Cabinet contributes to sovereign fund

President Paul Kagame and members of the Cabinet yesterday raised Rwf33.5 million in individual contributions for the Agaciro Development Fund (AgDF), a newly created sovereign fund, according to a statement released after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.The fund, a result of a proposal from last year’s National Dialogue (Umushyikirano) seeks to mobilise voluntary resources with a view to eventually help wean the country off foreign aid.The Cabinet tasked the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, John Rwangombwa, to ensure formulation of appropriate guidelines for proper management of the fund. Agaciro is a Kinyarwanda word loosely translated to mean dignity or self-worth.Three accounts have been opened in Bank of Kigali, Bank Populaire and the National Bank of Rwanda for everyone willing to contribute to do so. They are; National Bank of Rwanda Account Number: 120.50.72. Swift code BNRWRW Branch: Headquarter; Bank of Kigali Account Number: 040-0424687-43 Swift code: BKIGRWRW Branch: Headquarter; and Banque Populaire Account Number: 408-369-34 98-11 Swift code: bprwrwrw Branch: Headquarter.“The idea is to mobilise voluntary resources from Rwandans and well-wishers that would compliment government resources and expediteour development programmes towards achieving the Vision 2020,” Rwangombwa told The New Times recently. Donors fund nearly half the country’s budget.The Finance ministry, the principal custodian of AgDF, is collaborating with various institutions to officially launch the Fund in the near future.Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved various ambassador designates to Rwanda, including Sheikh Mohamed Idriss Farah of Djibouti, Dan E. Frederiksen of Denmark, Lulia Pataki of Romania, Cabdullahi Sheikh Maxamed of Somalia, Charles T. Mogotsi of Botswana, and Christophe Ella Ekogha of Gabon.Others include Michal Mlynar (Slovakia), Belaynesh Zevadia (Israel), Ismail Salam (Malaysia), Peter Fahrenholtz (Germany), El hancen Ould Mohamed Awan (Mauritania), and Hwang soon-Taik of South Korea. Also approved are ambassador-designates Marcela Maria of Brazil, David Angell of Canada, Marek Ziolkowski of Poland, and Ittiporn Boonpracong of Thailand.Mitra Farahbaksh was approved to represent the International Monetary Fund in Rwanda, while Carolyn Carrie Turk and Catherine Northing were endorsed as representatives of the World Bank and International Migration Organisation, respectively.