Rwanda affairs 1

Rwanda finally joins the exclusive club of capacity building donors as France's arrogance continues
BY GEORGE KAGAME

Capacity building is such a big word in Africa, that it is possible-even if there's no scientific evidence to back it that more millions of donor funds are spent on building human resources on the continent.

Rwanda has also finally joined Africa's capacity building band wagon donating 300,000 USD to to the latest organization charged with capacity building in Africa which is predictably, is a partnership between African governments and the international donor community to build sustainable human and institutional capacity for sustainable growth, poverty reduction and good governance in Africa. What else is new?

Meanwhile France continued her vehement denial of their involvement in the Rwandan genocide. Rwanda has insisted and reports were rife during the week that Rwanda was in the process of formally charging one senior French official or his role in the genocide. The United Peace Keeping force in Eastern Congo have done wonderful job in helping destroy they are charged with keeping, as if reports of Pakistan troops selling weapons in exchange for gold from rebel bandits holed up in the jungles of that vast country was not enough, Indian troops comprising the UN force in Eastern DR Congo are reported by UN officials to have abused 10 year old girls sexually. Now rebel groups have partners in crime with the bandits instead of peacekeepers, after the Pakistan sold their weapons for gold, the Indians have chosen pre teenage girls as sex slaves, it remains to be seen what another contingent of the MONUC will do in the continuing misery of Eastern DR Congo. Political talk of packaging the East African Community as a single destination is not dumbfounded after all. Last week it was revealed that the sector is so far the leading forex earner for many members of the community. Tourism is the leading sector in Kenya, Tanzania and is making important steps to become number one in Rwanda and Uganda. The East African Community Legislative Assembly in its 2008 budget set out a goal to market the region such that visitors can pay for one single visa and be able to tour all the five member states of the EAC. Tourists have in the past expressed their anger at having to pay visa fees separately for all five member countries of the EAC yet the community claims to be an economical block.
Experts note that with a strong East African Community (EAC) and her diverse features, a combined promotional initiative and information sharing, this should see the region become the travel destination of the world. If EAC accepts that status, the biggest beneficiary of the decision will be Burundi which has so remained behind in all integration talk.
Still in the EAC, the secretariat revealed in the week that it is negotiating to re-establish the East African marine and fisheries organization revealed Juma Mwapachu the EAC Secretary General earlier in the week. Mwapachu was speaking in Kenya after a week long familiarization tour of defence institutions and establishments in Kenya that are involved in the EAC co-operation agreement on defence matters. The joint EAC fisheries and marine organization existed under the former EAC (1967-1977), Mwapachu said the new version would involve research and development to tap the maritime and fisheries resources of the East African water bodies - both offshore and inland - for the benefit of the East African people.
In the new plan, Lake Victoria conservation efforts are also set to be boosted by the launch of the Basin Development master plan due soon by the East African Community, Juma Mwapachu the EAC Secretary General revealed this week while touring several Kenyan organizations and institutions connected to the integration process of the community. Rwanda Speaking from Nairobi Mwapachu said a study on the proposed EAC-Lake Victoria basin development master plan would greatly solve infrastructural connections in East Africa. He said the plan was targeting a regional framework on road networks throughout the EAC, water transport, tourism and agricultural sectors. He added that the infrastructural projects were also contained in the Lake Victoria Basin Commission.