It is four years since the NEPAD Rwanda office was established. Executive Director Charles Gasana discusses Rwanda’s involvement in NEPAD and progress in implementing NEPAD programmes in this interview with Phillip Karenzi of the Rwanda NEPAD Secretariat.
How would you describe Rwanda’s participation in NEPAD?
Rwanda has been at the centre of NEPAD issues right from its inception. As soon as the initiative was endorsed at the AU Heads of State and Government Summit as an economic programme for the AU in 2003, Rwanda was one of the countries selected for the Implementation Committee and the NEPAD Steering Committee. This and other involvement has helped Rwanda to remain on top of the implementation process of NEPAD programmes.
Rwanda has a NEPAD Secretariat, how has it delivered on its objectives?
Establishing the Secretariat came from the commitment of President Paul Kagame to see NEPAD develop in Rwanda and to strengthen its ownership at country level. That’s how we ended up with the Secretariat in the Office of the President. Whatever is agreed and endorsed at the continental or regional level, we make sure that it is translated into our national programme.
The NEPAD programmes are geared toward addressing governance issues, fighting poverty, achieving the Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs) and fostering regional integration. Rwanda has indeed been a pacemaker in implementation of these priorities. The e-Schools demonstration project was launched in 2006 and we were the first with six e-Schools. We have also coordinated the NEPAD broadband infrustructure project leading to the endorsement of the Kigali Protocol by ICT Ministers for Eastern and Southern Africa. There are many others, like the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme. Visit our website at www.nepad.gov.rw. This will give you an insight on how NEPAD has delivered on its main objectives.
How has NEPAD helped Rwanda towards achieving MDGs?
To Rwanda revamping the agriculture sector is the key to achieving not only the MDGs but also the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) and Vision 2020 targets. So NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme was very instrumental and timely for Rwanda. By the way Rwanda is so far the only country that has carried out the CAADP process by holding a CAADP Round Table and therefore has the CAADP Compact in place. The very valuable addition of CAADP to the agricultural development agenda in Rwanda meant that agricultural strategies, policies, programmes and priorities were reviewed so that they can meet poverty targets, the Vision 2020 targets as well as the MDGs. This process was rigorous and involved high level technical experts including the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) of the World Bank.
Building a strong ICT infrastructure is one of NEPAD’S priorities. How have you delivered?
There are good programmes in ICT. We have the six NEPAD demo e-Schools already in place in Rwanda and more importantly, Rwanda has been active in teaming up with other countries and the private sector to implement the NEPAD EASSy submarine cable project. EASSy hasn’t really been easy but indications now are that we shall soon have the cable running by 2010.
What has been NEPAD’s role in accelerating intra-African trade and also in accessing markets of developed nations?
First of all, for trade we need to address the infrastructure issues, governance, peace and security on the continent. So through the implementation of the regional cross-border infrastructure plan and other programmes, NEPAD is systematically addressing these issues that would allow African countries to deliver on the key initial enabling factors.
Through mechanisms such as the NEPAD African Partnership Forum (APF) in which African countries engage the G8 in making mutual commitment, we now see new facilities cropping up to facilitate the implementation of the regional cross-border infrastructure and other programmes.
At the African Development Bank (AfDB) we now have a full-time secretariat for the Investment Consortium for Africa. This secretariat coordinates facilities such as the NEPAD-IPPF (the Investment Project Preparation Facility) and the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) that handle downstream infrastructure issues. With this in place we can now talk about meaningful regional integration and investing together or doing business as one.
NEPAD is also nurturing what is called Spatial Development Initiative Programmes (SDP) methodology for development corridors and the aim is to identify a major economic investment project or projects that will justify the development of infrastructure. These are extremely exciting initiatives modeled on success stories such as the Maputo Corridor.
You have talked about NEPAD’s Spatial Development Initiative methodology. How will this help unlock investment potential within the central corridor?
The Spatial Development Initiative methodology is emerging as one of those key strategic approaches to address the cross-border infrastructure investment that we need to link up markets and countries in Africa and then promote regional integration. I am happy again to say that Rwanda and Tanzania are championing an SDI programme in Eastern Africa.
There are other development corridors in other regions of Africa but let me elaborate on our central corridor in which the nickel minerals projects have emerged as the key anchor. What I may call the nickel belt ranges from the Kabanga area in Tanzania to Muremera, Musongati, Nyabikere and Waga in Burundi, with varieties of sulphide and laterite all with over 180 million tonnes of deposit.
Now, mines require adequate and efficient infrastructure, mainly transport and power, to facilitate production and move their traffic, both inputs/supplies to the mines and outputs of bulky concentrates. So planned infrastructure is a critical element for the envisaged large investment and establishment of the mines. The infrastructure includes principally the Isaka–Kigali railway and Musongati- Burundi railway, power generation and transmission projects, including Rusumo Falls and Lake Kivu methane gas projects. An estimate of a minimum of more than one and half million tonnes per year and much needed power of 80–140 MW is envisaged. The possibility of a smelter and/or production of stainless steel in the region provides an important economic growth opportunity for the countries.
Can you describe one project through which Rwanda will benefit?
Starting with the development of the railway network to link Isaka to Kigali, Rwanda has been losing $116 million per year on the inefficient road transport system. With the railway, the economy will gain at least $116 million a year and this alone makes it a commercially viable project for Rwanda.
Talking of the nickel minerals anchor that will require over 140 MW of power from Rusomo and other hydro-power facilities and Lake Kivu methane gas. We need to strategically invest in the energy sector because there is a ready market for power. We are still packaging the business case for the corridor to include agriculture, mining and tourism.
How has NEPAD led to increased levels of domestic savings as well as foreign direct investments (FDI) in Rwanda and in Africa in general?
The issue of domestic savings has certainly to do with people accumulating wealth. What is important is creating jobs and therefore income before we can talk about savings out of that income. Income comes from employment creation, and employment comes from investments. So the facilities, including the SDI methodology I just mentioned, being put in place are meant to unlock the economic potential and make Africa a better destination for investors.
Attaining peace and security on the continent is one of NEPAD’s priorities.
How is NEPAD helping reduce conflicts and wars as well as reducing the problem of statelessness, refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa?
NEPAD is a development programme of the AU and has caused a revolution in the AU for effectiveness. The AU’s approach to addressing the issues of conflicts and democracy on the continent has changed completely. Rwanda in its own capacity has effectively participated in the peace-keeping missions. You can also attribute to NEPAD the pace at which African countries are strengthening their governance issues, including elections in DRC and Togo. You can also see the kind of interventions made in Ivory Coast led by President Thabo Mbeki. By and large there is a sense of democracy that is coming up, basically attributed to NEPAD as a programme.
Are you satisfied with the way other African countries are participating in NEPAD initiatives?
Yes surely but there is a lot to be done. Five years down the road we need to do more than what we have achieved so far. By and large I would say countries are coming on board but we need to do more.
Some people are less hopeful of NEPAD’s success. What is your take on this?
At the very beginning people were pessimistic, rushing to say that nothing is being done, but as far as I am concerned NEPAD is now promising. Many facilities have been put in place to make NEPAD a reality; the African Partnership Forum and the G8 participating in NEPAD issues resulted in the Investment Consortium for Africa at the AfDB and the African Catalytic Growth Fund. and the Investment Climate Facility for Africa led by the former President Mkapa of Tanzania. The SDIs development corridors and their respective economic anchors spreading all over the regions are the ignition for growth of infrastructure development. It takes time to resolve cross-border issues and investments but I think we are on the right track and have all the reasons to be optimistic about NEPAD.
Are you satisfied with the support NEPAD is getting from African governments and development partners?
Oh yes. I am giving you the kind of engagement and commitment we make with the G8 frontline under the APF. The kind of commitments and facilities being put in place by the World Bank, by African institutions such the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and African research institutions. We now see the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank coming in very strongly in making serious commitments on the continent through support to the private sector in Africa.
How involved is the private sector in the implementation of NEPAD programmes?
The private sector is very much on board. For example the NEPAD e-Schools Demo was basically executed by the private sector. The NEPAD Business Round Table is an engagement purely by the private sector. In all the NEPAD forums not only do we see participation of the private sector but we also see the civil society and NGOs.
by Pan African Visions
