The government of Rwanda pumped millions through cooperatives to support Gacaca court mediators in 2009.
Some members of mediation committees in Musanze district have told IGIHE that they benefited nothing from the funds which they say remained in hands of the management.
“We heard about the funds the government granted us after completing Gacaca court cases. We don’t know the amount of money given to us. I only remember the Rwf 2000 they gave me to invest in poultry farming and we were supposed to refund it within three months,” said a member of mediation committee.
The management of these cooperatives attribute the loss incurred to representatives at district level which asked to secure Rwf 350,000 for trainings of board members of each cooperative and Rwf 48,000 to support Musanze FC team.
Members of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) who visited Musanze District last week 15 cooperatives of Gacaca court mediation committees are on the brink of disappearance.
The committee tasked Musanze District leaders to recover the funds by all means. “The money was meant to be invested into income generating activities. You have to recover misallocated funds,” said MP Jeanne D’Arc Uwimanimpaye.
Musanze District vice Mayor, Ndaberewe Augustin has told IGIHE that the issue will be addressed soon.
In January this year, a committee made of staff from the Ministry of Local Governance, Rwanda Cooperative Agency and Security organs released a report showing that local leaders owed SACCOs a non-serviced debt worth Rwf600 million.
Effective from January 15 this year, a crackdown to recover the money started and it has now recovered more than a half of the folio in one month according to the Director General of Rwanda Cooperative Agency, Prof. Jean Bosco Harerimana.
“Now, they [local leaders] have paid Rwf300,216,184 and we hope to recover the remaining part so soon that the SACCOs continue to contribute to development of members and the country in general,” Prof. Harerimana told IGIHE on Wednesday.
Harerimana added that those failing to pay the whole debt were given two months and in case they fail to pay they will be subjected to the law.
Managers of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) in different districts say local leaders have less respect for SACCOs and often fail to meet their debt-servicing obligations.
“They don’t lack money because they get salaries which they present as collateral. They don’t pay the loans because they just disrespect the SACCOs, and their managers,” a manager of SACCO in Burera District who talked to IGIHE on condition of anonymity said.
There are 17 SACCOs in Burera District which are owed Rwf42 million by local leaders.
In July last year, RCA had said the non-performing loans in SACCOs had reached 16% way above the considered 5%.
RCB said that Rwanda received an estimated 35,000 delegates who attended globally recognized events such as the Africa Green Revolution Forum, the GSMA Mobile 360 Africa, Youth Connect Summit and the 5th International Conference on Family Planning that registered one of the largest number of delegates, of over3,800.
RCB has set a target to collect $74 million from the Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism sector in 2018/2019 financial year and $88 million in 2019/20 up from $42 million collected in 2017.
Among notable international conferences slated to be hosted by Rwanda this year is the Africa Fine Coffee and Exhibition to take place in February expected to bring in 1500 international delegates, the Africa CEO Forum in March, Africa Health Agenda International Conference and the International Conference on AIDS and STI’s in Africa (ICASA) expected to receive between 7000 and 9000 delegates.
“We will keep on the frontline in getting Rwanda known. When Rwanda hosts an international meeting, we ensure that they are successful that foreign delegates keep looking to Rwanda as the best in conference hosting. We also call the guests to spend long in Rwanda so that they spend more in Rwanda which benefits the private sector,” Mukazayire said.
The President of the Private Events’ Organizers, Aimable Rumongi said: “When a conference takes place in Rwanda, private businesses gain a lot, from the eggs’ supplier, the tomato seller and the event’s organizer.”
RCB says that Kigali now boasts of approximately 5000 rooms in the 2 to 5-star hotels with another 8000 rooms in modern motels available for travellers.
Rwanda was last year ranked the 3rd in Africa as the best country in conference hosting according to International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
From July to December 2018, RRA collected Rwf654.4 billion in tax revenue while the target was Rwf651.5 billion. Compared to Rwf582.9 million collected in the first semester of the financial year 2017/18, there is additional revenue of Rwf71.5 billion translating a growth of 12.3%.
Non-tax revenue collected amounted to rwf11.6 billion compared to the target of Rwf8.9 billion, a 130.2% performance.
The performance in tax revenue collection was attributed to lower inflation, increased agricultural production, improved voluntary compliance of taxpayers and administrative measures taken such as audits among other reasons.
Local Government (LG) taxes and fees collection totaled Rwf22.7 billion, with a shortfall of Rwf0.4 billion to the target of Rwf23.3 billion that had been set.
“The economy was projected to grow by 7.5% during the 2018/19 financial year and the data released by the National Institute of Rwanda shows a growth of growth of 7.7% for the first quarter of (July to September 2018) of 2018/19 fiscal year,” said the Commissioner General of Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), Pascal Bizimana Ruganintwali.
Ruganintwali said that RRA recovered Rwf20 million among people who had debts in taxes and tough measures are under implementation to recover all the money the Government is owed by debtors.
Ruganintwali also thanked the taxpayers who fulfil their duties and asked for a participative hand in fighting those who don’t comply with paying taxes though he said they are few.
Of the Rwf1.3 billion stolen from private cooperatives, only Rwf214.000 was recovered while 174 people are under investigation suspected of having a hand in the embezzlement.
The numbers were released by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Soraya Hakuziyaremye as she appeared before Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Livestock Development and Environment on Friday.
The Minister was asked by Honorable Jeanne d’Arc Uwamariya, the strategies the Ministry and organs they partner in cooperatives management has taken to curtail rampant embezzlement witnessed in private cooperatives and government managed Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCos) which result in the loss of public funds.
“All those 174 people were taken to courts of law and are still under investigation. Until today, Rwf240 million were recovered since December last year when the ongoing funds recovery process in SACCOs started. The objective is to have recovered 60% of funds stolen from SACCOs by the end of February this year,” Hakuziyaremye added.
Adding to the initial funding which was worth 146.9 million Euros, the entire funding to the program is now 261.9 million Euros.
The financing is to cover water supply infrastructures in Rutsiro, Karongi, Rubavu, Nyabihu, Ngororero Kamonyi, Muhanga, Ruhango Nyanza, Bugesera, Ngoma, Kayonza, Gatsibo, Nyagatare and Musanze Districts including sanitation facilities to ten schools.
Water access in these districts is currently averaged at 45 percent, 40% lower than the national average which stands at 85%.
About more than 1.5 million people will get improved water supply services with 700,000 of them living in rural and peri-urban areas raising the total number of beneficiaries of the whole project to 5.4 million at completion in June 2023.
“This funding will improve the quality of life and socio-economic development of the people and promote economic growth and transformation,” said the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning after the signing of the agreement.
The AfDB Rwanda Country Manager Mrs. Martha Phiri said, “This additional financing increases the on-going Bank support to the water and sanitation sector in Rwanda to €282 million, demonstrating the Bank’s desire and readiness to match the Government of Rwanda’s ambitions to achieve speedy socio-economic transformation.”
As per objectives of the National Strategy for Transformation one (NST-1), Rwanda projects that by 2024, all households, schools and commercial facilities will have reliable access to clean water and sanitation services.
An interim period of positive change ensued, a growth fuelled by new media including the Internet, greater multiculturalism and a stronger attachment to democratic principles.
In March 2018, 44 of the 55 African Union Heads of State and Government enacted the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) in Kigali, Rwanda at its 10th Extraordinary Session, under the able leadership of H.E. President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, with H.E. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda as current AU Chairperson and H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission. Once in force AfCFTA will be the largest trade zone in the world, increase intra-African trade by 52% by the year 2022, remove tariffs on 90% of goods, liberalise services and tackle other barriers to intra-African trade, such as long delays at border posts.
The end of colonialism in the early 1960s created 55 African countries which cut arbitrarily across ethnic, cultural and traditional boundaries. They established the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to promote unity and solidarity on one hand yet emphasised territorial sovereignty on the other. This hamstrung the OAU insofar as national affairs were concerned, and helped create regional economic blocks or communities (RECs) in the mid-1970s.
RECs engendered political and economic integration. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the East African Community (EAC) signed agreements for the free movement of goods, services and people. There are now 8 AU-recognised RECs and a number of sub-regional bodies that are actively pursuing Africa’s integration agenda.
In 1991 the Abuja Treaty established the African Economic Community (AEC), building on RECs for integration. At the 2001 OAU Summit, African Heads of States and Government adopted the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as a further vector to accelerate African economic co-operation and integration. The Summit recognised the importance of OAU input into REC programme planning and implementation. In 2002, the Constitutive Act of the AU was adopted in Lomé, Togo, formally replacing the OAU.
These milestones show that African economic integration is best pursued on a regional basis.
Rethinking Africa’s priorities is urgently called for. In this regard Agenda 2063, a consolidated strategy for sustained political and economic integration and prosperity, was launched by African Heads of State and Government at the 50th Anniversary of African Unity in 2013. Agenda 2063’s first Ten-Year Implementation Plan (2013-2023) draws heavily on NEPAD’s experiences. Beyond these broad strokes in development priorities and programmes, African development must be translated into concrete action.
While business and consumer confidence have improved, investment, trade and productivity have not. This has a direct impact on both foreign and domestic investments in Africa, particularly in infrastructure. As the world’s second-fastest growing region, Africa holds much promise for those willing to invest time to study our local economies and identify opportunities presented by a booming middle class with an endless appetite for consumables.
Although the Africa Report 2017 shows that virtually all countries plan large infrastructure projects and understand the need to industrialise, Africa cannot afford to be an ‘investment risk’ for infrastructure projects that advance sustainable inclusive development.
To this end, the AU-NEPAD Continental Business Network (CBN) continues to de-risk infrastructure projects in order to attract financing, especially through Pension and Sovereign Wealth Funds. In September 2017, NEPAD and the CBN initiated an Africa-led and Africa-owned campaign to increase African asset owners’ contributions to African infrastructure from approximately 1.5% of their assets under management (AUM) to 5% of AUM. By using financial resources available on the continent and strengthening public-private partnerships, infrastructure investments should increase. The CBN has called for a more strategic engagement with domestic institutional investors in support of this campaign.
The AfCTA, is a monumental step for Africa; another significant milestone in Africa’s integration process. I have to however aptly point out that the AfCFTA was signed in Kigali the capital that experienced complete turmoil some 24 years ago but is now poised to become the futuristic “Wakanda.”
{{ {Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, a former Prime Minister of Niger, is the current CEO of the African Union’s NEPAD Agency.
} }}
The Ombudsman’s activities report of 2016-2017 indicates poor resources management, embezzlement and mismanagement of arrears among others.
The Minister of Trade, Vincent Munyeshyaka was yesterday summoned by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Political and Gender Affairs about what they expect to do to address challenges among cooperatives.
“The report shows different problems where members are not satisfied with management, characterized with sweeping embezzlement of funds; what do you plan to do to end these challenges?” questioned MP Evariste Karisa.
Munyeshyaka said that they are aware of the problems, adding that they are planning to revise laws regulating cooperatives and suing cooperatives managers who embezzled members’ funds.
“There are management problems in cooperatives, corruption and embezzlement; our prime purpose is to revise laws regulating cooperatives in Rwanda and increase members’ participation in resources management,” he explained.
He added that they are planning to partner with Police and local government officials to help them during monitoring. He said that Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) has few employees that cannot solve all problems in cooperatives.
While presenting the state of the country’s economy and execution of the National Budget to parliamentarians yesterday, Gatete said that mining sector is among the fastest growing – economic sectors in the country.
He said that the country targets to earn $800 million in 2020 and $1.6 billion in 2024 from the mining sector.
He explained that different studies, have shown that the country has enough minerals especially, Coltan and Wolfram.
“As we know the production we have today, for us to get enough profit, we need to engage the private sector for investments in the sector” he said.
“We need to explore other minerals like gold. For gold we are constructing a processing plant and construction activities will be completed in March next year in Special Economic Zone. Currently we produce more than 200 tons of gold weekly. We want to fast-truck activities so that we start processing gold form within the country,” he explained.
Rwanda has 537 mining quarries across the country with 130 companies and 30 cooperatives with80% of them in the medium category.
Gatete was speaking Thursday while presenting the recent economic development and Budget Implementation to parliamentarians.
He said that during the first quarter of 2017/18 fiscal year, the global economy continued to maintain the momentum with economic activities having been sustained compared to the previous year.
Inflation, he said, continued to drop below the medium-term target of 5% after one year above target as both imported and food inflation moderated.
He said that exports have increased substantially compared to the same period last year whereas imports have been well contained.
In the monetary sector, he said credit to Private Sector have grown faster in the first nine months of 2017 than they did in the whole of 2016 and depreciation has slowed down.
“The budget implementation was in line with economic performance and is on-track” he said.
However, Gatete said that Rwanda’s growth rate slowed in 2016 and the first half of 2017 as a result of drought during second half of 2016.
He said that trade deficit reduced by 24.9%, from USD1179.10 million to USD885.35 million
He said, this year, the monetary sector recorded growth of credit to private sector at 9.6% from December 2016 to September 2017 (compared to 9.1% for the whole year 2016)
He said the economic activity is projected to recover progressively in 2017 and higher in 2018 and over the medium term
Exports are projected to continue growing steadily with observed improvements in commodity prices and growing contribution of other minerals
“The Government will continue to put more efforts to achieve the economic growth of at least 7% over the medium term as early signs show a recovered dynamism” he said
Gatete is optimistic that the government will fully implement the budget approved for 2017/18 fiscal year and more efforts will also be put in monitoring project implementation
