DOT-COMments: Building the Multi-sector Regulatory Agency (ARM) in Rwanda

Building the Multi-sector Regulatory Agency (ARM) in Rwanda

dot-GOV is in the final phase of the Telecommunications and Information Technology sector - Legal and Regulatory Reform project, funded by USAID/Rwanda. Under this project, dot-GOV and the Government of Rwanda (GOR) have worked together to establish the Rwandan Multi-sector Regulatory Agency (ARM), with jurisdiction over several market sectors including telecommunications and energy.

Building an Organizational Structure
During this last phase, two dot-GOV consultants worked directly with the GOR to develop an organizational structure for the telecommunications portion of the new Regulatory Agency. As a result, specific proposals were shared with the government on structuring the agency (executive management, agency departments, etc.) and staffing for the Regulator, including specific job descriptions and hiring criteria for each of the recommended posts. dot-GOV consultants were also invited to participate in the screening interviews for new regulator employees.

Working closely with the newly-appointed Managing Director of the Regulatory Agency and its new Board of Directors, dot-GOV revised the draft procedural manual for the agency and refined the three documents that will outline the procedural operations of the Agency:

Agency Charter
Internal Operating Rules
Rules of Practice and Procedure

A training workshop was also held for the Managing Director, Board and others to discuss regulatory procedures, rulemaking and relationship with the two governing ministries - the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Energy Regulation
Photo of Lake Kivu, courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Due to the importance the GOR places on regulation of the energy sector and allowing for the extraction of gas from Lake Kivu, establishing electricity tariffs, etc., dot-GOV was asked to meet with representatives from the energy sector and to include recommendations on "next steps" to be explored specifically within the gas and electricity sectors (as well as within the telecommunications sector) in the final report to the GOR.

Internews was awarded the Rwanda Project on March 18, 2002 for an initial period of 6 months, later extended (Associate Cooperative Agreement No. 696-A-00-02-00108-00 under the dot-GOV Leader Award No. GDG-A-00-01-00009-00)

For More Information, Contact:
Partner: Paige Anderson
Project Manager, Rwanda Telecommunications and Information Technology Sector Project
Center for Democracy and Technology
Tel: +1 202 637 9800
Email:

Related Resource Partners

Related DOT-COM Activity
Rwanda - dot-GOV IT Sector Reform

Related DOT-COMments Newsletter Articles

Legal and Regulatory Reform in Rwanda's Telecommunications and Information Technology Sector From Issue 2, Winter 2002
All Three "dots" Work in Rwanda From Issue 1, Fall 2002
Small Pilot Projects offer Governments Short-term Technical Assistance From Issue 1, Fall 2002


Core funding for the DOT-COM Alliance is provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture & Trade, Office of Infrastructure and Engineering (EGAT/OI&E), Office of Education (EGAT/ED), and Office of Women in Development (EGAT/WID), under the terms of Award numbers: GDG-A-00-01-00009-00, dot-GOV; GDG-A-00-01-00014-00, dot-ORG; GDG-A-00-01-00011-00, dot-EDU.
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