Africa isn't a single, continental mess

MR VIKRAM Chand ('Vega Foods boldly goes to 'last frontier' Africa'; July 14), the chief executive of Vega Foods, describes Africa as if it were one country when Africa is a continent comprising 53 countries, each with different cultural, social, economic and political landscapes.

Africa is analogised as an Indiana Jones movie, and described as politically unstable, poorly infrastructured, corrupt and lacking in transparency.

If Asia was described similarly, countries like Singapore with a strong rule of law, modern infrastructure and political stability will no doubt object to the arbitrary generalisation.

Mr Chand's analysis is, therefore, stereotypical rather than factual. It does not provide an accurate account of doing business in Africa. Mauritius, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Tunisia and my country Rwanda are examples of African nations that offer a contrary view to Mr Chand's.

Rwanda is known internationally for good governance and zero tolerance for corruption. Its streets are as clean and safe as Singapore's, it has excellent all-weather roads, modern communications infrastructure and broadband Internet, with one of the world's fastest upload speeds, matching those of Finland, France and China.

Economically, huge investments continue to be made in improving the business climate and the World Bank ranked Rwanda as the top global reformer for business. I would also challenge the view that Africa is growing at a slower pace or that when investing, prepare for the long haul. Again, objective analysis shows expectations vary across industries and across countries.

The average return on investment in Rwanda is more than 30 per cent, annual economic growth over the past decade averaged 7 per cent, with

double-digit growth in the years preceding the financial crisis.

Prospects for this year as we emerge from the crisis are encouraging, with a forecast of between 5.5 per cent and 7 per cent.

The story of Rwanda is not the exception, but is part of a growing trend in Africa, the next frontier of opportunity.

Paul Kayoboke
Acting High Commissioner
High Commission of the
Republic of Rwanda

Clivebenss

24 Jul 10, 17:05

Rwanda was a mess some years ago.

PsycheSoma

24 Jul 10, 18:24

Rwanda is an African success story. I just checked out Wikipedia here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda

Rwanda has received considerable international attention due to its 1994 genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed.^[4]Since then the country has made a recovery and is now considered as a model for developing countries. In 2009 a CNN report labeled Rwanda as Africa's biggest success story, having achieved stability, economic growth (average income has tripled in the past ten years) and international integration.^[5] In 2007 Fortune magazine published an article titled "Why CEOs Love Rwanda." ^[6] The capital, Kigali, is the first city in Africa to be awarded the Habitat Scroll of Honor Award in the recognition of its "cleanliness, security and urban conservation model." ^[7] In 2008, Rwanda became the first country to elect a national legislature in which a majority of members were women.^[8] Rwanda joined the Commonwealth of Nations on 29 November 2009 as its fifty-fourth member,^[9] making the country one of only two in the Commonwealth without a British colonial past.^[10]