By David Himbara
General Paul Kagame keeps making noise about making Rwanda a supplier of Covid19 vaccines. Yet, he is among the worst performers in Sub-Saharan Africa in vaccination rates. Botswana leads at 8 percent. In Kagame’s Rwanda, only 2.5 percent have been vaccinated.
Rwanda’s head of state, General Paul Kagame loves to engage in fantasies about turning Rwanda into a supplying hub of Covid19 vaccines. On one occasion, Kagame claimed that he would raise capital via Eurobond debt to build a vaccine plant. As he put it, “Rwanda has been having a very good B+ credit rating. The Eurobond is one good option that will provide us with the resources we are looking for.” But while Kagame talks about grand schemes, he is among the worst Sub-Saharan Africa performers in terms of vaccination rates. The Southern Africa subregion leads the way, with Botswana at the top – 8 percent of its population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia follow. In the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, the vaccinated population in each country is less than 4 percent. In Rwanda’s case, only 2.5 percent of the population have been vaccinated despite Kagame’s noise on his so-called agenda for turning Rwanda into an African supply centre of vaccines. Sad.
