This country and its leadership continue to constantly shock me. Mind you, I’ve lived here since December 1994 and I have had the opportunity to watch it turn itself around. But the news that Rwanda is planning to enter the nuclear age is something that I could never have foreseen. Unless you live under a rock, you are aware that the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board (RAEB) yesterday signed a partnership agreement with German-Canadian nuclear power company, Dual Fluid Energy Inc. to run an experimental ‘Dual Fluid’ nuclear reactor, the very first of its kind in the world. Just a decade and a half ago I would prepare for exams at university by candlelight because of load shedding. At the time, due to our lack of power generation capability, people in Huye would have to do without electricity so that those in, say, Nyagatare, could watch their tv sets. I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Fidele Ndahayo, the CEO of the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board, on my weekly podcast, ‘The Long Form’. And not only did I learn about the partnership itself, I also got a better understanding of Rwanda’s nuclear ambition. I learnt, for example, that Rwanda’s total domestic power generation capacity was not more than 900 megawatts. In other words, if Rwanda was to fully utilize every single potential energy source in the country i.e., methane, natural gas, solar, hydropower, wind and peat and geothermal, we would not be able to go over 900 megawatts. And though that amount seems quite a lot, especially when compared to the 300 megawatts that we currently produce, if for example, we meet the 2035 GDP per capita targets that we have set for ourselves (yearly average incomes above $4,036) we will be in a lot of trouble. Due to our lack of capacity. The risk is we might end up like South Africa, suffering through regular, rolling blackouts. According to RAEB CEO, we need to be able to generate not less than 1,500 megawatts of power to provide sufficient electricity for the Rwanda of the future and, if he is to be believed (and I have no reason to think he is lying), nuclear isn’t merely choice but rather an essential national priority. Listening to him speak, I simply couldn’t get two infamous places out of my mind, ‘Fukushima’ and ‘Chernobyl’. When I brought those two nuclear disasters up, in relation to the experiments that would be taking place in the country soon, and my fears, he first of all assured me of the security and safety protocols that would be put in place. He then urged me to examine my own thought process vis-à-vis nuclear power and Africa’s ability to harness it. Once I did so, I came to the realization that I, too, had fallen into the trap of low expectations where Africa and Africans were concerned. I didn’t fear nuclear power generation per se, I just, unfortunately, feared it in African hands. My lack of confidence in our African scientific competence and political governance systems to harness this powerful, and potentially life ending, energy source manifested in a blanket fear of nuclear power. How do I know that I didn’t have a fear of nuclear energy per se, but rather nuclear in our hands? Because I had no issues travelling to Europe, a continent where nuclear energy plants are plentiful. Thankfully, unlike myself, the scientists at RAEB (and our political leaders) had no such inferiority complex. They examined the problem (our lack of sufficient, cheap electricity that isn’t liable to be negatively affected by climate change), looked at our resources (in terms of manpower and finances) and came up with an elegant solution (a partnership that will train our scientists, put Rwanda on the forefront of nuclear development and ensure that Rwanda’s energy needs were met for decades to come). Like I said, earlier, Rwanda’s leadership continuously shocks me, in a good way, with its ambition, clear mindedness, focus and renowned ability to find global partnerships. This even after 29 years. And all I can say is, may that long continue. The writer is a socio-political commentator
