition. It is aimed at identifying and attracting
potential high performers, talents and highly motivated applicants to compete for an open position
with the objective of selecting and engaging them for Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA) to
achieve specific objectives and targets within a well defined period such as the Vision 2020, MDG,
with specific deliverables.
19
Competitive recruitment is therefore very important if Rwanda has to maximize in cutting edge
within regional economic communities such as EAC, CEPGL, COMESA, and at the continental and
global level in the increasingly changing and highly competitive world.
According to Dr AKINYEMI, the golden rules governing competitive recruitment are the following:
Rule 1: Commonality
Rule 2: Openness
Rule 3: Competitiveness
Rule 4: Legality
Rule 5: Non-discrimination
Rule 6: Constancy of criteria
Rule 7: Neutrality
Rule 8: Objectivism
Rule 9: Transparency
Rule 10: Personal data security
Rule 11: Acting without delay
He therefore stressed that proper recruitment should respect the following steps:
1. Planning and appraisal of the staffing needs;
2. Announcement of the vacant post in Public media;
3. Organisation of selection tests ;
4. Screening, interviewing and carrying out background checks, Reviewing references and
other investigative means:
5. Final selection of the candidate, negotiation of terms of service and hiring;
6. Post-selection considerations such as induction, probation, post-recruitment training, etc.
20
Participants were warned that classic interviews alone may not be effective in choosing the most
performing candidate since in most cases they reveal only 10% of the real traits of the candidates. It
was also noted that some candidates have cleverly mastered the art of interviews and are very smart
in hiding their true colours in the efforts of getting the employment at any cost.
It was therefore suggested that the recruiting authority should use other selection tools such as
background checks to bring out the other 90% of the hidden traits of prospective candidates so as to
avoid recruiting the wrong candidate, which would be financially costly due to poor performance,
low productivity and the hassle of repeated recruitment, de-motivation of the staff, instability and
high labour turnover, negative influence by the new comer leading to frustration, demobilization of
existing staff, especially if the poorly recruited person in a position of leadership or management.
Participants were reminded that the main purpose of joining the Public Service was to serve the
interest of the public. The motivations to join the Public Service should be based on rationality,
norms, willingness and commitment to serve and not only for pecuniary ends. The motivations
include the following:
1. The satisfaction to participation in the process of policy formulation;
2. The commitment to a Public programme because of personal identification;
3. Advocacy for special or private interest;
4. A desire to serve Public interest, promote social justice;
5. Loyalty to duty and to the Government as a whole;
6. The commitment to Government programmes for genuine conviction about its social
importance
7. Patriotism, benevolence, civic duty and self sacrifice.
To mitigate the risks of improper recruitment in the Public Service the following solutions were
suggested:
o
First and foremost, the principle of meritocracy is fundamental to the recruitment and
selection of employees in the Public Sector.
o
To ensure that the best person is selected, Public Sector agencies need accurate
information about the skills, training and qualifications of applicants.
21
However, it was noted that there were risks associated with Public Service recruitment, the most
common one being the risk of corruption and subjectivity.
As for the consequences of improper recruitment, it leads to the following negative results:
o
Corrupt conduct of the process.
o
If recruitment process is questionable or corrupt, government agencies are unlikely to
recruit people who will improve the ethical climate of the agency.
o
The tendency of favouritism, nepotism,
o
Conflicts of interest do influence the recruitment process;
o
Erosion of work psychology;
o
Unnecessary financial loses;
o
Poor performance and low productivity;
o
Frustration by some workers;
o
Replacement of inefficient recruited staff or cumbersome induction period;
o
Manipulation of selection procedures due to failure to declare a conflict of interest;
o
Undue influence in order to favour preferred candidate;
o
Falsification of qualifications or employment history by the applicant to enhance his or
her prospects of securing a position.
It was also noted that there were direct costs associated with faulty recruitment in the Public Sector,
namely:
1. Financial losses
2. Performance problem
3. Psychological problem
4. Low productivity;
5. Possibility of leadership replacement;
6. Induction cots
7. Stabilization costs
8. De-motivation cots
9. Client Related costs
10. Leaving Costs
22
It was observed that these costs were likely to increase if the faulty recruitment concerned a position
of leadership or management.
For that case, it was emphasized that the role of the senior manager of the recruiting an institution in
the recruitment process was paramount to monitor the respect of meritocracy, best practices,
fairness, objectivity, openness, accountability and transparency of the whole process.
To ensure competitive recruitment in the Public Service, it was deemed important to stick to the
following ten important guidelines:
1. To develop a Recruitment Plan;
2. To conduct though research;
3. To personalize the recruitment process;
4. to select and train the right people as recruiters;
5. To build strong partnerships with all stakeholders;
6. To develop an employee referral programme;
7. To improve the recruitment process;
8. To develop an advertising plan;
9. To develop an internet presence, and;
10. To employ effective recruitment strategies.
In concluding his presentation, the presenter intimated that Competitive recruitment is the
foundation for the attainment of organizational and national strategic goals. It was warned that an
inappropriate recruitment decision in the Public Service is a direct invitation of performance failure
and other incalculable losses, as previously seen. To translate the Vision of Rwanda into a reality at
all levels, decision-makers must give room for competitive recruitment. In this way, Rwanda will
continue to be steadfast in its Endeavour to economical transform Rwanda into a modern society at
all fronts and continue to shine at the regional and global levels.
23
3. Questions and Answers: issues arising from group discussions
Mrs. Angelina MUGANZA (left), ES, PSC, introducing Mrs. WAMBUI MWUIRURI (right), during the
Q&A Sessions to respond to reactions from participants
Following these two presentations on competitive recruitment as a pillar for good governance and
efficient service delivery in public institutions, participants were given an opportunity to ask
questions, clarifications and to share their own experiences on this topic.
1. Concerning the question regarding the recruitment of spouses in the same institution, which may
be a source of conflict of interest, it was observed that there is no law or practice that prohibits
spouses working in the same institution but it was added that to avoid conflict of interest, a
person should not directly report to or be under direct supervision of his or her souse or close
relative. As for recruitment a person should not be on the interviewing panel or participate in a
recruitment process that involves a spouse or a close relative.
2. On the request for clarifications on the fact that interviews contribute 10% only in revealing the
traits of a candidate, the presenter answered that it was necessary to use other blended profiling
tools such as psychometrics, background checks, verification of references, investigations to
bring out the hidden values of a candidate so as to enable objective assessment of his/her
qualities and to complement classic oral and written interviews. It was observed that it was not
right to over depend on interviews. It was stressed that these blended tools help in revealing
attitudes, the level of commitment, and the personality of a candidate.
24
In any case, It was stressed that recruitment should not be done in a hurry. It was noted that
after knowing the score from interviews, recruiting institutions tend to rush to offer appointment
letters and that some candidates may forge references that do not exist to get employment. In
addition, it was explained that some recruiters may be subjective and be characterised by
sentiments or may lack professionalism.
The conference was characterised by active participation Invectiveness and exchange of views and
experience by all participants
The law on recruitment stipulates clearly that candidates must, in addition to fulfilling academic
qualifications and other requirements, be characterised by high moral integrity and committed
to serve the public in a selflessly.
One of the participants informed the conference that in other countries recruitment does not
depend on the 30-minute interviews only, adding that prospective candidates take a week or
even longer visiting different members of the panel to be thoroughly vetted. He added that
there are also assessment centres that are composed professional recruiters who apply different
blended recruitment tools and techniques in evaluating candidates.
3. On the issue of what should be done to address challenges to competitive recruitment such as
poorly designed vacancy on advertisements, job descriptions and organisational flow charts, it
25
was emphasised that all stakeholders in the recruitment process should be involved in the
recruitment, especially Human Resource Management officers and the senior management of
the recruiting institution.
Dr. BUTERA BAZIMYA Peter, Director of Human Resources, Monitoring and Evaluation, PSC
facilitating in the conference
4. To enrich the debate, RALGA Secretary General, Mr. KARAKE Theogène shared his experience
with other participants. He informed the conference that the major mission of RALGA was t build
the capacity of Local Government Authorities and to carry out advocacy for local government
authorities. He informed the conference that RALGA has since 2008 been promoting efficient
recruitment of the personnel in Local Government Authorities, after realising that District and
Sector councils generally lacked the capacity to recruit professionals and in various areas such as
engineers, accountants, legal experts, etc. However, he noted that the major challenge was the
resistance from some local councils, which are apprehensive that RALGA is interfering in their
internal management.
He intimated that this capacity building support started in Rwamagana in 2010 and that RALGA
hired a constancy firm to carry out recruitment in some selected Districts that had entered into
agreement with it. He noted with satisfaction that this technical support has enabled to recruit
26
the best candidates such as lawyers, engineers and other professionals for some Districts and
Sectors.
In addition, RALGA has been participating in the interviews for the recruitment of executive
Secretaries for Sectors and Districts. He added that some local authorities lack the capacity and
financial resources to recruit competent Executive Secretaries, whose responsibility is onerous
since they are in charge of all technicians in the District or the Sector and the implementation of
policies or programmes of the Central Government at the decentralised/community level.
He further explained that Districts which have accepted this partnership with RALGA have been
excelling in the implementation of their performance contracts (Imihigo), citing the case of
Rulindo and Nyamasheke Districts that have alternately occupied the first position for the last
three years. He revealed that the secret behind this success was the recruitment of qualified
Executive Secretaries, thanks to the support offered to these local authorities by RALGA.
Mr. KARAKE Theogenne, Secretary General, RALGA, sharing the experience of RALGA in
promoting and supporting competitive recruitment in local Government authorities
To complement this partnership initiative, RALGA also participated in the review of
remunerations for Executive Secretaries to attract the best candidates. He therefore concurred
with the resource persons in the conference that recruitment is a foundation stone for effective
service delivery and productivity. He warned that inefficient workers constitute a liability to the
27
performance and the reputation of an institution, since they compensate for their incompetence
by engaging in intrigues, rumour mongering, and negatively influencing other workers, and
reiterated the imperative need for transparency, the respect of the law, fairness in the recruit
process to ensure that the most competent candidates are recruited.
5. One of the participants raised the issue of the need to clarify the role and job descriptions of the
Human Resource Manager as today there is no clear and harmonised definition of the role of a
HRM. He informed the conference that at present the HRM is a jack of all trades and a master of
none since he/she deals with different institutions and different issues that may not be related
to HR. It was also necessary to create a enabling working environment for human resource
officers and review their remunerations and their position in the administrative hierarchy.
It was also found very crucial to educate the senior management on the important role of Human
resource officers in an institution. On this note, Human resource officers were urged to organise
themselves in a professional association as it has been the case of other professions and/or
trades.
6. It was observed that the function and position of a Human Resource Officer is undermined since
in some cases HR officers are used to satisfy the whims of the senior management such as
policing, punishing and reprimanding the personnel whereas the main function of a HR officer is
to interpret the law governing HRM and advise the management accordingly. As a result, the HR
officer is frustrated and de-motivated and hence his/her role of motivating the personnel is not
given its due importance.
On a good note however, the legal officer in MIFOTRA informed the conference that leaders and
senior managers are aware of the importance role of HRM in increasing productivity and service
delivery. As for conducting interviews, he observed that there was no universal approach on
recruitment issues. He added that Rwanda applied some of the recommended techniques of
interviewing candidates but explained that one of the major challenges in the recruitment
process was the bad habit of “my candidate”, where some people base the recruitment on
sentiments, partiality and nepotism or recruiters yield to undue influence. He informed the
conference that the Ministry was in the process of upgrading the position of the HRM.
28
7. Concerning the principle of recruitment, one of the participants reiterated that the objective of
recruitment is to attract, develop and retain a qualified candidate. It was therefore lamentable
that some institutions recruit for the sake of it and in some cases recruitment is carried out 5
times in a year! He stressed that the maintenance of recruited candidate was paramount;
otherwise there is no need to recruit in the first pace, if an institution has no strategies to
maintain and develop the recruited personnel. The ES, PSC stressed that such habits of
unnecessary on unplanned recruitment by some institutions should be reported and the
offending institutions be warned and/or advised to stop this habit as it is costs both in terms of
performance and monetary implications.
8. The conference therefore highly recommended the importance of accompanying the recruited
personnel by the institution through proper induction and familiarisation, information, providing
a an adequate working environment, training, motivation and other maintenance tools so as to
increase job satisfaction and reduce the current high labour mobility. It was noted that an
inexperienced recruited candidate can be transformed into a performer through appropriate
personnel development strategies and tools whereas the best candidate may degenerate into a
poor performer if the working conditions and carrier development strategies are lacking in an
institution.
9. Participants in the conference therefore concurred that the role of the senior management in the
maintenance of the recruited personnel
was very indispensable. Senior managers were also
encouraged to ensure that the personnel stay in the same profession long enough to enable
them acquire experience so as to make them better performers.
10. As for the issue of different systems of evaluation of permanent and contractual workers, it was
remarked that contractual workers are recruited for a specific purpose with clear specified
indicators and deliverables, adding that normally their service should not exceed three months. It
was added that institutions should discourage the recruitment of contractual workers as much as
possible, since the law stipulates that the same procedures be used to recruit both permanent
and contractual workers and therefore it would be a wastage of time and money to recruit
contractual workers instead of recruiting the personnel on the basis permanent and pension able
terms.
29
Mr. TUBANAMBAZI Edmond, Legal Advisor, MIFOTRA, stressing the fact that the Government of
Rwanda and MIFOTRA are aware of the role and important of competitive recruitment in
improving service delivery in the Public Service
11. As for the concern that contractual workers do not get the annual increment or bonus inherent
to annual performance appraisal of the personnel, it was noted that in most cases contractual
workers are paid higher remunerations compared to the permanent staff, given that they are not
entitled to other benefits and privileges such as transport, housing allowances, health insurance
scheme, social security scheme and that in any case they cannot be evaluated on annual basis
since their contract should not generally exceed three months as it was indicated above.
30
4. Findings from Group workshops
Following the presentation of selected topics by keynote speakers and questions and answers in
plenary sessions, participants were divided into five group workshops to discuss the following issues
and come up with recommendations that will be submitted to various stakeholders and decision
makers for appropriate action.
Participants during the group workshops sharing views and experience so as to formulate
recommendations to be presented to the plenary session of the conference
a) What are the benefits of competitive recruitment in the Public service?
Following the definition of competitive recruitment as a tool of attracting the best candidates into
the Public Service in a transparent, fair and equitable manner, the group workshop formulated the
following recommendations and identified the following benefits from competitive recruitment:

Competitive recruitment creates a wide scope playing field for the selection of the best
candidates and gives value for money;

Competitive recruitment leads to efficiency in service delivery, low labour turnover and
reduced recruitment costs and it improves productivity;

As for the use of ICT and new trends in recruitment, it contributes to the maintenance of
HR and improve the HR information system;
31

The respect of the legal framework promotes transparency, reduces cases of litigation,
wastage of time and money;

The respect of the law leads to an audit-free recruitment process;

Competitive recruitment promotes the cultural reputation of an institution through the
promotion of the attractiveness of the institution, positive institutional image, builds
confidence and independence of the personnel in decision making and increases the
retention and cultural stability as well as career progression;

Competitive recruitment also promotes innovation, creativity, the transfer of knowledge
and skills
b) How does competitive recruitment contributes to good governance that leads to effective
service delivery and productivity
This group workshop started by highlighting the characteristics of competitive recruitment, namely:

Openness and transparency through public advertising of vacant posts in media and by
using websites;

Planning by respecting the organisational flow chart and organic framework, time
planning and succession management to avoid understaffing;

Participatory in nature and ownership of the process by involving the recruiting institution
and HR as well as other stakeholders;

Accountability.
The group workshop found out that if the above principles are respected, the end results should be
the following:
1. Competitive staff;
2. The right size of staffing at the right time;
3. Effective service delivery
4. Increased performance/productivity;
5. Confident and innovative staff;
6. High reputation of the institution.
32
As for recommendations the group suggested the following measures:

The creation of database on successful candidates that were not appointed;

Proper planning of the recruitment exercise;

The PSC should provide support to institutions through training, advisory services and
expertise.
Participants noting down their findings and recommendations on a flip chart during the group
workshops
c) Identification of arising risks in conducting improper recruitment
As for the approach used by the group workshop identified possible risks, and effects of improper
recruitment.
They found out that improper recruitment is a process that does not respect norms and standards
governing competitive recruitment such as recruitment planning, clear and unambiguous job
descriptions, and open advertisement of vacant jobs, following the steps governing the selection,
interviewing and appointment of candidates.
33
As for the risks, the following were noted:

Improper recruitment is a sure source of conflicts, especially if job descriptions lack details
and/or are ambiguous;

It creates room for nepotism, corruption, delay in filling up the vacant post;

It does not give value for money;

It is difficult to account for the recruitment process if the indicators and terms of reference
are unclear;

Low productivity;

Erosion of the credibility of the recruiting institution;

De-motivation of the serving staff;

Unnecessary labour turnover.
As for the solutions, the group proposed the following:

To create a well designed database of all Public servants including movements and
transfers within the Public Service;

To use other selection tools and techniques such as background checks and verification of
references provided by prospective candidates;

To institutionalise the culture of recruitment planning;

To adopt HR retention strategies;

To monitor the vacant job advertising process to ensure the respect of the law and
required deadlines;

To amend the Article on the submission of documents for application of jobs since the
deadline of 5 days is a very short period.
d) How can Public institutions be aware of these risks and manage them and be accountable
Some of the risks identified by the group include:

Recruiting people lacking necessary skills and capacity to perform;
34

“Privatisation” of the recruitment through private recruitment agencies which may not be
familiar with the goals and objectives of the recruiting institution as well as the job profiles
required;

Tight deadlines required may result in improper recruitment;

Subjectivity;

Poor performance leading to low productivity.
To avoid the risks mentioned above the following solutions were proposed:

Increased awareness of the laws governing recruitment;

Establishment of internal mechanisms to enhance transparency;

Making sure that referees are contacted in time;

Local Government Authorities should seek the services of external experts;

Organisation of regular training on recruitment laws and policies;

Formulation of clear guidelines on who should do what, how and when;

Direct involvement of HR M in all recruitment processes and this is especially true for Local
Government Authorities.
e) What is the role of a senior manager in promoting competitive recruitment into Public service
This group started their analysis by defining who a senior manager is. They discovered that the senior
manager was the highest accounting officer in the administration hierarchy that is accountable and
has influence in the recruitment process. For the case of Ministries, it was noted that the senior
manager was the Permanent Secretary while in Districts and sector the senior manager was the
Executive Secretary.
The roles of these senior managers therefore include the following:

To ensure that rules and regulations are respected in the whole recruitment process;

To consider the competence and conduct of the candidate to be recruited;

To involve all stakeholders in the recruitment process.
35
Therefore the group proposed the following recommendations:
Recommendations to senior managers:

Senior managers should own the recruitment process;

Senior managers should consult the HRM on issues related to recruitment;

Senior managers should formulate directives and decisions of the PSC regarding HRM.
Recommendations to the PSC:

The PSC should provide technical assistance to Public institutions;

The PSC should take action against senior managers who do not implement its decisions
and directives.
36
DAY TWO
1. Conflict management in Public Service Work Place: the Role of Management and What a
Public Servant Must Do.
This session was moderated by Mr NKUSI Alphonse, Rwanda Governance Advisory Council.
Mr NKUSI Alphonse, Rwanda Governance Advisory Council, Moderator of the topic on Conflict
management prevention at workplace
The discussants were Mr. Jean MUKUNZI, Trainer and Researcher at RIAM, assisted by Mr. Ananias
HIGIRO, and Mr KARAMAGA Wilson, researcher at Centre for Conflict management, NUR.
Mr. MUKUNZI Jean, Researcher and Trainer at RIAM, presenting his topic
37
This main topic covered the following sub topics:

Promoting professionalism in Public Service;

Promoting the spirit of accountability and personal and collective responsibility among
Public servants;

Enhancing excellent service at the workplace;

The role of Public Service Commission in promoting good governance in public institutions.
In beginning their presentation, the speakers defined conflict as a state of hostility between two or
more parties or conflict with oneself. Conflicts can be categorised as departmental or institutional,
interpersonal or intrapersonal.
Presentation by Mr Jean MUKUNZI, Trainer and Researcher at RIAM, assisted by Mr. Ananias
HIGIRO
38
Conflict management therefore is the short, medium and long term resolution of any differences that
may exist between two or more parties. They noted that in some cases, conflicts are not timely
resolved, leading to complications.
As for the sources of conflicts, the discussants identified the following sources, among others:

Poor management systems;

Poor or ineffective communication channels;

Friction between two or more people/departments.

Friction between an employee and a manager.

Lack Job recognition and staff development strategies;

Lack of support from management.

Operational changes in business to which some workers may resist;

Lack of information, especially to inexperience employees which may lead to frustration
and a feeling of worthlessness;

Lack of resources to execute assigned tasks.

Salary negotiation deadlocks, for example between employers and trade unions.
To ensure a conflict free working environment in the public institutions, conflict prevention policies
and mechanisms need to be put in place and especially through:

Promotion of professionalism and Excellency at work place;

encouraging excellent service at work place;

Promotion of the spirit of accountability, personal and collective responsibility among public
servants;

Promotion of good governance in Public Service, the role of the Public Service Commission.
In the efforts to promote professionalism at work place in the Rwanda Public Service, Public Sector
Reforms were initiated. The general objective of the reform process was generally to create a Public
Sector that is lean, able to delegate responsibilities, responsive to citizens, decentralized and
separated into policy and technical functions.
39
To appreciate the pertinence of the reforms, discussants recalled that since the colonial times until
recently, there were no schools or institutes to train public servants. At the time of independence
Rwanda hardly had any graduates and the first University in the country was started in 1963; and
from 1964 to 2003, Rwanda had less than 3000 university graduates. Until recently therefore the
situation of human resource base in Rwanda was very pathetic with a yawning shortage of skills,
without any Public Service Commission to act as an oversight organ to ensure the promotion of
professionalism in the Public Service.
In addition, this pathetic situation of lack of professionals in the Public Service was made worse by
the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi that has a devastating effect on already meagre human resource
base in Rwanda: Qualified people were killed and other fled the country. Therefore at the aftermath
of genocide, it became necessary to engage in massive comprehensive Public Sector reforms that
have since 1998 taken the following paths, with the main objective of promoting professionalism at
work place in the Rwanda Public Service:

In 2004 Public Sector reforms articulated on the formulation of the policy paper called
“Reconfiguration and Transformation of Rwandan Public Administration”

From 2005-06, comprehensive pay reforms were implemented;

In 2007, the Law No 06/2007 of the 1st of February, 2007 was enacted to establish the Public
Service Commission. In the same vein initiatives were taken to address the issue of capacity
and skills gaps;

In 2001, the law No 25/01 of the 19th of April 2001, as it was amended by Law No 4/2007 of
the 22nd of January 2007 establishing Rwanda Institute of Administration and Management
(RIAM), was promulgated;

In 2005, the World Bank’s Multi Sector Capacity Building Project was launched that saw the
creation of HIDA. This was later followed by the establishment of the Public Sector Capacity
Building Secretariat.

In 2010, DFID funded a research that was carried out by the Social Development Centre, with
the mission of collecting data on all Public service rearms carried out for the last ten years
and the level of capacity building.
40
The results are that now Rwanda has a lean Public Service, wit professional staff and the process is
still continuing. In addition, these Public Service reforms led to the increase of salaries and allocation
of other privileges and benefits such as housing, transport allowances to public servants. New
standards and legal instruments were put into place to regulate Public Service for better HRM.
However, it was observed that one of the major challenges of these reforms is that they are not
always comprehensive and the retrenchment process is sometimes rigid. Retrenchment also leads to
loss of institutional memory, past records and information. There was a wrong assumption during
the retrenchment exercise that retention of public servants was based on performance. Due to poor
assessment, some of the performing public servants were retrenched while some poor performers
remained. This was due to the fact that at that time there were no proper HR development tools and
techniques for the post-management of the lean staff that was retained.
Another challenge is that the remaining staff is not enough and in some case overstretched, which
may be a source of conflicts and poor staff planning.
One in all discussants noted that the Public Service reforms have encouraging excellent service at
work place.
However to achieve excellence in quality service, it was stressed that there was need to enhance
professional behaviour and attitudes as well as working and management processes by adhering to
the following principles and better approaches to service delivery:

Ownership of the Vision, Mission and Values of the organization by Public servants;

Participatory planning involving all stakeholders in HRM;

Proper management of performance contracts;

Promoting a culture of reporting;

Development of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) mechanisms and tools;

Blending policies related to Human Resources management and development, such as
rewards and benefits, training and career development, succession and retention scheme,
motivation, team working, etc.;

Mentoring process after recruitment;
41

Customer-oriented service delivery: A Public servant must be at the service of the Public
instead of pursuing his/her own interests;

Values of an ideal Public Service include: serving the Public interest, excellence, fairness,
respect of laws, courtesy, impartiality, objectivity, trust, etc;

Adequate staffing since the current staff is too lean and therefore overstretched in some
institutions.
Participants were further informed that human resource management is an integrated process and
not scattered initiatives and that retrenchment calls for accompanying measures and better
management of the post-retrenchment process so as to mentor the incoming staff that may be
inexperienced and to initiate them to the culture and values as well as the objective and mission of
the institution
On this note, discussants recommended the importance of clearly defining the respective roles of
capacity building institutions in building staff capacity for the purpose of excellent service delivery in
the Public Service, with the objective of maximising job satisfaction, for example through:

Preventing and managing conflicts; and;

The PSC taking a stake in reforms implementation to achieve performance, delegation,
decentralization and to mentor public servants and operate attitudinal change to ensure that
they are agents of change, at the service of the citizens and their customers, respect laws,
are characterised by impartiality, etc.
It was therefore reiterated that the role of the PSC is to promote the above-mentioned values and
the culture and the spirit of accountability, personal and collective responsibility among public
servants.
Accountability is the readiness by the leadership and managers at all levels of the Public Service to
Publicly display to the beneficiaries what they have achieved to address the needs of the latter in
relation to what had been planned.
Accountability and responsibility entail that management displays to the public achievements
recorded, identify challenges encountered in implementing action plans, strategies and programmes
42
formulate and indicate reasons for failure of not attaining expected targets without shying away
from their responsibility for the failure.
The discussants indicated that some of the initiatives and approaches adopted by Rwanda to
promote accountability were among others the following:

The Open Day in Provinces, Kigali City Council and Districts where mayors and Executive
Secretaries display their achievements to citizens and listen to the comments and opinions of the
latter;

Performance Contracts “IMIHIGO” which have improved not only the achievement of set targets
but also strengthened the commitment by public servants to work hard and the readiness by
beneficiaries to contribute towards these achievements.
With effective institutionalisation and implementation of the IMIHIGO practice, the culture of
accountability and responsibility is not only the preserve of leaders but it is being extended to all
levels of the public servants and to the general population. Citizens are involved in the planning so
that the planning process reflects their concerns and increases the level of ownership of the entire
panning process
According to discussants, other processes and tools to enhance accountability, responsibility and
transparency include:

Feedback by which employees appraise their supervisors;

Employment climate surveys whose aim is to evaluate the level of satisfaction by an
employee in areas related to management styles, remunerations and fringe benefits and
privileges, training facilities, career development, etc.)

Daily and periodical self assessment mechanism by each employee;

Service delivery charter applied by the Immigration Department was also cited as a strong
tool to improve employee performance. Normally the services of this Department take a
short time and in case the process becomes too long for clients, mechanisms were put in
place to redress the inadequacy to the satisfaction of the client.
Therefore the role of the Public Service Commission in promoting good governance in the Public
service is to ensure that the following core values are adhered to:
43

Transparency, accountability, focus, fairness, effective service delivery and efficiency,
involvement of the population in programmes intended to address their needs for ownership
and better service delivery, collective planning, etc;

Overseeing the recruitment process and managing employment conflicts to enable the PSC
to be able to promote transparent and fair mechanism for recruitment and effective and fair
conflict resolution;

Sensitization and counselling, training and providing technical expertise where necessary and
possible;
It was observed that the roles of PSC are being revised to enable this organ to audit all HRM practices
in order to improve staff motivation, good climate at workplace, institutional effective service
delivery, efficiency and productivity;
Particular attention shall be given to the employment legal provisions and policy framework to
ensure that specific gender issues are catered for to guarantee that service delivery does not suffer in
the event of maternity leave. For instance, child care facilities in the premises or near the workplace
can be provided for breastfeeding mothers. In case of maternity leave, there should be a mechanism
for temporary replacement instead of overloading the existing staff that is already overstretched
with their own duties.
In Summary, the discussants reiterated the importance of promoting professionalism, accountability
and responsibility, and encouraging excellent service, which are necessary ingredients for preventing
and minimizing the emergence of conflicts in the Public Service.
However, it was observed that all these approaches, measures and standards cannot be applicable if
recruitment is wrongly carried out and if human the resources management processes are weak,
inexistent or if they are nor appropriately implemented and respected.
The paramount role of the PSC therefore is to spearhead the enforcement of laws and policies
governing the management of public servants in the efforts of enhancing effective service delivery
and productivity as the theme of the conference reflects.
44
2. Presentation by Mr KARAMAGA Wilson, Researcher at Centre for Conflict management,
NUR
In introducing his topic, the discussant revisited the roe of the PSC in promoting good governance in
Public Service, namely:
1. Promoting professionalism;
2. Promoting the spirit of accountability and personal responsibility among public servants;
3. The role of management in motivating public servants
4. The role of the Public service Commission in promoting good governance in the Public
Service.
Mr. Wilson KARAMAGA, Researcher, CCM, NUR, Stressing a point on how to preventing or manage
conflicts at workplace and to create a conflict-free working environment
As for the definition of conflict management, it was described as a short or long-term management
process used to sort out issues where one of the conflicting parties is being stubborn, inflexible,
difficult or otherwise. The discussant added that in public work places, several conflicts, of different
characteristics occur. To sort them out, certain standards must be established to guide the senior
management and employees in reaching a reasonable settlement of their differences, without
45
adversely affecting the performance or service delivery with the ultimate goal of promoting
professionalism.
He noted that conflicts indeed affect our working environment and professionalism. To avoid or
reduce conflicts, the flowing values were deemed indispensable:

Leading by example as the best way to promote professionalism in any workplace;

Public servants have the duty to fulfil their obligations as they are spelt out by laws and
standing orders and directives governing Public servants. For instance, Articles 81-85 of the
General Statutes governing public servants stipulate that a public servant should execute
his/her duties with:
o
Diligence, probity, objectivity, impartiality, respect for the public, sense of
responsibility and in General interest of the public;
o
Common perceptions of these principles empower public servants to efficiently
execute their duties.
.

Senior managers in the Public Service should devise ways and means to retain their
personnel so as to maximise their outputs;

The objective of the adoption of reforms by public managers should be the pursuance of
changes that allow workers to effectively execute their duties;

Senior managers should understand that the possibility of earning money is not the only
motivation that attracts employees to join the Public Service only to earn money. It is
therefore important to think of other strategies to motivate the staff and it was stressed that
motivated staff become whistle blowers at work and exercise self-regulation with the
purpose of improving their performance, credibility and integrity in championing the
objective to become exemplary employees;

It was observed that career development, job security and the satisfaction of serving others
are some of the types of non monetary motivation for the staff. Research has shown that
employees with a high sense of public interest are more likely to select Public Service
careers;

To avoid conflicts at work, employers were also urged to respect the contract terms and
obligations so as to retain higher performers and increase job satisfaction;
46

Senior managers are supposed to institutionalise a code of conduct, reporting procedures
and working principles. It was also stressed that penalties should be objective, with the aim
of progressively correcting mistakes, building the staff, without attacking their personal ego.

It was indicated that administrative sanctions should not be confused with criminal
sanctions;

The senior management was also urged to offer small incentives and not always wait to exert
punishments. These incentives may include recognition certificates for excellent
performance, financial rewards for employees who are exemplary and always ready to make
an extra mile, noting that these seemingly small symbolic gestures increase the impetus and
value of employees.

God managers also solicit feedback from their employees and are willing to accept
constructive and positive criticisms;

The PSC was also urged to initiate education and training programmes since the main
objective of any reform programme is to improve the quality of service and performance,
and therefore efforts should be deployed to build the capacity of public servants through
training: pre-service and in-service training and continual in-service training whereby civil
servants are adequately trained to ensure that skills, knowledge and ideas are kept up to
date using tailored-measured short or medium courses;

An effective and efficient manager must put in place mechanisms for effective
communication. He/she should equally promote the sense of accountability and
responsibility. The essence of accountability is to ensure that responsibilities are duly
explained, failure accepted and communicated for the recognition of others. The four
categories of accountability are:

Fiscal accountability;

Managerial accountability;

Programme accountability;

Individual accountability.
Accountability also requires setting clear job descriptions, guidelines and expectations as well as
timely release of information. Modes of ethics are also necessary to promote good morals, Self
conduct, etc. Accountability is usually based on 2 premises, namely:
47
o
Rules and enforcement;
o
Ethics-based premise.
However, the discussant observed that the blend of these two premises is the preferred reference
for more practical solution of issues related to accountability at work place. Accountability is also
hinged on the respect of obligations of both employees and employers as they are stipulated by laws
and regulations as well as by standing orders governing the Public Service. It equally requires
transformational, visionary leadership committed to change, hence the need of the manager to act
as a role model. This is very important as senior managers ensure the respect of the ode of conduct
and the compliance to the law by public servants.
For better accountability, there must be clear connection between policies, organisations and
existing laws. As it was mentioned above, education and training is crucial to improve the quality of
the personnel and to make them understand and internalise their duties and responsibilities.
As for conflict prevention, the discussant informed participants that it was necessary to engage all
partners and build consensus, identify all partners and stakeholders and build capacity in the area of
negotiations, in addition to fostering dialogue.
He also added that it was important to identify and closely work with ethics organisations such as the
office of the Ombudsman (IGG), the office of the Auditor General, human rights associations,
professional associations, trade Unions, etc to ensure a holistic approach towards the
institutionalisation of working ethics and the culture of mutual accountability.
As it was stressed above, there should be a continuous drive to build the capacity of public servants
to ensure sustainability and continuity. This in turn requires regular capacity assessment to evaluate
the level of adequacy of existing technical, skills and requirements, and to accordingly devise
strategies for capacity development and leadership development.
48
Regular capacity assessment will also help in building networks of relevant service providers in the
area of capacity building and develop strategies to outsource them for the benefit of the institution
and its employees as well as monitoring and evaluation of capacity development strategies.
Therefore it was duly observed that the role of senior management is to motivate Public servants,
develop a common understanding and agreed ethics Public Service Motivation- PSM), which also
requires regular evaluation of performance indicators to ensure rational and objective appraisal of
the personnel on the basis measurable and tangible deliverables.
The discussant equally intimated that good governance in Public Service, efficient service delivery
and productivity was possible only if roles and functions of each player are clearly defined and
communicated to parties concerned in unambiguous manner.
As for the role of Public Service Commission in promoting good governance in Public Service, the
discussant stressed the following key issues:
The mandate of the PSC emanates from the foregoing legal instruments:

The Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda of June 4, 2003, as amended to date;

The Law n0 22/2002 of 09/07/2002 on General Statutes for Rwanda Public Service,

The Law N° 06/2007 of 01/02/2007 determining the organization and functioning of
the Public Service Commission;
Good governance means focusing on the organisation’s purpose and on outcomes for citizens
and service beneficiaries. This can be achieved through:

Clear functions of the Public Service governing body;

Clear responsibilities of non-executives and the executive;

Effective monitoring of responsibilities,

Clear relationships between governors institutions and the Public ;

Ensuring that user of Public service, receive high quality service;
49
It was also stressed that good governance implies promoting values for the whole organisation and
demonstrating the values of good governance through behaviour by putting organisational values
into practice, ensuring that senior manage display, exemplify qualities of effective governance. In
collusion and way forward, the discussant urged the PSC:

To champion the oversight role in administrative matters concerning both recruitment and
grievance handling in Public service;

To advocate for respect of rule of law in Public Service management and challenges; senior
mangers should take the lead

To promote awareness about the relevant laws governing public servants to promote
professionalism;

To enhance professionalism assessment within Public Service workforce to encourage
officers to handle Public office with a sense of accountability, and finally;’

To promote National Values for development
3. Questions and Answers
Following the presentations by key discussants, participants were given the floor to comments, ask
for clarifications and share their experience in the area of conflict management and the role of PSC in
promoting good governance.
1.
In general, all participants concurred that the culture of performance contracts (Imihigo)
constituted a tool to promote the culture of professionalism, work ethics, in the Public Service.
It was indicated that Public Service should be considered as an industry where efficient delivery
is the driving factor.
2.
On the issue of conflict of interest that may arise from the formation of informal groups in a
given public institution, leading to cheap and petty talk, discussants responded that that it is
usually difficult to stop gossiping in any institution. However, he added that gossiping is usually
the result of poor communication channels; lack of the right information, idleness, hence the
need to usefully occupy the staff without burdening them. One of the participants also noted
that transparency and objectivity can reduce gossiping and rumour mongering.
The
management should also encourage employees to open up and freely talk about their problems
and concerns; and if need be put them in writing instead of the habit of whispering.
50
It was added that problems set in usually when employees and employers don not embrace
professional values and creating a framework within which professional issues are regularly
discussed. Disciplinary and complaints procedures also tend to dispel rumour mongering and
informal gossip at workplace, adding that work politics are part and parcel of the working
environment and cannot be avoided. It was noted that redundant workers tend to indulge in
cheap talk.
3.
Decent management and clear human resources management manuals, code of conduct, clear
job descriptions can contribute to a conflict free working environment. It is necessary to put in
place a system that discourages destructive talk, hence the need to encourage employees to
make an extra mile and be creative instead of sitting idle doing nothing. The senior
management was urged to always occupy the staff and to look into their welfare.
4.
Participants were also warned about the fact that workers tend to align themselves with a new
senior manager so as to influence him/her and pull him/her on their side before settling in. A
new senior manager should therefore be cautious from the onset to avoid being labelled
partisan. It was also pointed out that one of the qualities and duties of a senior manager is to
appear and be seen to be impartial and to minimise or even do away with cheap talk and
conflicts. An effective senior manner should equally look for qualities in an employee and avoid
interfering in his/her personal matters.
5.
A senior manager must in addition establish a check list of challenges and solve them promptly,
and make disinclination between morality and work ethics. It was also pointed out that
performance appraisal of employees should be progressive and objective so that this important
tool for increasing performance and productivity should not become a source of conflicts.
6.
The Public Service Commission was challenged to ensure that Public Sector Reforms do not
become a source of conflicts whereas their noble objective is to streamline the Public Service
and promote more efficient service delivery to the Public. It was therefore important to
establish practical mechanisms for conflict management in a progressive and proactive manner.
51
7.
One of the participants remarked that sometimes employee’s fear to talk about their conflicts,
which complicates the matter. Participants agreed that it was important to regularly talk about
existing conflicts or even complain in writing since this serves as a pressure release valve at
workplace. They also stressed the role of the PSC in ensuring proper HR management and the
creation of a decent working environment, reiterating that clear administrative procedures
manuals, codes of conducts, disciplinary and complaints committees as well as clear job
descriptions and social dialogue are crucial in preventing or managing conflicts at the
workplace.
8.
Concerning the definition of professionalism, the conference noted that there was no single
term to define what professionalism is but added that professionalism is characterised by
setting goals, and objectives, performance indicators, monitoring and evaluation. It was stressed
was the Rwanda evolved from the colonial times without any professional Public service and
institutions that enhanced good governance in the Public Service and that the post-genocide era
until today has been characterised by the political will and commitment to develop a vibrant
and efficient Public Service and customer-oriented service delivery in the Public Sector.
9.
As for the definition of a manager002C the conference pointed out that an effective manager is
characterised by knowledge, skills and attitudes to influence and combine resources (human
resources, material and financial resources) in a manner that
increases production and
productivity so as to get maximum outputs from these resources. The competence model also
describes a manager as someone with a clear vision, who sets targets and objectives and meets
them, using minimum inputs.
10. As for the concern that performance appraisal may be a source of conflict, one of the
discussants remained participants that in the in private sector
targets are set and key
performance indicators are defined by an employee and that they are not imposed by the
management. It was reiterated that indicators must be measurable, and quantified to ensure
objective assessment of the employee’s performance. It was observed that it is only when
targets and indicators are not measurable that they may lead to subjectivity and conflicts.
Human resource managers therefore were urged to come up with a clear appraisal system that
is not likely to cause conflicts and lead to grievances.
52
11. In conclusion the discussants recommended that setting targets should be inspired by action
plans and those targets and goals should be realistic and achievable within the required time
frame and in accordance to available resources.
12. Finally, participants concurred that Public service reforms were pertinent because, as it was
seen above, since independence, the Rwandan Public Service was not governed by ethics, had
no standards for HRM. It was therefore concluded that indeed the ongoing reforms in the Public
Sector have borne positive results despite many challenges that remain to be addressed to
ensure a smooth Public reform process..
4. Recommendations arising from Group Discussions
Following these presentations on conflict management at work place, participants divided
themselves in group workshops and discussed the following topics:
1. Improving Performance at Work place using Performance Contracts;
2. Conflict Management at Workplace: Mechanisms and ways to Do it.
At the end of the group workshops, participants were again assembled into a plenary session to
present the findings of their discussions. The following recommendations were formulated:
4.1. On Improving Performance at Work place using Performance Contracts;
Findings by Group One

Participants defined performance as efficiency and effectiveness.
It was noted that a
performance contract is an agreement between the staff and the management on what should
be achieved, when using which resources.

A good performance contract would therefore have the following attributes:
o
Clarity of performance indicators;
o
Participatory approach in the planning of performance contracts;
53
o
Constant communication between the staff and the management;
o
Coaching and mentoring of the staff;
o
Budget and planning must be taken into account;
o
Establishment of baselines : foundation and current status;
o
Attitude to change;

The culture of learning and innovations by leaders, HR and other stakeholders;

Periodical evaluation must be consisted and employees should encouraged to carry out self
evaluation;

Performance evaluation in the central government should be public as it is the case in Local
government authorities. However, it was observed that Public Service is already Public since
Citizens judge the performance of Public servants by means of the level of citizens’ satisfaction
of the quality of service delivery and that policies and programmes of the Central Government
are reflected in the activities of District and Sectors in the spirit of financial, administrative,
technical and political decentralisation policy that was started in 1998;

It was also unanimously agreed by participants that a conference on the management of
performance contracts and enhancing performance organised for leaders, senior managers and
other relevant stakeholders.
54
The Rapporteur, Group IV of the Group Workshop, Presenting the findings of His group to the
plenary session
Findings by Group II

Targets should be based on operations and organisational structure submitted to the Office of
the Prime Minister;

Performance contracts (Imihigo) should be based on
realistic targets
to be achieved by
employees (SMART);

Performance contracts should be subjected to mutual agreement by both the employee and the
employer;

The group noted that performance contracts were ideals for senior officers but not for junior or
support staff. On this issue the conference observed that the performance of support staff may
not be easy to evaluate and in any case their outputs are reflected in the general performance of
the department or the institution to which they attached;

The group pointed our that targets to be attained should be derived from the job description of
an employee;

It was also recommended that means for verification of performance should be clear;

It was observed that the format of the performance contract template should be reviewed by
MIFOTRA and in some cases be personalised to respond to the specificity of the job description
of an employee;

All employees should be sensitised on the essence of imihigo;
Findings from Group III


As for the approach adopted by the group the topic was analysed following these steps :
o
Analysis of the designing of the performance contract;
o
Impacts and risks involved;
o
Strategies
On the designing of the performance contract, the group recommended that targets in the
contract must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound (SMART);

The determination of targets of the performance contact should involve the top management;

The targets must reflect activities of the action plan;
55

As for the implementation of the performance contract, it must be subjected to periodic
assessment and benefit from the guidance by the management to avoid risks;

Evaluation should be characterised by impartiality,
respect of legal and administrative
procedures :

As for challenges and risks of not effectively implementing the performance contract, the
following were noted:
o
Unplanned assignments or activities that consume a lot of time and other resources of
employees;
o
Insufficient logistics (financial, human and material resources);
o
Non respect of legal procedures;
o
Non SMART objectives.
Findings from Group IV
The group made the following findings and recommendations”


It was observed that practices show following tendencies:
o
Limited dialogue;
o
Actions plans were deemed the foundation of performance contracts;
o
Limited capacity in using the evaluation form;
The group also recommended the importance of increasing awareness of the Provisions of the
Order of the Prime Minister ;

It was pointed out that good performers normally have their targets aligned with the
performance contract of the institution;

It was indicated that unclear indicator constitute a sure source of conflicts, especially for the
support administrative staff;

The process on the elaboration and implementation of performance contracts should be owned
by the management and not be felt to the HR Officer;

The format of the performance contract should be well understood;

Action plans should be elaborated in a comprehensive and participatory manner;

Effective communication/dialogue is needed from the onset;
56

It is imperative to ensure timely monitoring of the implementation of the performance contract;

It was concluded that properly elaborated action plans and well designed job descriptions lead to
better performance contracts and the latter reflect a spirit of professionalism and objectivity.
4.2. Conflict Management at Workplace: Mechanisms of Conflict Management
Findings from Group One
On this topic the following suggestions and recommendations were formulated:

The need to encourage openness (open door Policy) at workplace;

Improving leadership skills and styles;

Participatory decision making process;

Respect of hierarchical procedures and structures;

Clear job descriptions;

Reflection on action plan/Business plan ;

Improved communication channels or mechanisms;

Establishment of a system of complaints procedures;

Neutrality and focussing on vision by the management; to avoid the habit of “Divide and
Rule”;

Clearly defined organisational structure;

Inexpedience and respect of professionalism.
Findings from Group II

The group identified some of the causes as follows:
o
Salary discrepancies, especially in local government authorities;
o
Poor communication vertically and horizontally;;
o
Misplacement of workers;
o
Unethical behaviour by some senior managers (Favouritism);
57
A rapporteur presenting the findings of his group workshop

The following mechanisms for mitigation of conflicts were recommended:
o
To streamline communication channels’
o
To streamline salary structures by MIFOTRA and the Parliament;
o
To ensure that recruitments are bases on competency and decisions to recruit be
made at the opportune time;
o
Formulation and adoption of the code of conduct for managers/ institutions
;members of professional associations;
o
Need for continued mentoring;
o
Review of the Contract performance format.
Findings from Group III

The group made the following recommendations and suggestions:
o
The need to establish disciplinary committees;
o
Improvement of communication channels;
o
Regular organisation of management and general staff meetings at all levels;
o
Proper recruitment of staff;
o
Involvement of the HR Manager in decision making;
58
o
Respect of hierarchy (all levels including technicians);
o
Conflict management manuals for institutions;
o
The need for the PSC to monitor good governance in public institutions.
Findings from Group IV

To ensure that conflicts are properly managed in an institution, the following prerequisites
were identified:
o
Effective communication channels;
o
Clear job descriptions;
o
Need for capacity building;
o
Respect of the professions of laws and regulations;
o
Proper internal framework to discuss and address sources of potential conflicts.
59
PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD
Following discussions in plenary sessions and group workshops, sharing of experiences and best
practices, the following major recommendations were formulated:
1. It was generally recommended that efficient and effective human resource management in the
Public Service would contribute to accelerated and sustainable development and transform
Rwanda into a middle income country in the medium run and make her a hub of good
administrative, corporate and economic governance in the region, in Africa and globally.
1. Concerning Competitive Recruitment as a Pillar of Good Governance and Effective
Service Delivery:
2. All participants noted that the recruitment of Public servants since independence until the
recent Public service reforms was characterised by nepotism, regionalism, favouritism as well as
corruption and stressed that competitive recruitment should be fair, equitable, open and
transparent in the respect of laws and regulations and standards in force as they are enshrined in
various legal instruments and policies on the Public
sector reforms, in general and the
recruitment process in particular.
3. It was noted that one of challenges of ensuring competitive recruitment was the ignorance of the
law on recruitment, hence the need for MIFOTRA and the PSC to widely disseminate all relevant
legal instruments and standards on recruitment.
4. Another challenge that was identified was the lack of proper ICT tools to be used in managing the
recruitment process and creating a comprehensive data base so as to save time financial,
resources, avoids demodulation of the best candidates, conflicts at work and corruption due to
improper and tedious recruitment process.
5. On the use of ICT tools, the Conference noted that Rwanda Public institutions have the best
designed websites and recommended that public institutions should take advantage of the highly
dynamic national and regional internet connectivity to save time, money involved the
60
recruitment process, and create a recruitment data base since websites are user-friendly, open
and transparent,
6. All participants concurred that the recruitment process is a foundation and cornerstone to
efficient delivery of service and job satisfaction by employees and should be meticulously
planned and carried out in a holistic manner using blended recruitment tools such as written,
oral interviews, background checks, references and other tools to discern values and qualities of
a prospective performer, which traits may not necessarily be revealed on first sight through
classic interviews.
7. To solve outstanding recruitment challenges, participants recommended close partnership and
collaboration and involvement of all stakeholders in the recruitment process from the planning,
hiring, induction and maintenance of he recruited staff. The need to check high labour mobility
or turnover was also stressed, adding that transfers should be carried out in the interest of the
professional development and performance so as to ensure stability and career development
and acquisition of experience and skills that are necessary for more efficient performance and
service delivery.
8. Concerning the kind of Public Service that Rwanda needs, participants stressed that the country
requires a Public Service that helps in the attainment of the Vision 2020, MDG, enables Ministries
to achieve their strategic goals and, characterised by innovativeness, resourcefulness, progressoriented, customer-focussed, committed to meritocracy, free from corruption and mediocrity,
neutral and fair and that addresses national concerns in the interest of the citizenry.
9. It was equally observed that the primary role of a public servant is to serve citizens with
commitment and devotion, adhering to the principles of social justice, self sacrifice, civic duty, so
as to increase and maximise the satisfaction of the general public and their trust in their
Government and state institutions, thus promoting social and political stability and cohesion as
well as sustainable socio-economic development of the population.
10. The conference noted that some of the advantages of competitive recruitment were the
selection of the best candidates, efficient outputs through improved productivity, the promotion
61
of integrity and reputation of the recruiting institution, low labour turnover and high stability,
avoidance of conflicts and mediocrity at the work place, promotion of dignity (ubupfura, agaciro)
within the Public Service, political stability through satisfaction of beneficiaries of public services.
11. The conference also recommended the need for the respect of the law governing recruitment to
avoid ambiguity, close collaboration between PSC and Public institutions, the involvement of
ethical professionals and experts in the recruitment process, proper planning of recruitment to
ensure value for the money spent on the recruitment process.
12. The conference recommended that the role and duties of the human resource officer should
clearly defined as in many cases this officer is used only for applying punishments and policing
the staff instead of playing the role of staff planning and advising the senior management on
issues related to HRM.
13. Professional HR professionals were urged to form a professional association that would help
them to protect professional ethics governing the profession. MIFOTRA and the PSC and other
stakeholders were requested to carry out advocacy so that a undergraduate and even a
postgraduate degree programme on human resources be included on the prospectus of higher
learning institutions to increase the number of trained and qualified HRM since it was noted that
the position of a HRM was not given the required value in many public institutions and that
anybody could be appointed as a HRM chief, regardless of his/her academic qualification and
professional experience.
2. Concerning Conflict management in Public Service Work Place: The role of
Management and What a Public Servant Must Do:
14. The Conference stressed the role of the PSC in promoting good governance in the Public Sector,
through prevention and management of intrapersonal, interpersonal and departmental conflicts
within the Public Service.
62
15. It was stressed that effective managers lead by example, ensure career development, take into
account remunerations considerations, relations to institutions and institutionalise a formal
code of conduct that guide employees.
16. To avoid conflicts, it was recommended to respect hierarchical levels, promote better
communication channels and ensure that performance appraisal is progressive and continuous
and based on objectivity.
17. The need to respect rules, for the establishment of complaints and disciplinary committees was
stressed as a means of preventing and managing conflicts.
18. It was recommended hat each public institution be endowed with a Disciplinary Committee and a
Complaints Committee to deal with conflicts before they are referred to the PSC.
3. As for the Role of the Public Service Commission for Improved Public Sector
Performances
As a way forward, the role of PSC in enhancing good governance and service delivery in the Public
Service, the following recommendations were formulated:
19. The PSC should champion the oversight role in administrative matters concerning both
recruitment and handling of grievances in the Public Service.
20. The PSC should advocate for respect of rule of law in force in Rwanda, especially in the area of
labour.
21. The PSC should promote awareness about the relevant laws governing Public servants to
enhance professionalism.
22. The PSC should enhance professionalism assessment within the Public Service workforce to
encourage officers to handle public offices with a sense of accountability.
23. The Conference stressed that the PSC should ensure that performance contracts be clear and
performance appraisal be based on measurable, achievable and tangible indicators,
63
24. The PSC should contribute to the promoting National Values for sustainable national
development.
25. The conference deplored the habit of unnecessary or unplanned repeated recruitment by some
public institutions and recommended that the PSC should bring to the notice of all public
instructions the need to develop strategies and tools to maintain, stabilise develop the recruited
personnel to avoid unnecessary costs;
26. The PSC was also urged to initiate education and training programmes since the main objective
of any reform programme is to improve the quality of service and performance, and therefore
efforts should be deployed to build the capacity of public servants through training: pre-service
and in-service training and continual in-service training whereby civil servants are adequately
trained to ensure that skills, knowledge and ideas are kept up to date using tailored-measured
short or medium courses.
27. The PSC should endeavour to bridge the information gaps to improve performance through
research, data collection to ensure adherence to the best practices, and;
28. The Public Service Commission was urged by participants to organise a conference on the
management of performance contracts and enhancing performance for leaders, senior managers
and other relevant stakeholders to build a common understanding of HRM issues.
29. MIFOTRA and PSC were urged to solve the issue of high labour mobility within the public service
as this tendency of high turnover is counterproductive and hinder the acquisition of experience
and skills necessary for more efficient service delivery and productivity, in addition to creating
job insecurity.
64
CLOSING REMARKS
Before inviting the Guest of Honour, to officially close the conference, Mr. Angelina MUGANZA, PSC
Executive Secretary called upon one of the participants to give a vote of thanks and summarise what
the participants had gained from the presentations and discussions during the two-day conference.
The participant selected intimated that the interactions during the plenary sessions and group
workshops were very educative and recommended that a similar conference be organised for senior
managers.
She added that the two main topics presented by the resource persons were motivational and that
the values learnt on the transparent, far and open recruitment and its benefits would be applied to
avoid conflicts within the Public Service and improve performance. She noted that proper
recruitment produces employees with an independent mind, stressing that recruitment should be
competitive and its planning should be participatory.
Mrs. Angelina MUGANZA, ESC, PSC, wrapping up the main findings of the conference before
inviting the Guest of Honour to officially close the conference
65
She also emphasised the importance of SMART targets, which should be reasonable, attainable and
result-oriented. Finally she emphasised the need for clear rules, audit and benchmarking of policies
and practices to ensure their objective monitoring.
It was on this note, that Mrs. Angelina MIGANZA, PSC Executive Secretary, invited the Guest of
Honour to officially close the conference.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Emmanuel NDAHIMANA, Guest of Honour, expressed his gratitude to the
resource persons and all participants for actively participating in the conference with devotion and
for their continued presence for the two days of the conference, despite their busy schedule.
He hailed the PSC for organising this conference and for choosing the theme and topics that were
educative and enriching. He stressed those gatherings that bring together all stakeholders in the
Public Service to exchange experience and best practices in good governance in the Public Sector
were very crucial.
Mr. Emmanuel NDAHIMANA, representing the chairman of the BOC, making his closing remarks at
the official closure of the conference
66
He urged the PSC and public institutions to translate the recommendations of this conference into
concrete action plans and best practices in the effort to enhance good governance in the Public
Service and improve service delivery.
Once again, he congratulated the PSC, resource persons and participants for fruitful deliberations
and formulation of important recommendations and for their commitment to implement them or to
forward them to specific institutions for implementation.
It was on this note that he declared the conference closed.
Some of the participants, on being interviewed by the press, that the conference was informative,
educative and should be extended to senior managers in public institutions to have the same level
of understanding of the role of HRM in efficient service delivery
67
APPENDICES
Appendix 1:
Full list of Participants
Appendix 2:
Presentation by Dr Benjamin AKIMENYI: “Competitive recruitment: a pillar
for good Governance, effective service delivery and productivity”
Appendix 3:
Presented by Jane Wambui Muiruri: “Competitive Recruitment, a pillar for
good governance that leads to effective service delivery and productivity”
Appendix 4:
Jean MUKUNZI and Ananias HIGIRO: “Conflict management in public service
work place: The role of management and what a public servant must do”
Appendix 5:
Presentation by Mr. KARAMAGA Wilson: “Conflict management in public
service work place: The role of management and what a public servant must
do”
68
Appendix 1: The Full List of Participants
ATTENDANCE LIST ON THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE FROM 27 TO 28
JULY 2011
Nº
NAMES
INSTITUTION
PHONE
1 NSANZIMANA Sylvestre
Western Province
0784018047
2 Maj. MUYANGO Jean Bosco
MMI
0788304238
3 UWIMBABAZI Sylvie
MINEDUC
0788417941
4 BAGAHWE Winnie
BNR
0788552143
5 UMUTESI NDIBWAMI Redempta
Eastern Province
0788553463
6 TUBANAMBAZI Edmond
MIFOTRA
0788824621
7 MUGABONABANDI Maurice
MIFOTRA
0788657066
8 NTIVUGURUZWA Gervais
RUSIZI District
0788603418
9 UWIZEYE Huguette
RURA
0788522364
10 RULINDA Peace
RGAC
0788407218
11 IYAMUREMYE Justus
NEC
0788501252
12 R/R NUWAGABA Alfred
MCHE
0785701724
13 RWABUGANDE Benon
MUSANZE District
0788856264
14 NSANZIMFURA J.Damascène
RUSTIRO District
0788537506
15 BAKAZAYIRE Léa
ILPD
0788459042
16 MUKAYIRANGA Pélagie
MINAGRI
0788448516
17 MUKAMA Libert
KARONGI
0788897909
18 NIRERE Béatrice
IMMR
0788496129
19 KABANDA Joseph
GASABO District
0788572495
20 UZALIBARA Sylvère
BUGESERA District
0788621127
21 INGABIRE Stella
SFB
0788525748
22 BITUNGURAMYE Diogène
RULINDO
0788501633
23 MUTAMBUKA Faustin
Southern Province
0788532670
24 MUPENDE Alex
PRESIREP
0788302604
25 NTAKIRUTIMANA Joyeuse
MHC
0788864690
26 KARERA John
COK
0788303393
27 MUSABARARA Solange
NYANZA Hospital
0788469306
28 KALISA Joan
PRIMATURE
0788406921
29 MUKARUGANJI Espérance
RDLSF
0788747007
30 KAYITESI Denyse
MINALOC
0788840907
31 HAPPY Grace
GMB
0788520218
32 NSENGIYUMVA BUNTU Ezechiel
RUBAVU District
0788472003
33 UWANTEGE J.d'Arc
RCDA
0788568488
34 KARANGIRWA Adrienne
FARG
0788424892
35 MUNYANEZA Sarto
ONATRACOM
0788586019
36 KARURANGA Janie
KIE
0788501082
37 HIGIRO Ananias
Consultant
0788460753
38 MUKUNZI Jean
RIAM Consultant
0788500720
39 MPAMYA TEGERA Frédéric
ORINFOR
0788676353
40 NABONIBO Justine
MINAFFET
0788801178
41 BASHIZI Ben
CONFERENCE Facilitator
0788540814
42 NTABANA Cyrille
IMMIGRATION
0788472537
43 MWISENEZA Ananie
KIREHE District
0785625627
44 BAHIZI Berchmans Oscar
ILPD
0788302308
45 NTIBIHEZWA Cyprien
BURERA District
0783756030
46 ASIIMWE David
RNRA
0788830782
47 MUSHABE Samuel
UPU
0788843147
48 BAGUMA Dominique
NYAGATARE District
0788403315
49 ASIIMWE Candidah
RHENA
0788596782
50 S.KARAMBIZI Anaclet
GASTIBO District
0788502501
51 TWAGIRIMANA Alphonse
GASTIBO District
0788773255
52 KAGEMANYI Léonard
RBC/KHI
0788350230
53 NIYIGENA Pascal
PSCBS
0788301006
54 UWIZEYE Janvière
RDB
0788599399
55 KOTANIRO Pascal
MINAGRI
0788473013
56 KAGWESAGE Hyacinthe
EMLSA
0788596538
57 KAMANZI Jackline
PSC
0788620854
58 RUKUNDO Julius
BUGESERA District
0788351502
59 NTEZILIZAZA Faustin
GAKENKE District
0788341399
60 NYAMIHANA S.Philippe
NGOMA District
0788353778
61 MUNYAMFURA Alexis
CHUB
0788523389
62 MUREKATETE Louise
MUHIMA Hospital
0788838430
63 MUKERA J.de Dieu
KAMONYI District
0788845883
64 TWAGILIMANA Balthazar
National Poste Office
0788322323
65 KABAYIZA Lambert
NYAMAGABE District
0788356728
66 NTAWIHA Omary
RUMA CPA
0788550077
67 UMULISA Chantal
MININFRA
0788840767
68 KANYANGIRA Ignace
RPPA
0788872616
69 KARANGWA Etienne
NYANZA District
0788673730
70 ICYIMPAYE Francoise
MINIYOUTH
0788891858
71 MUTABAZI Zachée
HUYE District
0788512331
72 SEBASHI Claude
MUHANGA District
0788767095
73 MUKASHYAKA Drocella
RRA
0785351001
74 NKUSI A
RGAC
0788300881
75 MUTUYEMARIYA Emertha
NHRC
0788570592
76 TUSIFUMUNGU Innocent
OAG
0788455770
77 HAVUGUZIGA Charles
NYARUGENGE District
0788300397
78 UWANTEGE Oliva
NYC
0788404518
79 MWANZI Jane
NUR
0783285208
80 SENDODO Jackson
NAEB
0788309272
81 UWAYISABA Florence
KICUKIRO District
0788354659
82 RUBIBI Olivier
MINIRENA
0788517414
83 UNDOYENEZA Domina
RAB
0788309536
84 BAHIZI Charles
NYAMASHEKE District
0788517114
85 MUSENGAMARIYA Oreste
RADIO 10
0789190021
86 NTAGENGERWA Vestine
CNLG
0788857621
87 HITIMANA Matthias
UMWEZI Newspaper
0783375119
88 MAHIRWE Marc
RUHANGO District
0788758692
89 NIRAMIRE NKUSI
NGORORERO District
0788417801
90 MUJAWIMANA Annonciata
RBS
91 BYUSA Alphonse
ILMI
0788301532
92 KARAMAGA Wilson
CCM
0788531512
93 NGARAMBE Matthias
RALGA
0788382640
94 KAMUZINZI Simon
ISANGO Star
0788495404
95 GASHUGI André
NISR
0788409702
96 RURANGWA Innocent
NSSB
0788303436
97 MBANDA Théoneste
RTDA/MHRA
0788457473
98 BIKESHA Denis
SNJ GACACA
99 KARAMAGA Wilson
CCM/NUR
100 KIMENYI Emmanuel
IRST
101 MITALI Adolphe
OASIS Gazette
0783530545
102 SUKUMA Siméon
GISAGARA District
0788870798
103 MUTIMURA Victor Innocent
KAYONZA District
0788849310
104 MUIRURI Jane
NUR
0783285208
105
RALGA
0788300095
106 UWAMAHORO Salathiel
MINICOM
0788545776
107 MUKAMINANI Angèle
NYABIHU District
0788459497
108
ABIJURU Peter
STAR Construction
0788698701
109
KARERA Joan
City of KIGALI
0788303399
110 MUKAMURENZI Annonciata
RMF
0788522364
111
IMMIGRATION
0788302704
112 BALIGIRA Hamadi
MINECOFIN
0788490062
113 NIYITEGEKA Kate
Translation Language
0788650816
114
EWSA
0788596538
MININFRA
0788678760
KARAKE Théogène
RUTIMIRWA Jean Marie
KAGWESAGE Hyacinthe
115 MAZIMPAKA J.Paul
116
TWAGIRUMUKIZA J.de Dieu
KAMONYI District
0788845883
117 HABAMUNGU Wenceslas
ECO Plastic
0788926312
118 MUNYANGANIZI GAFU
CHUK
0788525421
119
NUR
0788568116
120 KANIZIYO Domina
ORINFOR
0788301761
121
MUGISHA Steven
The New Times
0788646181
122
BITUNGURAMYE Diogène
RULINDO District
0788501633
123 MATABARO Jean Marie
City of KIGALI
0788302266
124 RUTAHA BAGAYA
REB
0788550243
125
BUGESERA District
0788351502
126 MURAYIRE Protais
KIREHE District
0788351467
127 NDAGIJIMANA Marcellin
GASABO District
0788301571
128
MUHIMA Hospital
0788838435
129 BUSINGYE Vanice
Capital Market
0788862330
130 RURANGWA Innocent
RSSB
0788303436
131 UMULIISA Alphonse
INMR
0788304806
132 MAKOMBE J.M.Vianney
Eastern Province
0788350027
133
NYAGATARE District
0788403315
134 NIWEMUTONI Phoebe
IMVAHO
0788855118
135 Dr AKINYIMI Ben
SFB
0783468279
136
RWANDA FOCUS
0788599418
137 HAKIZIMANA Protegène
SENATE
0788633363
138
WDA
0785366069
KAMONYI District
0788845883
MANIRAGUHA Michael
RUKUNDO Julius
MUREKATETE Louise
BAGUMA Dominique
RWIRAHIRA Rodrigue
TWINAMATSIKO Francis
139 TWAGIRUMUKIZA J.de Dieu
140 RWAKA Simplice
RURA
0788538798
141 MUREKATETE Jeanne d'Arc
Ombudsman
0788467616
142 RUHUMURIZA Albert
PSC
0788458229
143 MUSABYIMANA Amiel
PSC
0783709762
144 TUBANAMBAZI Edmond
MIFOTRA
0788824621
145 MANIRAGUHA Michael
NUR
0788568116
146 NYILINKWAYA Faustin
CNF
0788351970
147 NIYONSABA Liberatha
GICUMBI District
0788460532
148 MUSISI Abdallah
PSC
0788636128
149 NZIGIYIMANA J.Claude
PSC
0788520796
150 UWANGABE Margret
PSC
0788427593
151 KANAMUGIRE Olivier
PSC
0788880955
152 SHEMA S. Mike
PSC
0788304562
153
MININFRA
0788840767
154 RUBINGISA Pudence
ISAE BUSOGO
0788453614
155 RWAKA Gaston
OAG
0788455770
156 Dr NUWAGABA Alfred
NCHE
0758701724
157 ASSIMWE David
RNRA
0788307827
158 CYUBAHIRO BAGABE Mark
RBS
0788304197
159 KANZAYIRE Alphonsine
NURC
0788452939
160 CYIZA Wilson
UCT
0782862878
161 NDASHIMYE Richard
AGF
0788306645
162 BUGINGO Edward
RCA
0788739505
163 ISIMBI Laetitia
Radio Flash
0783034203
UMULISA Chantal
164
KARURANGA Jane
KIE
0788501082
165 ILIBAGIZA RWEMA Alice
CFM
0788656161
166 GAKWAYA H
MINICAC
0788301397
167 NSENGA Emmanuel
Radio Rwanda
0788432043