Aid free Rwanda is possible

Editor, I read with keen interest two articles in yesterday’s edition of The New Times titled “Armed Forces make record contribution to Agaciro” and “Donors were too quick to suspend aid – expert.”These two stories send out a clear message that an aid-free Rwanda is not the Impossible Dream.On the one hand, we have donor countries suspending aid to this nation; while on the other, we have the Armed Forces making a record contribution of Rwf1.6 billion to the Agaciro Fund! With this, the Agaciro Development Fund, a solidarity fund launched only five weeks ago, stands at a very impressive and a record amount of Rwf20.6 billion.As Professor James Putzel, co-author of a new report from the London School of Economics, titled “Meeting the Challenges of Crisis States” has very rightly stated, donors acted hastily in suspending aid to Rwanda, having based their decision on inaccurate and fabricated reports against the Government of Rwanda.But will this great nation just sit back and stay complacent? Certainly not! While the Government vociferously refuted, with documentary proof, all the false allegations made to malign the good image of the country, the people of Rwanda both in the country and in the Diaspora spread all over the world , along with friends and well-wishers, rallied together to contribute to this great initiative.With the unprecedented growth and development taking place in the country, it will not be long before that all debt gradually gets converted into equity and the so called “donors “ will become “partners in progress” here, in this beautiful land of a thousand hills and a million smiles!Clarence Fernandesclavinmarketing@gmail.com

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Aid free Rwanda is possible