Kagame Did Not Suppress The August 2018 Labour Survey Report — This Is A Pleasant Surprise

By David Himbara

Rwandan ruler General Paul Kagame claims to have turned Rwanda into African economic lion. The 2018 Labour Force Survey (LFS) released in December 2018 indicates anything but an economic lion — Rwanda remains desperately poor. The report, therefore, tells a bad story Kagame does not want to hear. LFS provides four sets of depressing statistics about Rwanda as follows:

  1. Median monthly earnings for Rwandan males is RWF30,000 which translates into US$1.47 a day.
  2. Median monthly earnings for Rwandan females is RWF18,200 which translates into US$0.88 a day.
  3. Labor force participation rate in Rwanda is 55.2%.
  4. Youth unemployment for all Rwandans is 18% but stands at 22% for females.

What a pleasant surprise that General Kagame did not suppress the August 2018 Labor Force Survey.