Rattled by sky-high food&fuel prices, high inflation and consequent mass emigration, a sagging rate of corruption and a deepening culture of lie, Rwanda’s economy has turned to the worst during Kagame’s second term.
In his campaigns of 2010, Kagame promised to return a stricken economy to a steady footing while at the same time seeking to implement initiatives that would relieve consumers pressed by sky-rocketing prices on all essential goods.
His economic programmes focused on the promotion of energy sources (extracting methane gas from Lake Kivu & expanding the country’s power generation capacity).
To spur agricultural production, Kagame intended to develop a modern irrigation system and reduce petrol prices.
All this would involve importation of millions of dollars worth of equipment and technology on which the government would levy taxes.
Yet the expected new revenue base became pie in the sky. In its stead, Kagame resorted to new taxes which worsened an already fragile economic growth.
Jean Rukika
