Rwanda: Tax Payers Deserve Better Services of Orinfor

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Focus Media (Kigali)

EDITORIAL
23 June 2008
Posted to the web 23 June 2008

Mr Kimanuka's troubles began when he decided to take a round-about route in trying to explain an allegation by one journalist of a private newspaper who said TV Rwanda would not air images of supposedly unhygienic food at the Le Printemps hotel in Kimironko.

The President called upon Mr Kimanuka to explain what happened and the latter began his long-winded answer and was at the part about how at times cameramen take images which could either not be used or misused and that "all this is possible, but..."

At that point Mr Kagame lost all patience and asked angrily: "what do you mean all this is possible...is it people who use cameras or is it cameras which use people? What is this you are saying that all is possible?"

The Orinfor director could not come up with an immediate clear answer, which annoyed the President even more. The tongue lashing that Mr Kimanuka received immediately after has to rank as one of the most humiliating incidents for a public official during the administration of President Kagame.

Mr Kagame is a human being like all others and it is not surprising he does get angry.

But he is the president of a country and losing his temper in front of live TV cameras and live radio broadcasts can do no good to his image. To avert a re-occurrence of, we suggest the president and his media advisers work out ways to discreetly signal it to him the next time it looks like he is about to get angry.

Having said this, our observation is that the President could not have been mad at Mr Kimanuka merely because the Orinfor chief wouldn't give a concise answer to a question.

In the year since he was appointed to head the government information agency, Mr Kimanuka has proven woefully inadequate for the task for which he was appointed - namely to sort the mess at Orinfor and to turn the agency into a modern, efficient news organization delivering a professional service to Rwandans. What has happened instead is the reverse.

Radio Rwanda has remained its pedestrian self in its little old headquarters. There is no sign of innovation in its programs, no sign of new equipment, nothing such as bringing up to date the presentational style of its news staff and neither are there any signs of improvement or innovation in its documentaries.

But at least Radio Rwanda does broadcast its newscasts on time.

The story is utterly different with TV Rwanda whose newscasts are habitually late by thirty minutes, or forty, or longer.

The premises of TVR are so dilapidated that during a visit there earlier this year Prime Minister Bernard Makuza wondered loudly how they could even manage to broadcast anything from there.

To enter the premises of TVR is to enter a chaotic place where at any time technical equipment such as the sound systems do not work properly, there might not be enough lapel microphones for studio guests and even such simple things as makeup may not be available.

TVR has become a laughing stock not only for its propensity to air delayed newscasts but also for programs such as "Breakfast Show" which may be broadcast at any time of the day - late afternoon, early evening, late evening and so on.

The rest of the time, it seems, TVR only ever broadcasts CNN or other borrowed programs, old music, foreign cartoons and similar things that are of little or no relevance to the Rwandan audience.

The blunders at the national television station are many, such as the decision - during Genocide mourning week slightly over a year ago - to omit broadcasting historical footage of the roots of Parmehutu extremist ideology in Rwanda.

Other Orinfor services such as printing and its newspapers are not doing well and the general atmosphere in the entire organization is one of malaise and lack of motivation.

To be fair to Mr Kimanuka, certain people, such as former Orinfor Board chairman Alfred Ndahiro have been a disruptive influence. Mr Ndahiro goes as far as holding board meetings even in the absence of Mr Kimanuka - something that administratively isn't allowed - and at times the point of the board meetings isn't always clear.

Mr Ndahiro for example used to call board meetings three, even four times a month when the law is that administratively board meetings can be held a maximum of only four times a year.

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Still, the failures of Mr Kimanuka are his alone. The task for which he was appointed requires a tough individual, a task master and someone who can take a decision.

The Orinfor chief is absolutely none of these things. He is more of a talker, a diplomat and an individual more afraid of offending anyone than anything else. On the opposite page we detail even more of Mr Kimanuka's failures.

Rwandan tax payers who pay for the service he heads expect much better from him. Indeed they deserve much better.

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Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
Procurement Consultant
Gsm: +250-08470205
Home: +250-55104140
P.O. Box 3867
Kigali-Rwanda
East Africa
Blog: http://www.cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID : Kayisa66