US$488m for Rwanda’s MDGs

KIGALI - Under the ‘One UN” Programme’, UN agencies will make a contribution of $488million (Approx Frw257billion) to Rwanda for the next five years, Finance Minister James Musoni has said. The ‘One UN Programme’ is a combination of UN agencies operating under one roof in Rwanda to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Rwanda. In a press briefing at his office on Thursday, November 23, Musoni said that the one UN budgetary framework provides a complete picture of total support to Rwanda under the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). Musoni also said that the programme will focus on five key areas drawn from national priorities articulated in the Economic Development Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS).These include; Good governance, Education, Health and HIV, Social and Environment protection. He decried the wide income gaps between the rich and the poor, saying that the disparities are mostly in rural areas that are hit by high family sizes and lack of land possession. “Government has started up a work development authority to promote entrepreneurship skills among the people. We hope this and microfinance institutions will reduce on the gaps,” Musoni said. He said that immense domestic capacity is needed to respond to the increasing foreign direct investments (FDI). Upon request by the government, Rwanda was selected as one of the eight pilot countries for the ‘One UN programme– Delivering as One’ reform in January this year.Ends