President Paul Kagame today launched the fourth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV4), which indicates that the country’s GDP has over the past two decades more than quadrupled. Addressing officials present at the launch, President Kagame said that the findings, which were compiled by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, confirm the stories that are heard from Rwandans from different corners of the country. “(From the stories) you hear message of hope, not desperation. There are many problems to deal with but there is an opening into the future,” said the Head of State, saying that the good result as established in the report, should stimulate determination to achieve more, rather than satisfaction. He also took note of the significant growth of the spirit of entrepreneurship in the countryside, saying that this is an indication that Rwandans can forge a bright future for themselves and their families without necessarily having to come to cities. “Ten years ago, almost none of the poorest 20 per cent of Rwandans owned a mobile phone. Today one-third of them do,” he said. The report, which indicates that poverty reduced to 39 per cent down from 44 per cent during the previous survey, shows Kicukiro District with the lowest levels of poverty while Nyamasheke has the highest. The good progress registered by the country, according to President Kagame, is informed by policy-making that is based on evidence, calling upon Rwandans to sustain the journey of transformation. The survey, which was conducted between 2013/14, largely provides an account of estimates of the level and pattern of poverty and living conditions in the country during the reporting period.
