By David Himbara
General Paul Kagame’s government is losing its effectiveness in manipulating statistics. This is shown by Rwanda’s 2019/2020 mining sector data. According to Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), revenue collection from mining royalties was a mere US$2.8 million. This was a decrease of 40 percent compared to the 2018/19 fiscal year. But here a surprise – according to the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), Rwanda’s export earnings rose by 15.1 percent to US1.2 billion due to the massive 754.6 percent increase in the value of gold exports. So, where did gold come from?
Geoffrey York from Toronto’s Globe and Mail addressed this question. As he put it, “Rwanda’s mining statistics are strange – another hint of smuggling from DRC. Rwanda Revenue Authority says mining royalties in 2019–20 were just $2.8m, down 40%. Yet the Rwanda National Bank says export receipts were up 15% in the same year, led by a 754% surge in gold exports.” Kagame’s regime is not coordinating its statistical manipulation – somebody is sleeping on the job. Stay tuned.
