Scoping mission on water in rwanda - Partners voor Water

<strong>Scoping</strong> Mission on Rwanda for Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kigali
• Rwanda wants Development Partners (DP) to adhere to the Division of Labour (DoL). The Dutch
Government is currently supporting Energy (Interconnection in electricity grid between DRC and
Rwanda), Decentralization (feeder roads, access to electricity) and Justice, Reconciliation, Law &
Order. For this last theme, the Dutch Government is the lead DP.
• WRM in MINIRENA and RNRA is not supported by any DP, it is also a new authority; REMA is
supported by Sida (about €1.2m/y). Actually, WRM and Trans-boundary waters are not included in
the DoL. Furthermore, there is no functional Sub-sector Working Group on WRM yet.
• Trans-boundary waters have international dimensions: ABAKIR (management authority for hydropower
in Kivu Basin and Rusizi river as part of Congo basin) is being constructed with support from
EC. NBI related activities receive external funding, most of that does not go through MINECOFIN.
• Urban and rural water and sanitation are now supported by Japan (JICA; in Eastern Province), by
African Development Bank (four other provinces), and by UNICEF. Rwanda wants the EC to leave
this sector in SWAp. The AfDB is assisted in the Northern Province by UNICEF. DGIS is the main
financing partner in the UNICEF rural WASH project. The EC through the EUWF supports three
projects including one with joint EUWF-BTC funding. The Austrian contribution is limited. It covers a
water and sanitation project of EUR 2.2 million, which is being implemented jointly by the Austrian
Development Agency, the European Com<strong>mission</strong> and the Rwandan government. Austria has no
Embassy in Rwanda.
• In the Water Sector all development partners focus on water and sanitation. With the current
programmes Rwanda is lagging behind in meeting the MDG for water supply. No Development
Partners are covering Water Management in the Division of Labour.
• MINAGRIC works with a number of DP’s, including WORLD BANK, FAO, IFAD, BTC/CTB, USAID, JICA,
DFID, BAD, EU, WFP, UNDP, CIDA, GTZ and others. Within its regional programme the Netherlands
focuses on issues related to energy and climate. Part of the investments will be channelled to regional
energy issues, including the rehabilitation of the Rusizi hydro power plant and the construction of
interconnections in the region. The Dutch cooperation with Rwanda includes co-financing the roll out
of the national energy plan and by investing in reforestation on government-owned land.
• Several DPs indicated that they would welcome the Dutch as lead DP in WRM. One DP went that far
by stating that the Dutch could leave agricultural projects to other DPs and focus most on WRM.
• The current Division of Labour is attached as Annex 6.
• Several Development Partners do not work within the SWAp-Division of Labour structure and follow
a project approach. This applies, for instance, for USAID, NGOs as the SNV, World Vision
International (WVI), Water-for-People, PROTOS, etc. PROTOS supports Rwanda on IWRM through
water basin studies, developments, and institution and capacity building. WVI, Water-for-People and
USAID have substantial area-focused programmes with implementing and activities oriented
towards innovation on water service management, multiple use water systems (domestic and
income generating water uses) and various capacity development initiatives that may have a bearing
beyond the focus areas these NGOs are working in. Particularly Water-for-People and the USAIDsupported
programme Rwanda Integrated Water Security Program (RIWSP) 5 are innovative,
experimenting new approaches (e.g. Multiple Use Systems) and water service management systems.
RIWSP is a 5-year programme of some 21 millions US$.
• SNV works as a sole capacity builder. SNV Rwanda focuses on WASH as one of their main sectors,
and they work in selected districts. SNV initiated the multi-stakeholder learning fora on WASH that
address areas needing attention for sector performance improvement. SNV can also build on
experience gained in other countries. SNV Rwanda has started some activities in IWRM recognising
the role of IWRM towards sustainable development.
5 The main objective of the RIWSP is to improve the sustainable management of water quantity and quality to positively
impact human health, food security, and resiliency to climate change for vulnerable populations in targeted catchments of
Rwanda.
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