2009 Assessment

This peer-reviewed country report includes:

Integrity Indicators Scorecard: Scores, scoring criteria, commentary, references, and peer review perspectives for more than 300 Integrity Indicators.

Reporter's Notebook: An on-the-ground look at corruption and integrity from a leading local journalist.

Corruption Timeline: Ten years of political context to today's corruption and integrity issues.

Foreign investment in post-genocide Rwanda has helped to create strong oversight institutions such as an effective ombudsman and auditor general. In 2008, the ombudsman took a first step towards address the lack of conflicts of interest regulations for elected officials by proposing a code of ethics for the judicial branch, which has been widely perceived as Rwanda's most corrupt government institution. Meanwhile, the Kagame administration remains focused on building the country's infrastructure and business climate to attract high levels of foreign aid and direct investment. To that end, business licensing and tax processes have been streamlined. The President has been vocal in his commitment to anti-corruption, while a newly-formed Rwandan Development Board was created to promote Rwanda's image as the most enticing country for investment in the region. Governance reforms are not entirely complete in Rwanda, however. The financing of political parties and candidates remains largely unregulated, mechanisms to improve public access to information remain to be implemented and the public is generally shut out of the national budget-making process. In addition, the increasing consolidation of political power around the ruling RPF party may threaten the impartiality and effectiveness of Rwanda's governance institutions in the future.