Rwanda has invested heavily in digital government, enabling citizens to access public services, apply for documents, and pay fees online. However, a recent report reveals that only 11% of government services are fully digitised from start to finish. This means that while citizens can submit applications and make payments online, many services still require manual processing, paperwork, or visits to government offices. The figure highlights a significant gap between making services available online and ensuring that citizens can complete entire transactions digitally.
The Rwanda Governance Scorecard, which assesses the country's governance performance, found that the 11% digitisation figure is one of the lowest scores across all variables assessed. The scorecard also noted that the Quality of Service Delivery pillar recorded the largest decline among the eight governance pillars, falling from 71.73% to 68.48%. The report identified two particularly weak variables: fully digitised government services, at 11%, and the inflation-rate indicator, at 28.57%. These findings have prompted the government to take action to address governance gaps and improve public service delivery.
Despite the low digitisation figure, citizens are relatively satisfied with some digital platforms. The scorecard's Service Delivery through ICT indicator scored 60.98%, while satisfaction with Irembo services, which allow citizens to access government services online, stood at 81.8%. However, satisfaction with online court case filing fell to 65.4%, a decline of 13.6 percentage points. Radio communication recorded 70.2% satisfaction. The contrast between Irembo's satisfaction rating and the 11% digitisation figure reflects the difference between citizens' experiences with online platforms and the underlying manual processes that still exist.
To address these challenges, the government is working to connect systems that previously operated separately. Committees involving the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, the Ministry of Public Service and Labour, and the Rwanda Governance Board have adopted a standard for defining and classifying services. A review reduced the inventory of local government services from 235 entries to 60 standardised services. The aim is to create a database showing the digitisation status of government services and provide a baseline for measuring progress.
The government is also working to integrate systems across different institutions. Licensing services involving the Rwanda Standards Board, the Rwanda Environment Management Authority, and the Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority are being reengineered, with 22 licensing services set to be consolidated into one end-to-end service. In land administration, the Land Administration Information System has been linked to the Integrated Financial Management Information System, the Rwanda Revenue Authority, and Irembo, bringing 12 land services online.
The government's Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) targets at least 90% citizen satisfaction with public service delivery by 2029. However, satisfaction remains below that level in several sectors, including land, environment and settlement, agriculture, infrastructure, and health. Digitisation alone will not guarantee satisfaction; processing times, staff responsiveness, system reliability, and service quality will also determine whether citizens experience meaningful improvements.
The scorecard's digitisation figure is based on 2024 data, and it may not capture subsequent progress. The report also does not provide a detailed breakdown of the services assessed or the precise criteria used to determine whether they are fully digitised. These details will matter as the government measures progress and sets priorities to address governance gaps and improve public service delivery.
Key points
- Only 11% of Rwanda's government services are fully digitised from start to finish.
- The government is working to connect systems and integrate services across different institutions.
- The government's target is to achieve at least 90% citizen satisfaction with public service delivery by 2029.
