EDITORIAL: Agaciro Fund needs new impetus

THE CEO of Agaciro Development Fund this week made a very interesting observation: if everyone of the more than 1.3 million Rwandans with regular income contributed Rwf3,000 per month, the fund could easily raise over Rwf47 billion, double what it has raised in the last two years. This is simple mathematics on how easy it is to grow the fund if the right approach is used to sensitise the population. Most of the fervor of 2012 has died down, people contributed , and even sacrificed, towards the fund because there was an urgency to fill financial gaps, but once the initial driver lost its appeal, the fund was left to its own devices. And as long as the fund’s administrators leave stacked in government bonds but do not actually show what it has achieved in terms of development, it might lose its appeal. Human beings are encouraged by results and a feeling of accomplishment; if they are part of a success story they tend to keep with the flow. Agaciro should be everyone’s baby to nurture, see it grow and be productive, only then will it be kept alive in people’s spirits. It is encouraging that state institutions such as the military and police are regular contributors, but why can’t the public sector that generates more revenue be reeled in to maintain the noble cause? One does not have to burn the midnight oil to come up with brilliant ideas on how to keep the contribution momentum.

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EDITORIAL: Agaciro Fund needs new impetus