By David Himbara
The Kagame regime announced last year two major projects that would transform Rwanda forever. The first one is the manufacturing of Volkswagen cars in Rwanda. The second major project was announced on September 11, 2017. The regime said that it had already availed land at the Kigali Special Economic Zone for the $1 billion and 20,000 jobs project spread over ten years. The project would contribute to export diversification in line with Rwanda’s vision. The investor is the Huajian Group owned by Zhang Huarong, a Chinese investor.
Claire Akamanzi, the CEO of Rwanda Development Board stated that the Chinese investor,
”has done his homework and has seen that Rwanda is one of the most attractive places to do business, and he wants his next factory to be in Rwanda serving as a center for East Africa.”
To the Chinese investor, Rwanda is like ”any other European country.” In his own words, the investor stated:
”For the past three days, I have developed a feeling that Rwanda is much like any European country because there’s high efficient government with proper management.
Rwanda’s development strategy is similar to China’s strategy in producing high end products and increasing exports. Politics is steady, the leadership of this Government is efficient.”
The launch of the electronics factory was set for April 2018. The launch of the made-in-Rwanda VW cars was set for May 2018. Let us hope that the two projects are moving forward nicely. We should all be getting ready to celebrate the two remarkable projects that will change Rwanda forever. Right?
