Essay Sample on Rwanda Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy

Introduction

The EDPRS is a set of measures that provide a medium-term framework, which helps to ascertain that the country achieves its long-term development aspirations, which are found in the Rwanda Vision 2020. Rwanda is currently one of the best-developing countries in Africa, thanks in part to the EDPRS. The EDPRS has enabled Rwanda to achieve a sustained average economic growth rate of 8% between 2008 and 2012. This EDPRS led to the reduction of poverty by 12% as well as the reduction of income inequality in Rwanda. Before the establishment of the EDPRS, Rwanda was facing a plethora of economic challenges such as unemployment, especially among the youth. In other settings, Andrew and Masozera deliver findings concerning the increase in the poverty level which is the cornerstone of the poor development of Rwanda. The leaders of the country had to identify strategies that would ensure that the economic development of the country was improved. This led to the establishment of the Rwanda Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy. Various measures are embedded within the EDPRS, and they are highlighted below

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Community-Based Solutions

Community-Based Solutions is one of the policies that Rwandan authorities utilized to improve the economy of Rwanda.3 This approach allowed the government to work with the population in various ways whereby the communities take an active part in the program. Working with the community enabled the government to fast track, implement cost-effectiveness as well as raise the demand for accountability in different sectors. Some of these sectors involve education, health care, and agriculture. In the education sector, classrooms were either built or renovated, mostly in places where education was not developed. In terms of health, community-based health care activities were organized, and communities were determined to help one another. Lastly, communities were also involved in crop intensification activities in the field of agriculture. The Community-Based Solutions approach involved all the members of the community working with the Rwandan government to empower themselves. Since access to education in villages was not developed, the government, in collaboration with communities, provided basic training to vulnerable people, especially kids. Thus, job and business opportunities opened for locals - for example, teachers who were unable to find jobs before the program was now able to work. The Community-based Solutions method helped in the development of many areas of Rwanda and most importantly, it contributed to the reduction in poverty.

Homegrown Initiatives

The homegrown initiatives were the second strategy of the EDPRS. This method made the story of the delivery of the EDPRS a success because it transformed the Rwandan economy. The homegrown initiatives consisted of activities, which were achieved at the community level. The homegrown initiatives were striving to achieve self-reliance and dependence among the citizens at the individual levels and the inheritance and embracing the national heritage of the citizens.5 This homegrown initiative strategy brought all the members of the community together to undertake activities that foster the development of the community. The second policy that was used to enhance the homegrown initiatives was the traditional courts. The traditional courts helped to handle all the cases at the local level, decentralizing the power of the government. Together, these approaches enabled the members of the community to work together, thus aiding the development of the country.

Information and Communication Technology Solutions (ICT)

The place of technology is prominent in the EDPRS. The technology was substantial in the application of ICT solution to increase service delivery. Some of the activities that have been enhanced through the application of information and communication technology (ICT) solutions are the online filing of taxes as well as online business registration. This has improved the economy of Rwanda because when there is easy service delivery; the knowledge-based economy will be developed. In terms of technology, the EDPRS promoted technology by focusing on the use of the Internet and mobile phones. This approach was great for the development of Rwanda because it allowed people to come with some innovative ideas, such as the implementation of E-Commerce, to facilitate transactions among the population.

Literature Review

The literature review will focus on the analysis of scholarly articles, books, and other materials that are relevant to the topic of research. Mainly, the review of the literature aims to identify what work has been done on a particular issue by answering the primary purpose of the study. The core purpose of undertaking this investigation is to determine the extent to which the Rwanda Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) is impacting the economic development of Rwanda. Therefore, this section will answer the research question of the topic of study by providing existing findings of the effect of the EDPRS, present a theoretical framework and potentially identify the gaps within this topic of study along with the need for further research.

Impacts of EDPRS on the Economic Development of Rwanda

With the various details concerning the different strategies used by the EDPRS, there have been underlying impacts on the economic development of Rwanda.

Rural Development

The EDPRS has been important in the development of rural areas. Rural development is an indicator that is used to corroborate that an economy is on a positive track because as rural areas develop, they contribute to the overall development of the country. The EDPRS has enabled Rwanda to undertake various activities such as providing job opportunities for the poor. According to findings by Booth and GoloobaMutebi, the different activities (such as the provision of job opportunities) have led to a decrease in the poverty level from 44% to 30%. Some of the elements that led to the growth in rural development include improving infrastructures such as roads and communication. These improvements facilitated people movement within cities without worrying about the conditions of the road and the numerous accidents that happened in the past. This development also allowed those in the countryside to increase their productivity in agriculture as Binagwaho and Scott derive that rural inhabitants increasingly have access to the main cities to sell their goods.

Productivity and Youth Empowerment

The youth constitutes the biggest category of the Rwandan population as the population of the young people in Rwanda has reached 4.1 million, which is 40% of the country's population. Because the youth have a significant impact on the economy, the EDPRS program helped to ensure that there is youth productivity as well as youth empowerment in Rwanda. According to the findings of Ansoms and Rostagno, the presence of this element implies that the country is undergoing economic development.

To ensure productivity and youth empowerment, the EDPRS provided young people with the opportunity to explore new horizons. For example, the EDPRS was helping the youth develop various skills that could be used to perform different activities such as starting a business. The second aspect included promoting the use of technology, which contributed to innovation through the mobile phone infrastructure, Internet as well as ICT skills that was mention earlier. Lastly, the intervention of the labor market helped to empower the youth. The government enhanced the efficiency of the labor market by ensuring that there is a link between the job seekers and the job providers through the development of the Employment Service and the Career Development Centers. Career fairs, for instance, were organized to allow students to connect with professionals in their field of studies.

Accountable Governance

According to various findings by Ezeanya on economic empowerment and entrepreneurship in Rwanda, the other significant impact that the EDPRS has had on the economy of Rwanda is that it has led to a responsible government. The use of the homegrown initiative has strengthened the participation of the citizens in the government. When there is active participation of citizens, the government is more accountable because citizens are in tune about the government's activities. Additionally, Uwamariya, Cremer, and Loebbecke, provide that, the other means through which government accountability was achieved was through the improvement of service delivery. The government knew that it had to deliver specific services to the citizens. Therefore, it has developed customer care services, in places such as hospitals, and other public environments, whereby the citizens of Rwanda can inquire about any service without receiving poor treatments from public institutions.

Gaps in the Literature

Nonetheless, there is a necessity for further research on examining the effects of EDPRS. The central gap in the literature that was identified in this study was that the studies failed to recognize the methods that can be used to sustain economic development in the long term. Most of the studies focused on the measures that were implemented in the EDPRS to improve the economy of Rwanda. It would be important for people to understand what measures or activities the government will undertake to ensure that economic stability is maintained for a long time. The recommendation for future research is to identify the strategies that have been employed to provide the economic balance is maintained for an extended period. Also, in as much as there are various strategies involved in the effects of EDPRS on the economic growth of Rwanda, there is need to develop a proper measure to ensure that the need for economic development does not impose a sense of risk to humanity. Thus, with more research, it will help in examining every strategy and conditioning it to the welfare of the people.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework explains the set of theories that were associated with the topic of discussion. In this research, various approaches had to be observed to determine whether the Rwanda Economic Development and Poverty Reduction had an impact on the economic development of Rwanda.

The Growth Theory

The growth theory is used to explain that economic growth emanates from endogenous forces. According to the growth theory, investing in human capital, knowledge, and innovation are the major contributors to the development of the economy. Regarding this theory, the EPDRS ensured that there was enough human capital, which was in the form of labor, to carry out various tasks. Knowledge and innovation were enabled through the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based solutions that were used in numerous areas of the government.