By David Himbara
Kagame Turning Rwanda Into An Even More Irrelevant Entity In East African Political Economy. The East African Community (EAC) appears to be reverting to its original membership of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The new EAC members, especially Rwanda, are a headache. Rwanda dared to shut down its border with Uganda. General Paul Kagame is turning Rwanda into an even more irrelevant and irrational entity in East African political economy.
The problem begins with Kagame fantasying about Rwanda’s economic might. In his article published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in 2013, Kagame boasted that Rwanda is “an economic lion.” Kagame further boasted:
“There is a view that development is a marathon, not a sprint. We do not agree. Development is a marathon that must be run at a sprint. In our pursuit of progress, we have of course looked to East Asia’s so-called “tiger” economies for inspiration…So while being described as an “African tiger” is a welcome recognition of how far Rwanda has come, perhaps it isn’t quite right. After all, our continent has its own big cat. Step forward the new lions of Africa.”
In reality, Kagame’s Rwanda does not compare to the original EAC members whether in terms of the size of their respective economies or their trade within the EAC. Let us analyze Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda in terms of the size of their respective economies or their trade within EAC. The data used here are from the World Bank, 2017. Rwandan trade figures for 2017 come from the National Bank of Rwanda, as indicated.
Kenya ’s economy and trade within EAC
Kenya is by far the largest economy in EAC with a GDP of US$79 billion. Kenya’s exports amount to US$6 billion versus imports of US$16 billion annually (2017). Kenya’s main trading partner in EAC is Uganda. Uganda is the second largest importer of Kenyan goods and services valued at US$598 million a year.
Tanzania’s economy and trade within EAC
Tanzania is EAC’s second largest economy with GDP of US$52 billion. Tanzania’s annual exports amount to US$4 billion versus imports of US$8 billion. Tanzania’s main trading partner in EAC is Kenya. Kenya is the fourth largest importer of Tanzanian goods and services valued at US$292 million a year.
Uganda’s economy and trade within EAC
Uganda is EAC’s third largest economy with GDP of US$26 billion. Uganda’s annual exports amount to US$3 billion versus imports of US$5.5 billion. Uganda main trading partner in EAC is Kenya. Kenya is the largest importer of Uganda goods and services valued at US$552 million a year.
Rwanda’s economy and trade within EAC
Rwanda is EAC’s fourth largest economy with GDP of US$9.1 billion. Rwanda’s annual exports amount to US$943 million versus imports of US$2.2 billion. Rwanda’s main trading partner in EAC is Kenya. Kenya is the second largest importer of Rwandan goods and services valued at US$99 million a year.
No wonder, Kagame can wake up one morning and close a common border with a fellow EAC member state. Rwanda is hardly a major factor in EAC’s political economy. The Rwandan ruler is shrinking his country into greater irrelevancy.
