Last week the President of Rwanda was received by the Queen. His country’s flag was raised beside those of the other 53 members as Rwanda was welcomed into the Commonwealth, the newest member and one of only two never to have been ruled by Britain.
Rwanda is one corner of Africa that has embraced all things British. It is not simply Anglophile sentiment or antipathy to France that has prompted the change: it is hard-headed self-interest and the logic of market forces.
Rwanda has put behind it the legacy of Belgian colonial rule, tribal division, the turmoil of the 1994 genocide. Now it is looking east. It has joined its neighbours, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, in a new common market, the East African Community. Their heritage — like their driving — is British, not Belgian.
Britain has responded with affection and much-needed cash. In 1995, a year after 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in 100 days of frenzied killings, London proposed an emergency aid package of £25,000. This year British aid will total £50 million, making Britain Rwanda’s biggest donor.
The British Embassy, established in Kigali after the genocide, is focused almost entirely on aid, with staff from the Department for International Development (DfID) outnumbering the small diplomatic mission.
It has also captured the hearts of Britain’s politicians. Tony Blair has visited Rwanda five times in the past two years. The nation has become the centrepiece of his commitment to Africa. The Conservatives, too, have a big political investment. Three years ago David Cameron led a group of 50 from his party to forge links with politicians, mayors and civil servants. He chose Rwanda as a model for the rethinking of Conservative aid policy.
Explaining the interest and enthusiasm, a British official said: “First of all, Rwandans say ‘thank you’. President Kagame publicly acknowledges that taxpayers’ money is spent to help his country. Such gratitude is rare elsewhere. Second, Rwanda has a culture of honesty. The money is well spent. Corruption is heavily punished. The Government has a vision of where it is going, and people work hard”.
A third reason is that there is a pay-off. Britain has invested in strengthening good governance. An early project was to spend £20 million setting up the Rwandan Revenue Authority — essential if the country was to recover from the bloody chaos of Year Zero, as 1994 is now known. That authority now brings in £20 million each month.
A current project is the first registration of all land holdings. Each farmer will be given a registration certificate, which precludes disputes on who owns what and gives millions a security against which they can borrow from a bank. The £20 million cost of the five-year scheme is underwritten by Britain.
Rwandan officials acknowledge that they are in a race to maintain prosperity. The economy grew 5 per cent last year but the population of ten million is growing even faster. A vigorous campaign aims to cut the birth rate from six children per family to three.
Prosperity, officials admit, is essential if Rwanda is to continue the remarkable post-genocide reconciliation and block any return to the ethnic animosities that brought catastrophe
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer
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