N. F. Kenure
Because I don't want to do actual research and yet, have to write an article about Rwanda and the economic progress it has made under the leadership of Paul Kagame, the only way to make this fun would be to write it off the top of my head.
Rwanda is sometimes called the "heart of Africa' because of its location I guess.
It has moved up considerably in the world corruption index? I certainly hope I did not just make that up. The government of Kagame has tackled corruption head on and Rwanda is emerging as one of the new ‘beacons of hope’ for the rest of Africa.
The country has significantly improved ease of business. I'm sure I've read that somewhere. The government implemented a couple of things - don't ask me what - that makes things run smoothly. It takes less time to apply for permits and more. Internet and online services for government parastatals have translated into less queues and wasted time. As a Nigerian who has applied for a driver’s licence at Ikeja, and served at the Ministry of Interior and finally understood why nothing works, I want to thank the government of Rwanda for thinking about adding any kind of ‘ease’ in the lives of its people.
I read about an uber-esque start up for motorbikes in Rwanda called Safemotos that has been very successful. It rates its drivers for speed and security, also allowing female passengers request for female riders. It has been successful enough to branch out into Uganda. Some guy won 5000 dollars for his green start up that recycles waste materials into pavements and perhaps even more impressive, is a guy who recycles banana peels into sanitary pads. I saw a video about another green initiative in Rwanda on twitter, green e-bikes that are to be introduced to Kigali in 2019. There was some pushback because quiet bikes could be dangerous, but these bikes would save riders money as they would be doing away with the costs of fuel and oil changes.
Kigali has also become some kind of conference hub. The province has rebranded itself as a business centre, poised to take care of international business needs, hotels and venues are fully pre booked for international conferences. I was surprised to read this a while ago and then realized pretty much all the conferences in Africa I’ve been aware of have taken place in Kigali.
I'm not sure but I think Kagame was the only other African leader(alongside Ramaphosa of South Africa) to have attended the G20 summit in Argentina.
Now let me google everything I've written to make sure I haven't just disgraced my father.
Dec 11, 2018
