On December 22, 2000, Rwanda was given a debt relief under the comprehensive debt reduction package known as “enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). The debt relief aimed to save Rwanda US$810 million. Rwanda was given a clean start.
Now Kagame is accumulating serious debt. In 2014, Rwanda’s debt stood at US$2 billion.
I do not as yet have Rwanda’s debt for the year 2015.
For 2016, Rwanda acquired a loan of $162.4 million and another one of US$204 million. That makes Rwanda’s debt a grand total of US$2,366,400,000.00.
Remember this figure does not include debt accumulated in 2015. I will add the figures when I get them.
So how will Kagame pay off these debts? Rwanda’s export earnings in 2015 amounted to a mere US$558 million. Meanwhile Rwanda spent US$2.3 billion on imports.
Will perhaps Kagame’s Kigali Convention Centre (KCC) earn money to counter the crisis? Let us hope so. KCC just hosted about 3,000 people attending the African Union Summit. Let us see how often KCC will find clients to make it financially viable and a net contributor debt reduction.
By David Himbara
