Africa Governance Initiative | Innovations for Successful Societies

In 2008, the challenges of managing a growing economy and translating gains into higher standards of living put many issues on the agenda of Rwanda’s cabinet. The top-level policymaking process had to keep pace. Weekly meetings of Cabinet ministers were loosely organized that too often wasted the valuable time of the government’s top decision makers. Aware of the need to streamline operations at the center of government, President Paul Kagame created a Ministry in Charge of Cabinet Affairs, led by Charles Murigande, his longtime foreign affairs minister. Murigande quickly concluded that Cabinet-level confusion arose largely from a lack of clear guidelines for ministers on how to manage policy formulation and develop clear and complete policy proposals colleagues could understand easily and act upon quickly. He also suspected that not all the items on the agenda really required the attention of the whole cabinet. Murigande and his successor, former Minister of Local Government Protais Musoni, crafted a policy development manual for ministries, developed ways to resolve policy differences without involving the entire Cabinet, and introduced other changes that made Cabinet sessions shorter and more efficient. Although weaknesses remained in 2012, new Cabinet procedures improved the quality of policy proposals, promoted fast and responsible decision making, and gave Rwanda’s top government officials more time to deal with the country’s pressing problems.

Jonathan Friedman drafted this case study on the basis of interviews conducted in Kigali, Rwanda, during June 2012. Case published September 2012. See related case, “Improving Coordination and Prioritization: Streamlining Rwanda’s National Leadership Retreat, 2008-2011.”

Associated Interview(s): Protais Musoni

Momo Rogers

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Focus Area(s)

Centers of Government

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Critical Tasks

Improving cabinet efficiency

Political liaison

Preparation of policy papers and choices

Country of Reform

Liberia

Interviewers

Michael Scharff

Name

Momo Rogers

Interviewee's Position

Director General

Interviewee's Organization

Cabinet Secretariat, Liberia

Language

English

Nationality of Interviewee

Liberia

Town/City

Monrovia

Country

Liberia

Date of Interview

Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:00 pm

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Keywords

Africa Governance Initiative

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Liberia

preparation of policy papers and choices

political liaison

improving cabinet efficiency

Abstract

Momo Rogers describes his work as Director General of Liberia’s Cabinet Secretariat. He traces the changes he made to improve the cabinet’s processes and his office’s relationships with the ministers. Staff from the African Governance Initiative (AGI) helped throughout the work he describes. His first order of business for the new ministry was shortening cabinet meetings. He implemented processes such as including indicative timing in the meeting’s agenda, producing a manual for cabinet ministers, and improving communication with the cabinet, and he details each change in this interview. By providing two to five page summaries of the lengthy policy documents, Rogers says he helped the cabinet ministers be more prepared for their meetings, make their work more efficient. As he explains, he improved the communication between the Cabinet Secretariat and the ministers by utilizing email and text messaging as well as by establishing personal relationships. He describes the trust and positive working relationships he set up, and how these contribute to his working and the cabinet’s overall functioning. For the future of the Cabinet Secretariat, Rogers hopes in addition to maintain their role as a facilitator, his office can be more involved in policy planning, particularly the early stages. In describing his own work, he talks about fostering a positive, productive relationship between the president and the cabinet and between the president and him, which he says improves as he becomes more familiar with those with whom he works.

Case Study: Improving Decision Making at the Center of Government: Liberia's Cabinet Secretariat, 2009-2012

Transcript

momo_rogers.pdf

F1_COG_MS_Rogers_Cleared.txt

Profile

Momo Rogers was Director General of the Cabinet Secretariat at the time of this interview, after President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf called him to this position in 2009. Prior to this homecoming, Rogers was a journalism professor at several U.S. institutions, including Middle Tennessee State University and Delaware State College (now Delaware State University). He had previously taught at the University of Liberia, where he developed the department of Mass Communication. Early in his career he worked at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism. He received his doctorate in journalism and mass communication from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, with an emphasis on international communication and media history. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Ohio State and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Lincoln University.

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