'A nation in a hurry': the costs of local governance reforms in Rwanda

Almost 20 years on from the horrors of the genocide, Rwanda is drawing considerable international attention as it emerges as a leading African success story. Its strong economic performance, with growth rates averaging 8% over the last 10 years, has led some to argue that it represents a new form of African developmental state. This article draws on fieldwork conducted in 2013 to examine the political impact of the government's developmental reforms at local levels. Charting developments in local governance over the last decade, it demonstrates an increasing centralisation of deliberation and decision-making on local development in tandem with growing pressures and demands on local communities to invest - physically and financially - in centrally promoted activities and programmes. The findings, which uncover growing levels of popular disquiet and dissent with the centrally driven approach, raise questions regarding the level of embeddedness and legitimacy of the regime and therefore the sustainability of its development project, The findings also challenge the currently popular 'good enough governance' agenda in that they demonstrate that local governance and state-societal relations do matter, most especially when the pressures and costs for local development outcomes fall heavily on local communities.