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By JOINT REPORT The EastAfrican
Posted Saturday, August 4 2012 at 19:35
Rwanda may be forced to delay some projects that were to have been implemented this year following the recent decision by key donors to suspend aid to the country, as international pressure grows on the government to halt its alleged support for the ongoing rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On July 29, Britain - normally one of the strongest supporters of President Paul Kagame - announced it had suspended £16 million ($25 million) in budgetary support.
This came in the wake of a $200,000 cut in US military aid to Rwanda and a £4 million ($6.25 million) cut from the Netherlands, aimed at improving the country's judicial sector.
Scandinavian countries on the board of the African Development Bank are also reported to have forced the postponement of a decision on the disbursement of $38.9 million in budget aid to Rwanda from last week until September.
Rwanda's total budget grants for 2012/2013 are projected at 10.2 per cent of GDP.
Germany has also suspended $26 million in contributions to Rwanda's budget planning from this year through 2015.
The pressure came as a group of UN experts who made the allegations in a damning report were visiting Rwanda.
Their report, leaked in June, accused Rwanda of helping to create, arm and support the M23 rebel movement in eastern Congo in violation of UN sanctions. Rwanda last week officially submitted a rebuttal dismissing the allegations.
Development plans
"We have to see how to re-strategise our development plans; some programmes may be delayed," John Rwangombwa, Rwanda's Finance Minister, told The EastAfrican.
Mr Rwangombwa said the move by donors is against the principles of aid effectiveness and undermines the principles of mutual accountability, predictability and respect between partners.
"We are taking it as temporary, because the decision was taken based on wrong information. But at the end of the day, they are undermining our achievements in poverty reduction," he said.
For fiscal year 2012/2013 total grants of Rwf484 billion ($785.9 million) have been projected against Rwf463.5 billion ($752 million) in 2011/2012. This projection shows an increase of Rwf20.5 billion ($33.2 million).
In 2012/2013, external financing of the budget will account for 48 per cent of government expenditure. But it is Britain's budget aid suspension that will be most keenly felt in Kigali as the UK government has, until recently, been such a staunch supporter of President Kagame.
Britain is Rwanda's largest bilateral donor, with a £75 million ($117 million) aid programme this year. Unusually, Rwanda benefits from "general budgetary support," whereby British money goes directly into the country's coffers, without being allocated for specific sectors like health or education. This year, £37 million ($57 million) was set aside for this purpose.
The UK's Department for International Development (DfId) says Britain's aid recipients must adhere to five strict "partnership principles" - respecting human rights and other international obligations, good governance, transparency, fighting corruption and domestic accountability.
"The Rwanda general budget support payment has been delayed while we consider whether these expectations are still being met," a DfId source was quoted as saying in the UK press this week.
In the financial year 2012-2013, UK general budget support for Rwanda is £37 million ($57 million), DfId added. Total budget support to Rwanda is £50.5 million (78.9 million), while total UK aid to the country is £75 million ($117 million).
"Donor governments are spending their taxpayers' aid money, and need to show that they are spending it wisely and in ways that promote development and are respectful of human rights. This accountability is crucial if public support for aid is to be maintained in donor countries, particularly in times of economic crisis," said Robin Ogilvy, a policy analyst at the Paris-based directorate of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in an e-mail to The EastAfrican.
However, Andrew Mitchell, the UK's International Development Secretary, announced a "delay" in sending a payment of £16 million ($25 million).
He stopped short of endorsing the UN's finding that President Kagame is fuelling Congo's rebellion, nor did he suspend British aid altogether.
Instead, Mr Mitchell urged Rwanda to "be clear publicly that Bosco Ntaganda, a key M23 figure, is an indicted war criminal who should not be allowed to remain at large as part of any solution to the current conflict."
Rwanda, he added, should help the rival parties in Congo to "resolve their differences" peacefully.
Human-rights groups had called on Britain to act against President Kagame.
"Pressure has been mounting for a while, and I think the UK, as the largest bilateral donor to Rwanda, was going to look odd if it continued to do nothing," Carina Tertsakian, from the Africa division at Human Rights Watch told The Telegraph newspaper.
"Even just on a symbolic level, it's a very significant decision because the UK - and Andrew Mitchell in particular - have been very reluctant to speak out on human rights in Rwanda. DfID have really resisted taking any public stance."
Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo responded by expressing regret at "hasty decisions based on flimsy evidence" by the donors.
Rwanda has denied the charges of involvement in the DRC despite evidence from surrendered rebels who told UN officials that they were Rwandans who had been recruited and trained in Rwanda.
The UN report also said some Rwandan soldiers were fighting alongside the rebels against Congo's army.
By Berna Namata and Paul Redfern
Posted Saturday, August 4 2012 at 19:35
Rwanda may be forced to delay some projects that were to have been implemented this year following the recent decision by key donors to suspend aid to the country, as international pressure grows on the government to halt its alleged support for the ongoing rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On July 29, Britain - normally one of the strongest supporters of President Paul Kagame - announced it had suspended £16 million ($25 million) in budgetary support.
This came in the wake of a $200,000 cut in US military aid to Rwanda and a £4 million ($6.25 million) cut from the Netherlands, aimed at improving the country's judicial sector.
Scandinavian countries on the board of the African Development Bank are also reported to have forced the postponement of a decision on the disbursement of $38.9 million in budget aid to Rwanda from last week until September.
Rwanda's total budget grants for 2012/2013 are projected at 10.2 per cent of GDP.
Germany has also suspended $26 million in contributions to Rwanda's budget planning from this year through 2015.
The pressure came as a group of UN experts who made the allegations in a damning report were visiting Rwanda.
Their report, leaked in June, accused Rwanda of helping to create, arm and support the M23 rebel movement in eastern Congo in violation of UN sanctions. Rwanda last week officially submitted a rebuttal dismissing the allegations.
Development plans
"We have to see how to re-strategise our development plans; some programmes may be delayed," John Rwangombwa, Rwanda's Finance Minister, told The EastAfrican.
Mr Rwangombwa said the move by donors is against the principles of aid effectiveness and undermines the principles of mutual accountability, predictability and respect between partners.
"We are taking it as temporary, because the decision was taken based on wrong information. But at the end of the day, they are undermining our achievements in poverty reduction," he said.
For fiscal year 2012/2013 total grants of Rwf484 billion ($785.9 million) have been projected against Rwf463.5 billion ($752 million) in 2011/2012. This projection shows an increase of Rwf20.5 billion ($33.2 million).
In 2012/2013, external financing of the budget will account for 48 per cent of government expenditure. But it is Britain's budget aid suspension that will be most keenly felt in Kigali as the UK government has, until recently, been such a staunch supporter of President Kagame.
Britain is Rwanda's largest bilateral donor, with a £75 million ($117 million) aid programme this year. Unusually, Rwanda benefits from "general budgetary support," whereby British money goes directly into the country's coffers, without being allocated for specific sectors like health or education. This year, £37 million ($57 million) was set aside for this purpose.
The UK's Department for International Development (DfId) says Britain's aid recipients must adhere to five strict "partnership principles" - respecting human rights and other international obligations, good governance, transparency, fighting corruption and domestic accountability.
"The Rwanda general budget support payment has been delayed while we consider whether these expectations are still being met," a DfId source was quoted as saying in the UK press this week.
In the financial year 2012-2013, UK general budget support for Rwanda is £37 million ($57 million), DfId added. Total budget support to Rwanda is £50.5 million (78.9 million), while total UK aid to the country is £75 million ($117 million).
"Donor governments are spending their taxpayers' aid money, and need to show that they are spending it wisely and in ways that promote development and are respectful of human rights. This accountability is crucial if public support for aid is to be maintained in donor countries, particularly in times of economic crisis," said Robin Ogilvy, a policy analyst at the Paris-based directorate of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in an e-mail to The EastAfrican.
However, Andrew Mitchell, the UK's International Development Secretary, announced a "delay" in sending a payment of £16 million ($25 million).
He stopped short of endorsing the UN's finding that President Kagame is fuelling Congo's rebellion, nor did he suspend British aid altogether.
Instead, Mr Mitchell urged Rwanda to "be clear publicly that Bosco Ntaganda, a key M23 figure, is an indicted war criminal who should not be allowed to remain at large as part of any solution to the current conflict."
Rwanda, he added, should help the rival parties in Congo to "resolve their differences" peacefully.
Human-rights groups had called on Britain to act against President Kagame.
"Pressure has been mounting for a while, and I think the UK, as the largest bilateral donor to Rwanda, was going to look odd if it continued to do nothing," Carina Tertsakian, from the Africa division at Human Rights Watch told The Telegraph newspaper.
"Even just on a symbolic level, it's a very significant decision because the UK - and Andrew Mitchell in particular - have been very reluctant to speak out on human rights in Rwanda. DfID have really resisted taking any public stance."
Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo responded by expressing regret at "hasty decisions based on flimsy evidence" by the donors.
Rwanda has denied the charges of involvement in the DRC despite evidence from surrendered rebels who told UN officials that they were Rwandans who had been recruited and trained in Rwanda.
The UN report also said some Rwandan soldiers were fighting alongside the rebels against Congo's army.
By Berna Namata and Paul Redfern
