Rwanda

1.0         Introduction

Rwanda became independent from Belgium in 1962. Following a period of political instability and the 1994 genocide, the country has remained largely stable with very good economic performance.

Economic growth has averaged about 8% with the government aiming to accelerate shared growth and inclusive development especially after the civil war.

Poverty levels remain high with a number of the poor remaining food insecure. The country is also dependent on foreign aid.

2.0         Country Snapshot

3.0 Transport and Development in Context

Rwanda has achieved impressive growth rates over the last six years with most of this coming from the agricultural sector. Growth rates have averaged 8.3% over the last decade with a record high of 11.2% in 2008 fiscal year. This impressive growth rates plummeted in 2009 as a result of the financial crises and its consequence on global commodity prices. Growth rates are however expected to increase in the subsequent years due to government reforms and efforts in diversifying the economy. Rwanda is considered to be the top reforming country in sub Saharan region.

In spite of these impressive economic growths, poverty levels remain high. Even though poverty incidence reduced from 70% in 1995 to 60% in 2006, the prevalence remains high especially in rural areas. This situation is exacerbated by a high population growth rate of 2.7% and a population density of 384 inhabitants per square kilometer in 2008 – the second highest in the region. With more than 80% of the population living in the rural areas and approximately the same number of people living on subsistence agriculture, efforts to develop the rural areas would have significant impact on the livelihood of Rwandans.

The long term development framework, vision 2020 and the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) are meant to create a coherent policy direction in combating poverty and accelerating growth. The EDPRS is a medium term framework (2008-2012) for achieving the country’s long term goal of transforming Rwanda from a low-income agriculture-based economy to a knowledge-based, service-oriented economy by deepening reforms; investing in major infrastructure (power, transport, and ICT); increasing agricultural productivity; and investing in skills development needed for economic modernization.

Being a landlocked country, transport costs account for about 40% of the total value of imported or exported goods, both internationally and domestically, compared to the average of 17% in developed countries. Reduction in transport cost and improvement in transport infrastructure and services has been identified as an important catalyst in the overall development of the country. Transport contributes about 7% to GDP and represents about 15% of total service delivery – a sector which is increasingly replacing agriculture as the major contributor to GDP.

As part of the efforts to give clear policy direction to the sector, the Transport Sector Policy 2008 was developed with the aim of contributing to the achievement of the development goals indicated in the EDPRS. The transport policy is aligned to the EDPRS and other national planning tools such as the Vision 2020, National Investment Strategy as well as other development reference points such as the Millennium Development Goals. The overall aim for the sector is ‘reducing transport costs, increasing mobility for the population, and the supplying of services and transport infrastructure that will facilitate the exchange of goods and services and allow the entire population to improve their standard of life’

Community participation is a key strategy in the maintenance of tracks and roads. Other key trends include decentralisation of institutions with the responsibilities for the management of the sector, and the development of the institutional and human resource capacities. Another strategy worth noting is the involvement of the private sector in the development of the sector. However, there is the question of the extent to which the private sector would be willing to commit resources to the development of rural transport infrastructure and services where returns on investment are likely to be low.

A key challenge to the transport sector in Rwanda is the high cost of road construction and maintenance due to the rolling terrain and heavy rainfall. Weak institutional capacities coupled with insufficient financial resources also place numerous challenges to the development of the sector. Government’s attempts at dealing with these challenges is to improve potential navigable rivers, resort to use of local construction materials and also the introduction of transport a courses in the educational institutions to build the required human resources for the sector.

4.0 Overview of the Transport Sector

Rwanda is a landlocked country with road being the dominant mode of transport. Other forms of transport are air and some limited fluvial transport. There is no rail transport in Rwanda.

Source: CIA Factbook available at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rw.html

5.0 Road Classification System

Roads in Rwanda are classified into national, districts and gravels. Classified roads constitute about 34% of the entire road network in Rwanda. Of the classified roads, 2860km are national roads, 1835km district roads and 3.5km gravel roads.

6.0 Institutional framework for the sector

The Ministry of Infrastructure exists to strengthen the institutional framework and capacity of transport institutions and stakeholders in the planning and management of the sector. Further information on the ministry can be obtained from http://www.mininfra.gov.rw/.

The implementation of the transport strategy would be the responsibility of the National Transport Board of Rwanda.

7.0 Relevant Rural Transport Programmes

Transport Sector Development

This is a World Bank supported programme to develop the transport sector. There are four components to this programme namely: road rehabilitation and maintenance, sector governance and policy support, sector analysis and planning support and project and program management support. Further information can be obtained from http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?Projectid=P079414&theSitePK= 40941&piPK=64290415&pagePK=64283627&menuPK=64282134&Type=Overview.

Rural Travel and Transport Programme

This is part of the overarching Sub-Saharan Travel and Transport programme aimed at achieving poverty reduction, pro-poor growth, and regional integration.

8.0 Some Key Documents and Websites

Economic development and Poverty reduction strategy, 2008 – 2012 available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTRWANDA/Resources/EDPRS-English.pdf  as viewed on 21/06/2010

Transport Sector Policy available at http://mininfra.gov.rw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=211&Itemid=352 as viewed on 21/06/2010

SSATP Poverty Reduction Transport Strategy Review Process (pg24-25) available at http://www4.worldbank.org/afr/ssatp/Resources/CountryDocuments/PRTSR_progressReport04.pdf as viewed on 20/06/2010

Footnotes

Rwanda NFG Page
East/Southern Africa Region