Rwanda : Sector leaders accused of harassing subordinates

The Rwandese Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA) has pointed fingers to sector leaders in Muhanga, Kamonyi and Ngororero over harassing cell leaders and sometimes verbally insulting them.

This observation was made by officials of RALGA during a good governance training for the sector leaders in Muhanga, Kamonyi and Ngororero, that was aimed at addressing issues of service provision and capacity building for local leaders.

It was revealed that the sector leaders use the cell leader in their private businesses and it was alleged that to an extent this is done forcefully and verbally insult their subordinates in many cases.

The allegations were also noted among residents, who also claimed that the sector leaders have a habit of verbally insulting residents especially when they are being asked to comply with some of the community programs.

Some of the sector leaders claimed that this kind of behavior has a close relation with the history of the country in which some of the leaders were used to this kind of attitude of leadership.

One of the sector leaders said: “It is true, some people were affected by the genocide and war which affected a great deal on the minds of the community, that is why there are such issues of improper behavior and rude utterance in some cases”

Jeanne Izabiliza, the Southern province executive secretary also said that some of the leaders have a tendency of responding to phone calls with a rude tone, and only retrieve the voice tones when they realize that they are talking to their superiors.

She said that this shows that the same behavior is manifested in their daily encounter with residents, their families and in their public life. She however asked the sector leaders to change this attitude and behavior as a way of improving the quality of services given to residents.