Editorial: Burera garment factory dispute needs speedy resolving

Hopes had begun running high in Burera District when a Japanese investor, Noguchi Holdings, inked a joint partnership deal with the district to set up a lucrative garment factory that would not only employ over 1000 people, but also help promote the Made-in-Rwanda brand. The Private Public Partnership would have joined a second garment factory already in operation churning out clothes for export. The factory was set up, equipment bought, installed and staff trained. Then everything came to a falt. Each side accuses the other of a myriad of wrongs that should have been foreseen before the deal was signed. It is highly unlikely the factory would have been set up without crossing all the “T”s under the watchful eye of Rwanda Development Board. The body has been at the forefront of attracting investors and putting in place conducive conditions and building trust. So what went wrong? Whatever the case, the stalemate is a very costly venture as the machines are silent, money is being lost and potential employees are left in doldrums. But whatever the case, it is in everybody’s interest to iron out the differences instead of digging in and shifting blame. The factory had already secured a market to export 200,000 garments a year to a foreign firm; and that was just the beginning. Wherever the blame lies, this should serve as a good lesson in proper planning, plumbing loopholes and anticipating any future conflicts in joint ventures. Otherwise the dispute is not adding any value but is instead throwing the spanner in the works in all the efforts the government has put in attracting investors and improving the livelihood of its people.

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Editorial: Burera garment factory dispute needs speedy resolving