The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Claver Gatete, was on Saturday evening named the Finance Minister of the Year, Sub-Saharan Africa, 2016, by Global Capital, a financial news, opinion and data service provider.

The event took place on the sidelines of the just-concluded World Bank annual meetings in Washington D.C in the United States.

Global Capital recognised Minister Gatete as a key player in steadying Rwanda’s economy amidst strong headwinds, especially in the mining sector, which suffered twin shocks last year in the form of falling commodity prices and declining production.

This, Global Capital said, sparked a slump in foreign exchange reserves as well as a spike in the current account deficit.

"For a small country with limited export opportunities this could have proved a severe setback. The impact on the wider economy, however, has been largely mitigated by prompt action by policymakers,” Global Capital said.

Accepting the award, Minister Gatete said: "I am humbled and honoured to accept this award on behalf of my country Rwanda. The resilience of our economy, despite the global economic shocks that affected our commodities, was mainly due to good leadership and strategic guidance of our President and the hard work of our economic team at the Ministry of Finance and central bank”.  

"Also, I thank our Government and Rwandans whose hard work has paid off with this global recognition.”

Global Capital said that Gatete had demonstrated an "impressive commitment to prudent and proactive fiscal management as well as a talent for crafting agreements with international institutions”. 

It also said that confidence in his ability to deliver on these commitments is reflected in buoyant growth forecasts for Rwanda.

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