By David Himbara
Rwanda wants to get into debt of US$1billion to build a new airport. Kagame wants Kigali to become the regional transportation hub – replacing Nairobi. The irony is that Turkish Airlines and UAE cancelled cargo services to Kigali last year because of lack of business.
How much is US$1billion you ask? That is equivalent to domestic revenue Rwanda raised from July 2013 to June 2014. Rwanda Revenue Authority collected Rfr769billion of taxes in that period – about US$1billion.
Going into debt equivalent to your entire annual income is insane.
This is like buying a Mercedes-Benz when you don’t even have a shack to shelter your family!
Who will stop this madness? Only the IMF can. When Kagame went into US$400 mil debt last time, that was a breach. As a former highly indebted country whose debts were forgiven, Rwanda is held to raising monies from concessionary loans and grants only.
Will the IMF allow another breach? We wait and see.
