The Tragedy of the Uncommon Expert*

We have made the point before: the biggest hurdle standing between the present reality on the ground in Rwanda and the bold ambitions of its leadership is a lack of qualified people.  Bold ambitions infuse this place with hope.  Better yet, Rwanda’s leadership seems motivated to achieve what is in the best interests of all her people… and that is not often the case in Africa.  We continue to remark that this is an exciting time to be here; it is a thrill to work to see even some small part of this nation’s vision being realized.  Good vision, good intention…  lacking are sufficient people to put it into action.

The most recent illustration of this shortcoming is in what may be called “the tragedy of the uncommon expert”.  Earnest is one such expert.  His training and skill as a plumber is well above the norm (in a place where it is not uncommon to ‘fix’ the same appliance four or five times until satisfactory).  Importantly, Earnest has his own tools, speaks English and is trustworthy (meaning he shows up on time and does not seem to have ‘sticky fingers’ that would require accompanying him at all times on the job).  When my friends have the inevitable plumbing emergency, I’m glad to be able to offer them Earnest’s number.  Therein begins the tragedy.  Earnest does not know how to refuse, balance or delegate work.  Soon, his responsiveness and reliability suffers under the weight of too many customers.  Finally, his work begins to suffer, he stops returning calls and I stop referring him to others.  We have seen the same process play out for mechanics, electricians, realtors and the most capable of Rwanda’s business leaders as well.  This is easier to comprehend when you consider statistics such as these: 75% of the workforce has no more than a primary school education (23% have none) and just 6% of those working in the largest companies have university credentials (according to just released Establishment Census).  Too few people… doing too much work… leads to ‘burn-out’, bad work and often the need to find a new expert.

One of our clients illustrates the same point.  Emmanuel is the founder of a relatively large company (by Rwandan standards).  He employs more than a hundred people, yet complains there is only one man (Celestine) whom he trusts to make good decisions and ‘get things done’.   Emmanuel regularly laments that progress stalls if he or Celestine are not pushing daily.  When Emmanuel travels, or Celestine is sick, business grinds to a halt.  Virtually every client reveals a similar pattern in some measure: competence and trustworthiness are in short supply.  Part of what is lacking is also a certain mindset for being productive in a work environment.  Those Rwandans with advanced education or experience living in a more developed country contribute a unique and valuable mindset, but instilling this perspective in those who have not had such privileges is difficult indeed.

In Rwanda, too few qualified people have too much responsibility.  Thankfully, I don’t think I’ll need a plumber again for at least a couple weeks…

Onward and upward,

-Carter

*  subtle but intentional reference to "The Tragedy of the Commons" dilemma (popular in socio-economic theory and debate) whereby multiple self-interested individuals deplete a limited community resource.