The new World Bank Country Director for Rwanda Johannes Zutt has commended the Bugesera rice intensification project saying it has tremendously improved the lives of citizens in the district.

Zutt who is also Country Director for Kenya, Comoros, Eritrea, Seychelles and Somalia was told that the project which is one of the projects the World Bank funds under the Rural Sector Support Project (RSSP) project, has facilitated all members of the cooperatives to join the community health insurance commonly known by its French name as ‘mittuelle de sante.’

Zutt arrived in the country on Thursday for his very first visit and also met with President Paul Kagame and different government officials.

Addressing a press conference at the World Bank country offices, on Friday evening Zutt said, that, "It’s a World Bank’s success story where production has almost tripled from 3 tonnes to 8 tonnes,” Zutt said.

"I was told that production improved both in quantity and quality where members benefit from selling the surplus,” he added.

 The cooperative employs about 1,500 members who are now leaving a decent life with decent houses and can afford basic needs and able to buy scholastic materials for their children. 

Among others Zutt also said that Rwanda is yet to be directly affected by the prevailing global financial crisis.

He hailed government’s move to attract domestic financing as the crisis affected most developing countries in the areas of trade, tourism and investments.

"Rwanda has a leadership which is yearning for more. It has a leadership which wants to learn which want to innovate.

The leadership in Rwanda says Rwandans can do better and this is something you wont just find in any other African government,” he said.

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