Rwanda has experienced sustained economic growth for over two decades at the heart of the Great Lakes region. Despite sub-regional challenges, the country has managed to preserve its political stability since the genocide of 1994. Since then, the various governments led by Paul Kagame have resolutely worked for the country’s development by setting ambitious goals at all levels: economy, education, finance, tourism, and ecology. Thus, in thirty years, Rwanda has made enormous progress. At the base of this growth is the 2050 vision developed by the leadership of the country.

Beyond the critics of poor governance and poor human rights record, everyone recognizes the economic progress made by the country under the leadership of Paul Kagame, who was re-elected this year for his fourth term in office. Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations have highlighted the limited political space for the opposition in Rwanda today.  The Kigali regime is also accused of fomenting instability in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. But the spirit of regional integration is also at the heart of this vision 20250.  

The Rwandan national development strategy, Vision 2050 was elaborated in 2015. It is ambitious, with sectorial plans to achieve measurable targets and goals every five years. This vision has five pillars: Human Development, Competitiveness and Integration, Agriculture for Wealth Creation, Urbanization and Agglomeration, and Accountable and Capable State Institutions. A mid-term review will be done by 2035.

Beyond this programme, there was also a strong political will to alleviate the population beyond poverty, and the efforts were translated into economic facts. Over the past decade, Rwanda has recorded the most robust growth in the East African Community (EAC) and the most significant improvement in living standards.

In one of its reports about Rwanda, the Wilson Center, a US think tank, said, “Economic development has also led to broad-based improvements in living standards. Poverty has fallen markedly, primary schoolenrolment is almost universal, and the business environment often stakes a claim to being Africa’s most competitive.”

To highlight the spirit of Rwanda Vision 20250, President Kagame said, “Rwandans will not be satisfied to live paycheck to paycheck, harvest to harvest, without accumulating wealth and financial security… Vision 2050 has to be about the future we choose because we can and because we deserve it”.

This bold ambition explains the ultimate goal of the country: To become an upper-middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income nation by 2050. According to some statistics, the progress is real, pushing some commentators to talk about the Rwandan miracle. Visitors coming from Rwanda are always proud of the changes that are still happening. One element of this transformation is – The focus on new technologies, with the hope of becoming an ICT hub in Africa. Beyond the use of drones to deliver medicines and vaccines in rural areas, ICT is also used efficiently in other sectors.

 Known as the land of a thousand hills – Rwanda offers different types of tourism – Tourism is one of the keys’ supports of the economy and a vital indicator of Vision 2050. Rwanda’s strategy is beyond – wildlife tourism – to become an excellent destination for conference tourism with venues like the Kigali Convention Center. Nowadays, Rwanda’s capital is after Cape Town in South Africa, the second city for conferences on the continent.

Many Europeans and Americans are visiting Rwanda to experience wildlife—there are approximately 1,000 mountain gorillas in the wild, 604 of which are in the Virunga massif at the border of the DRC. Vision 2050 takes into account all these key economic factors.  

But people are at the heart of all politics, particularly the youngsters who form a large part of the population in Rwanda. Antoine Kajangwen, the director general for Trade and investments at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said, “As part of our National Strategy for Transformation (2017-2024), we aim to create 1.5 million jobs by 2024, accelerate urbanization to reach 35% of the population, and promote industrialization to achieve an annual export growth of 17%. We are on track to achieve the targets set in the National Strategy. Each year, we have created more than 200,000 jobs in the agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors”.

All the economic indicators in Rwanda are green beyond, once again, the internal and external political tension and violence. Agriculture, which still employs much of the active population, is greatly contributing to the development efforts. This is why the regional body CEMAC said, “This economic growth in Rwanda is the result of a successful diversification of the economy, moving from a reliance on agriculture towards the development of sectors such as high-end tourism, manufacturing, and services.”

For the next twenty-five years, Rwanda will focus on improving the population’s living standard and economic growth. Miracle or not, the facts are here for everyone to assess and appreciate.

Sources: Rwanda 2050 ( Wikipédia)
OMC – interview A. Kajangwem
Human Rights Watch
CEMAC