‘Rwanda not Singapore of Africa’

Editor,I wish to respond to an opinion piece by Jean de Dieu Gakuba (Rwanda not Singapore of Africa, The New Times).

Sunday, May 19, 2013
Kigaliu2019s Central Business District has had a major facelift in recent days. The New Times/File.

Editor,I wish to respond to an opinion piece by Jean de Dieu Gakuba (Rwanda not Singapore of Africa, The New Times).Rwanda has actually exposed those so-called Western "experts” on Africa, that they can’t stand the ground in the face of modern Rwanda.First, they predicted that Rwanda will become a failed state, basing their political procrastination on assumptions that revenge will prevail in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.They predicted that Rwanda will fall as soon as foreign aid stopped, thus encouraging FDLR terrorists to wait for that day. They predicted that Rwanda will need Western think-tanks to sort out its domestic problems! They predicted, and predicted, but here we are.Now some of those self-styled experts are claiming that Rwanda’s success is due to its small size. The more they talk, the obvious it gets that they were, and are still, fake.What Rwanda needs to do, is to continue doing what it does best: prove cynics wrong in every aspect. It’s very hard for a Caucasian person to admit a sterling performance that came from within Africa.AbdulRahman Ntaganda, Kigali*******************************This article truly explains the biggest challenge Rwanda is facing today. It does attempt to explain that Rwanda’s development model is Rwanda’s alone; that it’s unique and can’t be compared with others.It would be wise to learn from the very people who are living it, rather than drawing resemblance with the existing, unrelated theories.Big thanks to the author as he truly responds to many questions I have always been asked, some of which are sufficiently answered in the article.One cannot understand Rwanda’s model if they kept making their own unfounded conclusions.Richard Niwenshuti, Libreville, Gabon