Editing Rwanda (section)

== Administrative divisions ==
{{Further|Decentralization in Rwanda|}}
{{main|Provinces of Rwanda}}
[[File:RwandaGeoProvinces.png|thumb|Provinces of Rwanda|alt=Map of Rwanda showing the five provinces in various colours, as well as major cities, lakes, rivers, and areas of neighbouring countries]]
Before western colonization, the Rwandan government system had a quasi-system of political pluralism and power sharing.{{sfn|OAU|2000|p=14}} Despite there being a strict hierarchy, the pre-colonial system achieved an established, combined system of "centralized power and decentralized autonomous units." Under the monarch, the elected Chief governed a province that was divided into multiple districts. Two other officials appointed by head Chief governed the districts; one official was allocated power over the land while the other oversaw cattle. The [[List of kings of Rwanda|king]] ({{lang|rw|mwami}}) exercised control through a system of provinces, districts, hills, and neighbourhoods.{{sfn|Melvern|2004|p=5}}
As of 2003, the constitution [[subdivisions of Rwanda|divided]] Rwanda into [[Provinces of Rwanda|provinces]] ({{lang|rw|intara}}), [[Districts of Rwanda|districts]] ({{lang|rw|uturere}}), cities, municipalities, towns, [[Sectors of Rwanda|sectors]] ({{lang|rw|imirenge}}), cells ({{lang|rw|utugari}}), and villages ({{lang|rw|imidugudu}}); the larger divisions, and their borders, are established by Parliament.{{sfn|CJCR|2003|loc=article 3}} In January 2006, Rwanda was reorganized such that twelve provinces were merged to create five, and 106 districts were merged into thirty.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gwillim Law |date=2010-04-27 |title=Rwanda Districts |url=http://www.statoids.com/yrw.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=www.statoids.com |archive-date=21 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821085718/http://www.statoids.com/yrw.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The present borders drawn in 2006 aimed at decentralising power and removing associations with the old system and the genocide. The previous structure of twelve provinces associated with the largest cities was replaced with five provinces based primarily on geography.{{sfn|BBC News (I)|2006}} These are [[Northern Province, Rwanda|Northern Province]], [[Southern Province, Rwanda|Southern Province]], [[Eastern Province, Rwanda|Eastern Province]], [[Western Province, Rwanda|Western Province]], and the Municipality of Kigali in the centre.

The five provinces act as intermediaries between the national government and their constituent districts to ensure that national policies are implemented at the district level. The Rwanda Decentralisation Strategic Framework developed by the Ministry of Local Government assigns to provinces the responsibility for "coordinating governance issues in the Province, as well as monitoring and evaluation".{{sfn|MINALOC|2007|p=8}} Each province is headed by a governor, appointed by the president and approved by the Senate.{{sfn|Southern Province}} The districts are responsible for coordinating public service delivery and economic development. They are divided into sectors, which are responsible for the delivery of public services as mandated by the districts.{{sfn|MINALOC|2007|p=9}} Districts and sectors have directly elected councils, and are run by an executive committee selected by that council.{{sfn|MINALOC|2004}} The cells and villages are the smallest political units, providing a link between the people and the sectors.{{sfn|MINALOC|2007|p=9}} All adult resident citizens are members of their local cell council, from which an executive committee is elected.{{sfn|MINALOC|2004}} The city of [[Kigali]] is a provincial-level authority, which coordinates urban planning within the city.{{sfn|MINALOC|2007|p=8}}