General Paul Kagame is ever hungry for political power and he has plenty of it. He rules and runs everything in Rwanda. But when it comes to the power needed to develop Rwanda – as in electricity – Kagame has so little of it. He is a powerful dictator without power. Here is a man claiming to be building Africa but he cannot build his own country beyond tall buildings in Kigali.
According to The New Times of February 9, 2018, Rwandan senators have revealed that while Rwanda has 208.6 Megawatts of electricity, 23 percent is lost because “some electricity transmission lines are old and in poor state.” Twenty three percent of 208.6 Megawatts is 47.9, meaning that Rwanda has 208.6–47.9=160.7 Megawatts.
In other words, Rwanda currently has only 160.7 Megawatts of available capacity to serve a population of more than 11.5 million people.
USAID describes the Rwanda electricity situation as follows:
“Despite high resource potential and opportunities for cross-border export, Rwanda’s power sector faces significant challenges, including a constrained transmission system. The annual consumption of electricity per capita is among the lowest in Africa, with approximately half of consumers using an average of less than 20 kWh per month.”
How little is 160.7 Megawatts of electricity? Microsoft Corporation’s data center in Chicago is powered by 175 Megawatts — which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 70,000 homes in Illinois.
Kagame, every sector of Rwanda’s economy, as well as basic services imaginable badly need electricity. Kagame, you have been in power for nearly 20 years and all you can show is a miserable 160 Megawatts. Kagame, no wonder you shifted your bogus Vision from 2020 to 2035. You are a powerful dictator without power. You are a total disgrace.
