The Governing Philosophy,Institutional Building and Policy Choice of the Rwanda Patriotic Front

Wang Xuejun

The sound economic and governance performance in Rwanda has attracted wide attention in the international community.A lot of research into its specific policies has been done to look at the reasons behind the success of Rwanda.From the perspective of party politics, its success can be equated with that of the governance model of a party-centered country.Rwanda’s ruling party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), has led the country in achieving strong economic development by enhancing its power, strong will for development and pragmatic and flexible policy choices.The RPF’s success can shed light for latecomer countries in terms of economic development and governance.

PRESSURE, MISSION, AND RPF’S STRONG WILL FOR DEVELOPMENT

The first impetus for the RPF to lead Rwanda in developing its economy comes from its strong will, which is not only caused by its survival pressure, but also influenced by the sense of mission at its birth.

Firstly, the RPF faced severe challenges when it came to power.The Rwanda genocide in 1994, which lasted nearly 100 days, not only took a large number of lives, but also caused a serious economic disaster.Rwanda’s GDP plunged by more than 50% that year, with per capita GDP falling from$249 the previous year to $112.The country was in desperate need of an infusion of funds for reconciliation and reconstruction, but it had neither mineral resources nor strategic importance and was not on the radar of Western-led international aid.From 1994 to 1996, only $800 million of the$2.2 billion promised by the West was delivered.Even with the subsequent increase in foreign aid, as a result of various efforts, it was often halted or reduced by the West on so-called “human rights” grounds, which prompted Rwanda to resolve to become selfreliant.Another pressure comes from within.The RPF is a political organization composed mainly of Tutsi refugees who have been living in neighboring countries such as Uganda and Burundi since independence.Before ending the genocide and taking over power in 1994, the RPF had little contact with the country’s majority Hutu population.“The majority of the people accepted the new regime not because they truly recognized its justice and legitimacy, but because they hated the previous rule.In the long term, unless there’s rapid economic development and people can live a better life, peace will be most fragile”.The third pressure comes from the threat posed by long-standing Hutu rebel militias in eastern DR Congo.To deal with it, the RPF must invest significantly in improving its defence capabilities.In the uncertain prospect of Western aid, it is difficult for the RPF to achieve political autonomy and secure its regime unless it achieves sustainable economic development in Rwanda.Under these three pressures,the RPF has developed a strong will to commit itself to the sustainable development of the national economy.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame (center) inspects the disaster situation on May 12, 2023 in the western Rubavu region.

Secondly, the development will of the RPF came also from its strong sense of mission, which can find its source from three aspects.The first is the sense of national pride and honor existed in the history of the Kingdom of Rwanda.According to its own narrative of history, the kingdom was in expansion in the pre-colonial period when the country was rich and strong, the society was prosperous and peaceful, and the people beamed with a strong sense of pride for their nation.It was all interrupted by the invasion of European colonists and poor domestic governance after independence.The RPF is thus committed to restoring its past glory.The second is nationalism in modern Rwanda.It was born during the colonial rule by Belgium and the decolonization struggle, with the goal of independence and prosperity for Rwanda, breaking the shackle of Western countries and eliminating the influence of neocolonialism.This is the most direct source of the RPF’s sense of mission to revitalize and develop the national economy.The third is the personal ambition of RPF leader Paul Kagame.Kagame experienced a raft of disasters such as ethnic antagonism, refugee crisis,civil war and genocide in Rwanda after its independence, and developed a resolute character and the ambition to pursue national independence and peaceful development.Kagame’s personal ambition is undoubtedly crucial to the RPF sense of mission as a political party.

With the process of Rwanda’s national reconciliation completed and the new regime established, Kagame launched a national consultation campaign in the late 1990s.And in 2000,after consulting experts from China,Singapore and other countries, the Rwanda Vision 2020 was announced,which was committed to building Rwanda into a middle-income country based on a knowledge-based economy.In December 2020, Kagame unveiled once again Rwanda’s Vision 2050, emphasizing that “Vision 2020 was about what we had to do in order to survive and regain our dignity.But Vision 2050 has to be about the future we choose, because we can,and because we deserve it”.The new vision aims to transform Rwanda into an upper-middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2050.The two documents have provided guidance for the country to develop at different stages.

INSTITUTIONAL PARTY BUILDING AND THE RPF’S GROWING STRENGTH

The second impetus stems from the RPF’s ever-growing strength as a political party, which not only ensures social stability, but also guarantees the policy making and delivery capacity of the Rwandan government.Its strength mainly comes from the institutionalization efforts in the following three aspects.

I.Establish and Cement the RPFLed Political Party System and Political Party Consultation System

First, the RPF took “consensus democracy” as the ideological basis of the new Rwanda after the end of the genocide, and quickly established a unity government led by itself and with the participation of the main opposition parties of the former regime including the Republican Democratic Movement, the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party.During the ensuing nine years of transition and subsequent governance, it kept on strengthening its supremacy in the party system and the state power structure.Through the allocation of cabinet posts and parliamentary seats, it gained political dominance in the country.According to the Basic Law framework adopted by the Transitional National Assembly in May 1995, when the government is unable to make a decision, the decision-making power shall be exercised by the President as a sovereign representative, and the minority of one-third plus one has the right to veto.Of the 21 cabinet ministers in the transitional government, the RPF held eight, an effective minority with veto power, thus ensuring that the President “makes decisions in a sovereign manner” on behalf of the RPF.At the same time, it also controlled a majority of the seats in the Transitional National Assembly together with its army and allied parties.The 2003 Constitution, amended after the transition period, inherits the spirit of the Basic Law framework and bulwarked the political position of the RPF.In several post-transition-period elections, the RPF won both the presidential and parliamentary elections by a large margin.

Second, the Rwandan government enacted during the transitional period from 1994 to 2003 a series of party bans, prohibiting extremist and ethnicity, religion and region-based parties, in order to strengthen the leadership of the RPF and national unity.When Rwanda established the transitional unity government, it banned the former ruling party, the National Revolutionary Movement for Democracy and Development, and the Hutu extremist party of the Coalition for the Defence of the Republic, which were directly responsible for the genocide.At the end of the transition period, it banned in 2001 the National Council for Renewal and Democracy which was then in its founding stage and in 2003 the Republican Democratic Movement which was the largest opposition party at that time, both on the grounds that they violated the provisions of the Political Party Law prohibiting the formation of new political parties during the transition period, or endangered national security by inciting political parties or ethnic division.

Third, the RPF established the Forum of Political Parties to engage political parties in political consultation.During the transitional period,the RPF established the Forum as an initial framework for political consultation in accordance with the Arusha Peace Accords.Rwanda’s 2003 Constitution provided for a multi-party system and made the Forum a permanent and institutionalized establishment.At present, it has 11 members and holds assemblies twice a year for open dialogue and discussion on major issues of national development and governance.At the same time,the Rwandan Constitution also stipulates that the purpose of the Forum is to promote consensus-building, political tolerance and national unity.This in fact further confirms and consolidates the leadership of the RPF.

II.Strengthen Party Building in its Organizational System, Ideology and Party Discipline

Rwanda has a RPF of organization and power system at each of its five administrative levels from province,district, county to village.The party structure of the RPF is parallel to the state administrative structure, with the executive secretary of the party being the core of leadership at all levels and holding decision-making power.The RPF grass root organizations are built all through to, and below, the village level.Party building often takes place in family-style language, encouraging every Rwandan to join the RPF family, which in many areas is the majority of the population.The governance model of the integration of the party, the government and the army is a major feature of the RPF party building,with party and government institutions at all levels, from the province to the village, appointed military and political commissars to supervise the entire political proceedings.

Since taking power in 1994, the RPF, drawing on experience from history and based on actual national conditions, has built a set of ideological system under which the whole party are rallied together,thus strengthening its cohesion as a ruling party.This ideological system mainly includes four aspects.The first is the historical view of the Rwandan national community,which holds that the Rwandans were ethnically united before colonization, with the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa ,not ethnic labels, but differentiated in wealth and social status.The colonists then came and caused ethnic politicization which continued after independence.And it was not until the RPF came to power that historical glory and national unity were restored.The second is the concept of national unity, which means that the unified identity of Rwandan nationals replaces the differentiated ethnic identity, which is not only a proud historical tradition, but also the practical need for reconstruction.Accordingly, the RPF firmly opposes racism, both politically and legally.The third is the concept of independent nationalism.The RPF believes that genocide has made Rwanda special and that Rwanda must resolutely follow its own path, safeguard its sovereignty, restore its national dignity and reject Western interference and accusations.The fourth is the view of development.The RPF believes that in order to achieve independence and dignity, Rwanda must develop its economy, improve its governance capacity, and achieve national prosperity as soon as possible.

The RPF commits to improving the governance of the party and government through anti-corruption and the traditional performance contract system of Imihigo.First, it exercises zero-tolerance against corruption.On the one hand, it prevents corruption through intra-party education, market reform, institutional improvement,and the participation of the whole people.On the other, it detects and severely punishes corruption by legal and political means.The 2003 Constitution obliges politicians, senior RPF officials and financial management officials to declare their assets.At the same time, the national police and investigation departments have been set up to focus on anti-corruption work.Through careful prevention and severe crackdown against corruption, greater integrity is ensured within the party.The second is to transform the goals of governance and economic development into the responsibility of officials within the RPF system through a multi-level Imihigo system, which helps to make the RPF and its government officials more effective at work.

III.Consolidate the RPF’s Social Foundation through Education and Distribution of Responsibility and Power

First, political education is carried out through the “solidarity camp”of Ingando and the “civic education camp” of Itorero.The Ingando camp program, which began in 1998,teaches topics of economic policy,security, solidarity, reconciliation and health in new official language, in order to dispel the “ethnic identity”left by colonialism and promote a“Rwandan national identity” among all the population.The Itorero camp program, launched in 2007, is at the heart of the government’s efforts to create model citizens.The RPF has specially designed military-style graduation ceremony for the graduates of these two programs, expecting them to become catalysts and drivers of the country’s economic and social transformation.

Second, citizens are included into the party and state system in different ways and assume corresponding responsibilities.For example, Rwanda people are mobilized to join the RPF,and after joining in, they need to donate for national development when called upon; a large number of administrative and security personnel are recruited from among citizens to take on the work of management and supervision of community policing,education or health, among others.Everyone is obliged to participate in collective community work on the last Saturday of each month to maintain a clean living environment.

Third, the basic social, economic and political rights of the people are guaranteed.On the one hand,government delegates its power to ensure broad citizen participation in local decision-making process, i.e.to elect local officials and manage limited resources.On the other hand, basic living benefits are provided to villagers, such as a cup of milk to each child every day for their nutrition.Through these measures, the RPF has embedded itself within the fabric of the society, thereby consolidating its originally weak social foundation.

PERCEPTIONS OF KAGAME AND THE RPF ON DEVELOPMENT AND THEIR POLICY CHOICES FOR RWANDA

The understanding of the ruling RPF on how to reconstruct the country and sustain its economic results after the disaster constitutes the third political foundation for Rwanda’s economic development.

First, its understanding on foreign aid, self-reliance and the relations between the two.Kagame recognizes foreign assistance and support as an important condition for Rwanda’s development, yet he knows as well that independence is fundamental.As he pointed out in an interview that, “we appreciate foreign aid and know how to get it by meeting objective criteria, but we refuse to use it for political control”.With that said,uncompromising independence can only happen gradually.“It can only be achieved through hard work, de-termination and a development plan with clear targets...Our daily effort is all about creating and accumulating bit by bit and eventually moving away from dependence on aid.” It is out of these perceptions that the RPF government has been working on two directions.On the one hand, it strives for more foreign aid, investment and cooperation, by conducting diplomacy work actively relying on its moral advantages brought by its termination of the genocide and the moral guilt of Western countries, and by improving governance at home and building a favorable international image.On the other hand, it works to reduce dependence on foreign aid,in order to maintain and gradually strengthen national autonomy.In its external relations, the RPF is determined not to give in to strings attached and international pressure that would threaten its ruling status and the political stability of Rwanda.

Second, its understanding on the relationship between free market and state intervention.Kagame believes in the power of free market.In his view,countries with competitive market tend to encourage entrepreneurship and experience long-term economic growth, while countries that suppress market competition tend to have fewer entrepreneurs and therefore slower economic growth.Meanwhile,in the face of the difficult and complex situation after the genocide,Kagame also recognized the limits of the free market and the need for state intervention.Therefore, on the one hand, the RPF government strives to maintain the consistency of macroeconomic policies with liberalism in global economy by working to create a free and efficient business environment and encouraging private economy which is seen as a development engine.On the other hand,it adopts strong state intervention measures.The first is to adopt active interventionism in rural areas and agriculture by introducing the policy of land sharing, gender equality in land inheritance rights, and land registration.Second, the RPF directly controls some basic industries, which enables it to rapidly accumulate a large amount of capital for leading the strategic transformation of the national economy involving people’s livelihood.The economic transformation and sustainable development led by the ruling party’s conglomerates has become a prominent feature of the “Rwandan miracle”.

Third, its understanding on industrial policy and policy choice.Kagame said that Africa must look to its own history and culture, in order to find solutions to African problems.In the case of specific countries, it is necessary to find solutions to various challenges from the past thoughts and practices of their own society, and to form new ideas to push their way forward.In terms of industrial policy selection, it is necessary to identify the industry with comparative advantages that is suited to national conditions.It is under the guidance of this concept,the RPF government, on the basis of extensive consultation with domestic and foreign experts, has chosen to transform to knowledge-based economy, which is not only fit for its small territory, limited resources and dense population, but also keeps with the global trend of digital transformation.

CONCLUSION

Rwanda is a typical example of a developing country in the 21st century achieving good governance and economic growth with political party taking a leading role in that process.The reasons why the RPF is able to lead Rwanda in realizing national reconstruction and economic take-off from the ruins of system malfunction, order collapse and suffering can be attributed to the features of party politics under the leadership of the RPF.Its strong will, sense of mission, strength and the right choice of the development path for the country lays the political foundation of Rwanda’s economic development.Its development once again shows that,for the vast number of developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, a political party with a sense of mission and readiness to act can stand up to pressure and challenges and blaze a path of governance and economic development with its own characteristics in the face of adversity, provided that it can base itself on its own realities, maintain independence, seize the trend and keep pace with the times.