Kagame and Rwanda Development Board Must Stop Lying that Rwanda is Ranked 2nd in Africa in Ease of Doing Business and Global Competitiveness

By David Himbara

General Paul Kagame and his Rwanda Development Board (RDB) keep lying that Rwanda is ranked 2nd in Africa in the Ease of Doing Business and Global Competitiveness. Doing Business Report is dead. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report downgraded Rwanda from the 58th global ranking in 2017 to the 108th position in 2018. In the African context, Rwanda was dropped from the 2nd to the 10th position. Mauritius, South Africa, Seychelles, Tunisia, Botswana, Kenya, Egypt, Namibia, and Ghana were ranked ahead of Rwanda in the 2018 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report.

General Paul Kagame ceaselessly boasts about Rwanda’s economic performance, often claiming that Rwanda is one of Africa’s “economic lions.” He does not hesitate to brag that Rwanda has one of the world’s best business environments in the World Bank’s Doing Business Reports. Here is an example:

“We have decentralized the state, reformed our business sector and strengthened our institutions. But we have also invested in health care, agriculture and education. As a result, the World Bank this year ranked Rwanda as the eighth easiest place in the world to start a business. A recent index in Foreign Policy magazine named the country the fifth best investment destination worldwide.”

The World Bank has scrapped the Doing Business Reports as of September 16, 2021. The global lender stated that “after reviewing all the information available to date on Doing Business, including the findings of past reviews, audits, and the report the Bank released today on behalf of the Board of Executive Directors, World Bank Group management has taken the decision to discontinue the Doing Business report.” Kagame must find another slogan.

Meanwhile, Rwanda Development Board keeps boasting that Rwanda is ranked “2 in Africa for Ease of Doing Business and Global Competitiveness.” As noted above, Global Competitiveness Report downgraded Rwanda from the 58th global ranking in 2017 to the 108th position in 2018. In the African context, Rwanda dropped from the 2nd to the 10th position. Mauritius, South Africa, Seychelles, Tunisia, Botswana, Kenya, Egypt, Namibia, and Ghana were ranked ahead of Rwanda in the 2018 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report. We wait to see if Kagame and Rwanda Development Board will stop lying. Stay tuned.