Rwanda by Leaps and Bounds
Rwanda is a breathtakingly beautiful country in the Great Lakes region of East Africa. A little smaller than Maryland, this unique spot, a landlocked region of mountains, high plateaus, lakes, and savanna, is known as the Land of a Thousand Hills. But at the end of the twentieth century its name became synonymous with genocide. In 1994 Rwanda erupted into a spasm of slaughter on a shocking scale over a shockingly short period--as many as one million people murdered during just one hundred days.
Emerging from this terrible past, twenty-first-century Rwanda looks set to triumph over history. As the country strides ahead in leaps and bounds, its young population is determined to create a new, more prosperous and secure country, and they seem to be succeeding. Although challenges remain, Rwanda is nowadays known for its many achievements: Africa’s economic miracle, top tourist destination, champion of women’s rights, protector of mountain gorillas--and source of some of the best tea in the world!
Emerging from this terrible past, twenty-first-century Rwanda looks set to triumph over history. As the country strides ahead in leaps and bounds, its young population is determined to create a new, more prosperous and secure country, and they seem to be succeeding. Although challenges remain, Rwanda is nowadays known for its many achievements: Africa’s economic miracle, top tourist destination, champion of women’s rights, protector of mountain gorillas--and source of some of the best tea in the world!
U.S. involvement with Rwandan tea dates back to the 1960s, when a 16-hecatare plot of land in the northern region was planted with financing from a U.S. aid program. In the 1970s, a joint venture agreement between the Rwandan government and an American company led to the construction of a tea factory in the region. So it’s all the more surprising that Rwanda tea is almost entirely unknown in the United States.
Britain buys a large portion of the Rwandan tea crop (after all, the British know good tea), and when Rwandan tea does make it into the mugs and teapots of America, it’s usually as an anonymous ingredient in a blend of leaves from as many as thirty different countries.
Yet the best of Rwandan teas will stand against many a pedigreed tea from plants cultivated over hundreds of years in the celebrated Chinese tea gardens. Without the pedigree, Rwandan tea can’t command the prices of those teas, but we believe it equals them in quality.
Britain buys a large portion of the Rwandan tea crop (after all, the British know good tea), and when Rwandan tea does make it into the mugs and teapots of America, it’s usually as an anonymous ingredient in a blend of leaves from as many as thirty different countries.
Yet the best of Rwandan teas will stand against many a pedigreed tea from plants cultivated over hundreds of years in the celebrated Chinese tea gardens. Without the pedigree, Rwandan tea can’t command the prices of those teas, but we believe it equals them in quality.
Building the Future
The 1994 Genocide devastated Rwanda’s fragile economy, plunged the majority of the population into poverty, with women particularly affected, left tens of thousands of children orphaned, and scared off private investment. Against all the odds, however, Rwanda’s progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy has amazed observers and confounded all expectations.
Held out as an example of what an African middle class would look like, Rwanda is excelling on all fronts, with real growth averaging 7.8 percent over the last five years and inflation holding at below 7 percent--compared with double-digit inflation in neighboring countries. Preliminary figures reported by the Trade and Industry Ministry showed that the economy grew by 8.8 percent in 2011, industrial production increased by 15 percent, led by construction, mining, and manufacturing, and exports increased by an amazing 31.7 percent, thanks to the country’s export mainstays, coffee, tea, and mining, along with an equally amazing 25.5 percent increase in receipts from tourism.
After 1994, finding innovative and sustainable ways of enhancing economic development was critical to Rwanda’s survival. In 2000, the government adopted an ambitious twenty-year program called Vision 2020, built on six pillars:
In a part of the world where corruption is a way of life, the elimination of graft is a priority--and it’s paying off. The World Bank’s Doing Business 2012 report ranks Rwanda third in its Easiest Place to Do Business in Africa category, eighth in the world for ease of Starting a Business, and second five-year top global reformer. The report also moved Rwanda up from 33 to 19 in the rankings of the world’s easiest places to pay taxes.
The government has fostered private sector development programs such as the Technical and Vocational Education and Training and the Business Development Services, and sponsors the Business Plan Competition (BPC), which encourages young business professionals and entrepreneurs to come up with innovative business plans. BPC-supported projects have created 520 permanent and more than 1,000 temporary jobs.
Held out as an example of what an African middle class would look like, Rwanda is excelling on all fronts, with real growth averaging 7.8 percent over the last five years and inflation holding at below 7 percent--compared with double-digit inflation in neighboring countries. Preliminary figures reported by the Trade and Industry Ministry showed that the economy grew by 8.8 percent in 2011, industrial production increased by 15 percent, led by construction, mining, and manufacturing, and exports increased by an amazing 31.7 percent, thanks to the country’s export mainstays, coffee, tea, and mining, along with an equally amazing 25.5 percent increase in receipts from tourism.
After 1994, finding innovative and sustainable ways of enhancing economic development was critical to Rwanda’s survival. In 2000, the government adopted an ambitious twenty-year program called Vision 2020, built on six pillars:
- Reconstruction anchored in good governance
- Transformation of agriculture into a productive, high-value, market-oriented sector
- An efficient private sector spearheaded by competitiveness and entrepreneurship
- Human resources development with attention to demographic, health, and gender issues
- Improved transport, energy, water, and information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure
- Regional economic integration and cooperation
- Gender equality
- Protection of the environment and sustainable natural resource management
- Science and technology including ICT
In a part of the world where corruption is a way of life, the elimination of graft is a priority--and it’s paying off. The World Bank’s Doing Business 2012 report ranks Rwanda third in its Easiest Place to Do Business in Africa category, eighth in the world for ease of Starting a Business, and second five-year top global reformer. The report also moved Rwanda up from 33 to 19 in the rankings of the world’s easiest places to pay taxes.
The government has fostered private sector development programs such as the Technical and Vocational Education and Training and the Business Development Services, and sponsors the Business Plan Competition (BPC), which encourages young business professionals and entrepreneurs to come up with innovative business plans. BPC-supported projects have created 520 permanent and more than 1,000 temporary jobs.
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To mark a firm break with the past, the transitional government adopted a new constitution, flag,
and anthem and redrew local authority boundaries. In a surprising
development, Rwanda applied for and was granted special dispensation to
join the Commonwealth of Nations. Rwanda is now one of only two
Commonwealth members that is not a former colony of the British Empire and the only one without former links to Britain. The move has opened trade links between Rwanda and Commonwealth nations.
This distancing from Rwanda’s historical links with francophone Africa and alliance with anglophone Africa, cemented by replacing French with English as the official language of business and government, was a response to France’s perceived support of the Hutu instigators of the Genocide, but it’s also had the advantage of encouraging investment from Britain and the United States. Rwanda is the only African country to have ratified a bilateral investment treaty with the United States, which gives it an edge in attracting American investors.
The government has made great efforts to promote reconciliation and restore trust between the Hutu and Tutsi communities of Rwanda and foster healing from the horrors inflicted on the Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the Genocide. Instead of the campaign of revenge and reprisal that some feared would follow the defeat of the genocidal Hutu government, the nation is attempting to build a country of Rwandans united by a common language, Kinyarwanda, and a common culture, growing beyond division into Tutsi and Hutu.
This distancing from Rwanda’s historical links with francophone Africa and alliance with anglophone Africa, cemented by replacing French with English as the official language of business and government, was a response to France’s perceived support of the Hutu instigators of the Genocide, but it’s also had the advantage of encouraging investment from Britain and the United States. Rwanda is the only African country to have ratified a bilateral investment treaty with the United States, which gives it an edge in attracting American investors.
The government has made great efforts to promote reconciliation and restore trust between the Hutu and Tutsi communities of Rwanda and foster healing from the horrors inflicted on the Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the Genocide. Instead of the campaign of revenge and reprisal that some feared would follow the defeat of the genocidal Hutu government, the nation is attempting to build a country of Rwandans united by a common language, Kinyarwanda, and a common culture, growing beyond division into Tutsi and Hutu.
Women and Children First
No other country in the world can boast that a majority
of its legislators are women, but in Rwanda, women hold 55 of 106 seats
in the two Houses of Parliament. In the Chamber of Deputies, 45 of the
80 seats are held by women, and although the 26-seat Senate has only 10 female senators, not a majority,
this is nearly 40 percent, a level of female representation few other
countries have ever achieved. (By way of comparison, the 17 women
currently in the 100-seat U.S. Senate are an all-time record for that institution at 17 percent.)
Despite this striking level of representation and the strong commitment to gender equality mandated by the Vision 2020 program, Rwandan women face tremendous challenges both from their traditional culture and as a consequence of the Genocide. Women suffered unspeakable crimes of rape and mutilation, as many as 75 percent of genocide widows were victims of sexual torture, and it’s estimated that 70 of those raped contracted the HIV virus.
In accordance with Vision 2020, a gender task force in parliament systematically reviews past and pending legislation to see whether the needs of women are reflected, and for the first time in the country’s history, women now have rights of inheritance. Without the reform, genocide widows would have had no legal claim to their own homes. Nevertheless, in rural areas women are still fighting social norms that deny them the right to work, and cases still occur of women prevented from inheriting property that is rightfully theirs under the new laws.
In July 2011, Rwanda hosted a three-day high-level international meeting to discuss gender-responsive budgeting (GRB), jointly organized by the Rwandan Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), and the European Union.
Joanne Sandler, UN Women’s senior adviser for policy and programs, told the meeting that Rwanda leads the world in all aspects related to gender but that the country needs to become an extraordinary global model in gender-responsive budgeting. This means a gender-equality perspective on allocating national resources as well as improving women’s access to resources and services at the local level. Microfinancing cooperatives have allowed women to establish and develop handicraft businesses, but women are hoping for more direct involvement in management of the lending programs.
Despite this striking level of representation and the strong commitment to gender equality mandated by the Vision 2020 program, Rwandan women face tremendous challenges both from their traditional culture and as a consequence of the Genocide. Women suffered unspeakable crimes of rape and mutilation, as many as 75 percent of genocide widows were victims of sexual torture, and it’s estimated that 70 of those raped contracted the HIV virus.
In accordance with Vision 2020, a gender task force in parliament systematically reviews past and pending legislation to see whether the needs of women are reflected, and for the first time in the country’s history, women now have rights of inheritance. Without the reform, genocide widows would have had no legal claim to their own homes. Nevertheless, in rural areas women are still fighting social norms that deny them the right to work, and cases still occur of women prevented from inheriting property that is rightfully theirs under the new laws.
In July 2011, Rwanda hosted a three-day high-level international meeting to discuss gender-responsive budgeting (GRB), jointly organized by the Rwandan Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), and the European Union.
Joanne Sandler, UN Women’s senior adviser for policy and programs, told the meeting that Rwanda leads the world in all aspects related to gender but that the country needs to become an extraordinary global model in gender-responsive budgeting. This means a gender-equality perspective on allocating national resources as well as improving women’s access to resources and services at the local level. Microfinancing cooperatives have allowed women to establish and develop handicraft businesses, but women are hoping for more direct involvement in management of the lending programs.
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Children were particularly affected by the Genocide. Tens of thousands were orphaned, often traumatized by witnessing the slaughter of their parents, and many were victims of rape and mutilation. Many older children and teenagers were left as sole caretakers of younger siblings.
In rebuilding the country, the government has been keenly aware that these children’s needs must be addressed. Since 2004 the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion and the National Children’s Commission have organized Children’s Summits to provide a forum for children to participate in the country’s reconstruction. The Seventh Annual Children’s Summit, held in Kigali in January 2012, was attended by UNICEF’s executive director, Anthony Lake, who expressed amazement at what he saw: “Rarely have I heard of such an inclusive process in the planning of national development events where children are contributing ideas, debating recommendations, and shaping the future of their country.” He congratulated Rwanda for its focus on equity and for including the most disadvantaged, which he felt was not only morally right but financially shrewd. |
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Participants in the summit included
children living with disabilities and children from orphanages and
refugee camps. They called for special attention to the
needs of children living with disabilities, whether in school, in
health facilities, or in families. They also emphasized the importance
of better social protection for vulnerable children, fighting violence
against children, eliminating malnutrition, promoting hygiene, ensuring
school meals, increasing access to early childhood development services,
and making sports and electricity available in all schools.
The summit was aired live on Rwandan television, radio, and social media, and children who could not attend were able to text or call in with questions for the government officials in attendance.
The summit was aired live on Rwandan television, radio, and social media, and children who could not attend were able to text or call in with questions for the government officials in attendance.
Tourism Takes Over
The global downturn hurt tourism around the world, but in 2011, for the first year ever, tourism became Rwanda’s
biggest earner, bringing $251 million into the country, a 25.5 percent increase over 2010. With one third of the world’s
population of surviving mountain gorillas, Rwanda’s ecologically
sensitive and tourist-friendly program to protect and track them has
become a major attraction.
But Rwanda has more than the gorillas to interest tourists. The country straddles the Congo-Nile Divide, where the great Congo River flows west and the Nile begins its journey north, and lies within the Albertine Rift Valley, one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, with mammals and birds found nowhere else.
Three national parks offer an extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna:
Akagera National Park, in the east, has a savanna ecosystem of lakes and wetlands with elephants, giraffes, and other large mammals such as buffalo, zebra, warthogs and more than a dozen types of antelope, as well as many plant species found nowhere else.
Nyungwe Forest National Park, in the southwest, is the only destination in the world where you can see up to thirteen species of primates in a single location, including the Rwenzora colobus monkeys, which congregate in groups of up to 400 individuals, making the largest troops of any primate in Africa. The forest also houses 280 recorded bird species.
Volcanoes National Park covers the slopes of the Virunga Mountains in the northwest and is the home of Rwanda’s famous gorillas, one third of the remaining African mountain gorilla population.
Lying along the western border is Lake Kivu, one of the deepest lakes in the world and the highest lake in Africa. The lake is an area of astounding natural beauty that offers stunning vistas and several luxury resorts from which to enjoy them.
But Rwanda has more than the gorillas to interest tourists. The country straddles the Congo-Nile Divide, where the great Congo River flows west and the Nile begins its journey north, and lies within the Albertine Rift Valley, one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, with mammals and birds found nowhere else.
Three national parks offer an extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna:
Akagera National Park, in the east, has a savanna ecosystem of lakes and wetlands with elephants, giraffes, and other large mammals such as buffalo, zebra, warthogs and more than a dozen types of antelope, as well as many plant species found nowhere else.
Nyungwe Forest National Park, in the southwest, is the only destination in the world where you can see up to thirteen species of primates in a single location, including the Rwenzora colobus monkeys, which congregate in groups of up to 400 individuals, making the largest troops of any primate in Africa. The forest also houses 280 recorded bird species.
Volcanoes National Park covers the slopes of the Virunga Mountains in the northwest and is the home of Rwanda’s famous gorillas, one third of the remaining African mountain gorilla population.
Lying along the western border is Lake Kivu, one of the deepest lakes in the world and the highest lake in Africa. The lake is an area of astounding natural beauty that offers stunning vistas and several luxury resorts from which to enjoy them.
Despite Rwanda’s being just a few degrees south of the equator, don’t expect a tropical climate--the elevation keeps temperatures at a comfortable level all year round. Daytime highs range between 77°F and 81°F, while nighttime temperatures can get as low as 55°F. In the mountains the average daily high is only 55°F, so if you're planning to visit, take a sweater.
Rwanda has two wet seasons and two dry seasons. The short wet season is in October and November. The main rainy season lasts from mid-March to the end of May. During the rainy seasons, heavy downpours occur almost daily, alternating with sunny weather.
Tourists are often surprised to find how clean and orderly the country is, especially the capital city, Kigali. Along with the natural beauty of the country, Rwanda’s culture offers much entertainment for tourists, from the Intore dancers of the National Rwanda Ballet to bustling markets selling Rwandan handicrafts such as the distinctive agaseke baskets. Many guided tours are available for short or long visits, and accommodations range from five-star hotels to clean and comfortable budget hotels and cheap rooms in guesthouses.
Rwanda has two wet seasons and two dry seasons. The short wet season is in October and November. The main rainy season lasts from mid-March to the end of May. During the rainy seasons, heavy downpours occur almost daily, alternating with sunny weather.
Tourists are often surprised to find how clean and orderly the country is, especially the capital city, Kigali. Along with the natural beauty of the country, Rwanda’s culture offers much entertainment for tourists, from the Intore dancers of the National Rwanda Ballet to bustling markets selling Rwandan handicrafts such as the distinctive agaseke baskets. Many guided tours are available for short or long visits, and accommodations range from five-star hotels to clean and comfortable budget hotels and cheap rooms in guesthouses.
“The major aspiration of Vision 2020 is to transform Rwanda’s economy into a middle-income country. . . . This will not be achieved unless we transform from a subsistence agriculture economy to a knowledge-based society with high levels of savings and private investment. . . . To vanquish hunger and poverty, growth must be Pro-Poor, giving all Rwandan’s the chance to gain from the new economic opportunities. Vision 2020 aspires for Rwanda to become a modern, strong and united nation, proud of its fundamental values, politically stable and without discrimination amongst its citizens.”
--“Introduction,” Vision 2020, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Republic of Rwanda, 2000.
