14 June 2017

Hello, friends and family! Today is our 17th day in Rwanda, and I started the day off attempting to master the Rwandan public transportation system! An hour and a half and two buses later (proud of myself for shaving 30 minutes off my very first commute,) I arrived at SIT for today’s lecture on economic development in a post-genocide Rwanda, led by the CEO of the Rwandan Stock Exchange, Pierre Celestin Rwabukumba. Pierre began the lecture by offering a brief overview of Rwanda’s economic climate leading up to, during, and immediately following the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Beginning in 1990, Rwanda’s economy began to decline, and was completely destroyed with the conclusion of the violence that occurred in the country. The country was deprived of almost all its resources, resulting in the government’s confrontation with many barriers in regards to overcoming the country’s poverty. With an increased poverty rate of 53% in 1993 to 70% in 1997, the Rwandan government partnered with World Bank in order to introduce privatization of state-owned enterprises, with the hope of putting an end to the draining of government resources.

Rwanda soon understood their need for integration into the EAC, since the country is one of Africa's many small and economically unviable states which produces what they don't largely consume, and consumes what they don't largely produce. The EAC, also known as the East African Community is a regional intergovernmental organization comprised of the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Rwanda (who joined in 2007). Integration into the EAC had a positive impact on the Rwandan economy post-genocide, with economic benefits including: better management of shared resources, marketing the EAC as a single tourist destination, avoiding the duplication of costs born by individual states offering the same services, and the free movement of people, goods, and labor across the five states. Benefits to Rwanda's integration into the EAC doesn't stop with economics, however, as there are numerous social and political benefits as well. The EAC promotes a cost effective political administration, good governance, democracy, and political stability, enhanced democratic space (devoid of ethnicity and nepotism,) and ore viable and cost effective infrastructure projects.

The country has numbers to show for its strengthened economy as well, with a gross domestic product (GDP) equivalent to 8.3 billion USD. Rwanda's sustained annual economic growth has averaged at 8% since 2005, with only a moderate inflation rate of approximately 4.8%. In 2000, Rwanda also embarked on an ambitious development agenda known as "Vision 2020": a project aiming to transform the country try into a knowledge-based, middle-income country by the year 2020. Later this afternoon, we had the opportunity of speaking with Philip Lucky, an employee of the Rwanda Development Board, to further elaborate on Vision 2020. He explained to our group that the vision follows five pillars in order to succeed in the transformation into a middle-income society:

1. Private sector led economy
2. Transform agriculture into a more commercialized system
3. Good governance
4. Infrastructure improvement
5. Integration (into the EAC)

After Rwanda's integration into the EAC, the RDB was established in 2008 by merging eighty pre-existing, stand-alone government institutions. The creation of the RDB moved the country in the direction of achieving its 2020 vision by providing more efficient services offered under the same roof. Their vision of constructing economic development through private sector growth has been successful, explained Lucky, who described the three measures of the RDB to be private sector influence, imports/exports, and tourism. When it comes to imports and exports, he discussed a  relatively new policy being implemented by the Rwandan government known as "Made in Rwanda," which encourages the in-country production of local products to reduce the high amount of imports. Some other key reforms since the creation of the RDB in 2008 include, but are not limited to: online transactions, 6 hour business registration, online visa applications, and online payment of taxes. The institution is built around economic sectors, such as investment registration, marketing, tourism, an export promotion department, and the SPIU, which is in charge of all externally funded products. Falling under the tourism sector are the departments of new product development, strategic investment, and the division of conservation (wildlife, national parks, etc.) It's nice to see how much the country values their environment and the creatures living in it-- Rwanda doesn't even allow plastic bags to enter its borders!

With all the discussion of the country's development and its vision for a middle-income society, I couldn't help but ask Philip about Rwanda's vision for its rural communities. Earlier in our trip, we had the privilege of visiting a school in a rural area of the country, and the environment was visibly different from the capital city of Kigali. A small community lined with dirt roads and buildings marked by red x's demonstrating the need for demolition, I was curious as to how Vision 2020 played into areas that weren't major cities. Lucky emphasized that Vision 2020 does encompass all of Rwanda, yet private sector investment, factories, and more funding from a national level are necessary in directly rebuilding rural communities in the country. Instead, the vision targets main cities to act as catalysts for further development to bleed into outside areas. It would be amazing to come back and visit a few years from now and see this vision accomplished!

Looking forward to soaking up our last few days in this beautiful country! Can't wait to share this amazing experience upon our return to the U.S.!