Various interventions are currently ongoing to help improve the country’s export volumes and value, including putting in place infrastructure and facilities required by export-oriented firms, among other incentives.

The government and the private sector are also encouraging Rwandans to consume locally-made products with the view to help reduce the import bill of non-essential goods. These and other interventions are geared at building the country’s forex reserves, among others. However, it has been reported that Rwanda’s sole cement maker, Cimerwa, is confronted with the challenge of unscrupulous dealers that sell its cement to DR Congo and Burundi markets at a much reduced price. The firm claims that some dealers buy cement destined for the local market at subsidized rates only to sneak it out of the country, to mainly the DR Congo.

Certainly, Cimerwa, which now has the capacity to produce about 600,000 tonnes of cement a year, cannot stop selling to local dealers. And they are not the only ones facing this challenge. Other export-oriented manufacturers are said to be going through a similar situation. This calls for urgent intervention by all concerned agencies to avoid the negative impact that may result into.

There is also need for vigilance on the part of border post customs officers, as well as traders because they are also subjected to unfair competition. The reasoning here is that we should not encourage local firms to target the export market, but leave them exposed to people that use underhand methods to make quick profits. Cimerwa and other firms must also put in place mechanisms to help detect such dealers and blacklist them. Otherwise, such practices are detriment to the Made-in-Rwanda initiative and interventions aimed at encouraging firms to target the export market.