Kagame’s Latest Projects Sound Insane

By David Himbara

President Paul Kagame’s phantom projects are no longer funny — they are outright insane. While Kagame used to be preoccupied with taking the internet to every village, he is now talking crazier stuff. He is dreaming about air defense systems — laughably, he does not have an airforce. Kagame is talking about nuclear energy — he has not tapped the enormous renewable energy potential in Rwanda. Here are Kagame’s top five dream projects:

1. Air defense systems

 

2. Nuclear power plant

 

3. Railway to the seaport of Mombasa, Kenya

4. Railway to the seaport of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

 

5. International airport at Bugesera

 

Kagame who rules with an iron fist, is increasingly announcing a series of bizarre projects that alarm even his friends. The cheapest of Kagame’s projects is the international airport which is nearly US$1 Billion. The rest runs into billions of dollars. An air defense system runs into US$12 billion, as would a nuclear power plant. The cost of a nuclear power plant is more than Rwanda’s gross domestic product of US$8 Billion. Each railroad would cost at least US$2 Billion. Is this gentleman OK or unhinged?