ILLUSION 6: PRUDENT MANAGEMENT OF RWANDAN PEOPLE’S MONEY: SOCIAL SECURITY FUND (Continuation No1)

Before we resume the story of how Rwanda’s social security funds ended up in a pre-IPO biotech firm in USA in 2008, we have a challenge to deal with.

As all of us can see, the Rwanda Social Security Board is not indicating where it has invested Rwandan peoples’ money, despite claiming that they “believe in transparency, that is why we want to share our investment portfolio with you.”

We must therefore dig – bit-by-bit – and establish where these funds are invested. And guess who will help us in finding out where some of the funds are invested?

The Rwanda regime itself in its love for boasting. In the attached story below by the New Times, we learn how the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, launched the East African Granite Industries (EAGI) in Nyagatare.

Now there is, in normal circumstances, nothing wrong with a head of state being asked to launch something new. That is what presidents do most of the times.

Except in this case, the EAGI in reality is his own company as the chairman RPF/Crystal Ventures that owns EAGI.

And there lies the problem:

* The social security fund, Rwandan workers’ money that was ploughed into EAGI – who made the decision and on what objective criteria?

* Paul Kagame as the President of Rwanda, allowed Paul Kagame the businessman, to use Rwandan peoples’ money to build a private company. How does this square off with Mr Kagame’s image of Mr Clean and high morality?

* And are there similar cases to EAGI whereby workers’ money has been hijacked to build Kagame/RPF’s corporate empire?

* Comparatively, is this surely not the most reckless and corrupted conflict of interest anywhere on the planet? Not even in countries generally associated with corruption such as Uganda and Kenya would a head of state put workers’ money into his own company.

Read the attached startling story of how what is abnormal in the rest of the world, is now normal in Rwanda. We are now a country of conflict of interest.

Or perhaps you believe there is nothing wrong with these Kagame practices. Let us hear from you!

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/views/article_print.php?i=15046&a=55665&icon=Print

David Himbara

2 COMMENTS

  1. David,

    The point you are raising are spot on. I have one or two things to point out about the Rwandan economy:
    – First of all, the economy can only bear fruits if resources are efficiently allocated; there are numerous examples about Rwanda which shows that this is not the case;
    – You don’t have to scratch too much your head to know how all these so called well researched and thought through investments are selected; serious business people from the west with an army of analysts and investments officers will never invest in Rwanda because the basic fundamentals like accountability, transparency do not have a place there. Just dig a little bit and you will soon realize that those associated with
    Rwanda are mainly unscrupulous business people looking to make a quick buck and don’t rightly so give a damn about what happen after.

    Going back to Social Security Funds, does anyone know how disastrous was the cross boarder investments on Nairobi Stock Exchange? Who would go out and build SSF look like offices in numerous locations just for the sake of a having an impressive skyline? Does any one knows how much was and still being ploughed into the white elephant – Kigali Convention Centre?

    To summarize, in Rwanda, business investments are made by politicians; numbers are run to blind fold whose who might have a look at it and they are massaged to validate the investments, not to justify the resource allocations.

    Therefore, is the Rwandan economy build to self sustain and profit the mass of it is just a money making machine for the few? I am afraid I would settle for the later.

  2. Simeon musengimana (Ijwi rya rubanda) ahasize ibaba. Yatangiye asebya Nyamwasa birangira ariwe usebye nk’umunyamakuru UTAZI KUREBA IGIKWIYE.

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