Economic Development Of Rwanda

Introduction

If we picture Rwanda as team shooting for championship placement in the Premier League of economic development, it would no doubt be considered an underdog team by most speculators. But, like many of the best comebacks in history, Rwanda has progressed from the devastating background of genocide and proved to be a Cinderella story in the making. Rwanda is in the midst of the ultimate turnaround. In less than 20 years, it has forged ahead from the devastation of genocide and is entering a stage of impressive economic development that has influenced GDP growth and lifted 1 million people out of poverty in past 5 years alone. Opportunities for expanding trade development and private-sector investments are bountiful and on the horizon.

Key Features of Rwanda

Geographic & Geopolitical Context

Rwanda is a land-locked nation located in the midst of the Great Lakes region of Central Africa. Appendix A contains a map that situates Rwanda amid the African continent. Rwanda ids the 74th largest country in the world by population, housing more than 11 million people.

Rwanda rests at the heart very densely populated region enveloping Rwanda, Burundi, the Kivu region of the eastern Congo and south-western Uganda. This region shares a set of similar languages and cultural values along with a long history of economy and military interactions. Rwanda’s stability is naturally tied to the stability of its neighbors, and vice-versa. Rwanda’s geopolitical position played into the 1994 genocide. In a global context, the massacres harmed the credibility former colonial power France, allowing the United States to establish a “neocolonial foothold” in Central Africa. Rwanda has since transitioned from a Franco-Belgian colonial backgroun...

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... the president; and any party cannot occupy more than half of all cabinet positions. But no political system is perfect. Critics of the RPF, the dominant party, claim that ‘consensus politics’ is merely a euphemism for policy that won't tolerate anyone who disagrees with the ruling party. As the dominant party, the RPF may access far more resources than others, and will always be able to outspend minor parties in national elections. However, since the last set of election in 2003, the RPF, headed by Paul Kagame has maintained pro-business ideology held office while Rwanda shows tremendous economic progress.

Rwanda’s renewed and revived Constitution, formally adopted in May of 2003, unmistakably condemns the Rwandan Genocide in the preamble, expressing hope for reconciliation and prosperity, and is vigilantly formulated to avoid any chance of repeating the past.