APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – Although Rwanda has been a leader in East Africa in implementing policies towards self-reliance for refugees, emerging as a model in the region and beyond on economic inclusion by granting refugees the right to start businesses and to work, as well as freedom of movement, the overwhelming majority of this group still live in camps where job opportunities are scarce.
Such job openings are often limited to incentive or volunteering work.
APA picks the mind of David Kitenge (DK), Economic Development Consultant with Refugee International a who co-authored a new report entitled: “Turning Policy into Reality: Refugees’ Access to Work in Rwanda”.
APA: Why do you criticise the current state of policy regarding refugees’ Access to Work in Rwanda?
DK: We are not actually criticizing the Government. In fact , the policies in Rwanda with regards to refugee self-reliance are very progressive and the rest of East Africa region and even globally, countries have a lot to learn from Rwanda with this respect because refugees have freedom of movement, they can open bank account, work with their refugee IDs without the need to use a work permit which is a major barrier for refugees’ right to work. With the current policies refugees have a lot to gain in becoming self-reliant, support themselves, support their families and Rwanda’s economy also has a lot to benefit from that when refugees contribute to the country’s economy.
The challenge is more on certain areas of the policy implementation particularly how to translate these inclusive policies into a reality for the refugees living in Rwanda. There are certain non-policy and administrative barriers that need further attention to fully facilitate the refugees’ right to access decent work in the country.
APA: Which key interventions do you think the international donors should focus on to support current Rwanda’s efforts to combat climate change and to create more opportunities for “green jobs for refugees?
DK: Donors should ensure that funding for livelihood activities follows a timeline that allows for in-depth labor market and value chain assessments that can help in linking refugee and host community skills to the market demand.
Since skills development is a key enabler towards economic inclusion and especially labor market accessibility, increase funding to enhance refugee youth access to higher and specialized education and support market driven skills of refugees and host communities to meaningfully participate in the local economy.
Donors additionally need to increase funding to support efforts geared towards climate change adaptation and mitigation especially for the Marshland agricultural projects that have played a key role in creating green jobs for both refugees and the host community as well as creating market systems and linkages to ensure sustainable markets for the various products.
APA: There is a perception that some refugees in Rwanda may face administrative and practical barriers to accessing the labour market. What is your take on that?
D.K: In some cases there are refugees who are willing to work and do business outside the camps. They however cited that due to lack of financial stability, they are afraid to leave the camps to look for opportunities because they risk losing humanitarian support after 3 months. This reduces their ability to try new opportunities and even make choices that would help them find new pathways towards economic independence and self-reliance.
In other instances refugees indicated that they face challenges in accessing employment mostly because many online job application platforms don’t officially identify the refugee I.D and in some cases employers lack awareness about refugees rights to work.
APA: In your latest report, it is said that despite forward-looking policies for self-reliance, refugees are still stymied by obstacles that hamper their prospects to work and do business successfully in Rwanda. What should the Government do?
DK: The Rwandan Government needs to enhance their role in ensuring full implementation of the refugee law by ensuring refugees can be equally employed in the camps by humanitarian and development partners while at the same time supporting broader and deeper engagement of the private sector to improve the economic inclusion of forcibly displaced persons and host communities.
The government also needs to include refugees in various policy and development planning frameworks like National Strategy for Transformation (NST 2) and the National Employment Program (NEP) to provide a more long term national policy solution on how to better engage refugees with various skills and professional qualifications in Rwanda’s workforce. This would progressively enhance refugees’ contribution to the country’s economy through taxation, and at the same time reduce the dependence on humanitarian support.
The government should additionally explicitly include refugees in policies that would help them better access jobs and training, prioritizing green jobs that will help meet Rwanda’s climate and economic goals.
Finally the government in partnership with humanitarian and development partners should Pilot a project that supports a number of refugees through housing and humanitarian assistance to for a predetermined period as they look for jobs and business opportunities outside the camps, after which they can decide to continue living outside the camp or return and continue receiving the assistance for which they were eligible. This scheme should be part of an effort to increase self-reliance for refugees and Rwandans and reduce dependence on humanitarian assistance.
CU/as/APA