Thread by @Tymdan__

Rwanda, the NST-1 and the ENEMY Within!
(parts of this thread are a personal experience, with evidences)

Outline:
Rwanda then
Rwanda now
Rwanda tomorrow 2017-2024
A disturbing socio-cultural factor(s) to achieve NST-1
Recommendation to my fellow Umunyarwanda.

A Thread.

Paul Kagame beginning in 1990, as commander of the forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), led the struggle to liberate Rwanda. The RPF halted the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, which claimed over a million victims. The hallmarks of President Kagame’s administration...1

...are peace and reconciliation, women’s empowerment, promotion of investment and entrepreneurship, and access to information technology.

Less than 40days ago, graves were dug up to reveal victims of the genocide, in Nyabihu district, less than 10KM from where I sit to write...2

...this piece, 27yrs after the genocide. This should give any reader a glimpse of the extent of the genocide against the Tutsi.

We are observing the 27th #Kwibuka let’s not add salt to old wounds, rather we should reflect by saying and committing to actions to #Neveragain ...3

allow such evil befall any group or groups of people here and around the world. As an Igbo man from Nigeria I am also an offspring of a survivor of the #Biafran Genocide.

Rwanda is one of the few countries in the world that has had a reverse growth of inflation in the last...4

20yrs, inflation has reduced in the overall sense, and when it has grown, it remains a slow and steady one, Rwanda GDP has grown at almost 10% every year in the last 20yrs.

The NST-1 is a 7yr development plan by the government of Rwanda. It is not only commendable but I would..5

say it comprehensively takes into consideration most (if not all that matters to the development) of the needs of Rwanda and Rwandans.

Well the major challenge I have come to realize is found in the last word in the last paragraph “Rwandans”, to me Rwandans themselves are...6

moving in the opposite direction of the leaders of the country. One may ask; how is this possible? Since the leaders of Rwanda are also Rwandans. I will tell you! And there are some statistical data from @statisticsRW to back this up, I have lived in Rwanda for about 2yrs, I ...7

have been to over 10 countries. I am a scholar in the department of enterprise development and management at INES-Ruhengeri. In the course of my stay I have interacted with policy makers and policy enforcers at various levels, high ranking security agents, educators, youths...8

students, parents, formal and informal businesses/craftsmen/artisans, etc. I have also had business and/or other forms of transactions with almost all of these groups of people. My opinion about development is mostly from a Pan-African perspective, a simple google search about..9

me, will tell you why I hold these views and my work in the past to promote pan-africanism, I and my team were at the finishing stages of pelsdafrica.com before #covid19 struck. I believe that govt has little or no business doing BUSINESS or sponsoring religion...10

Government(s) primary focus ought to be providing the needed environment and infrastructure for great minds and problem solvers to thrive.

Rwanda is my home right now, so I owe this land a duty to contribute to her development positively. And but to remain silent if i think...11

there is a persistent issue with grave consequences, is what I will not. I have always spoken out in the past and will continue to do so (when necessary). I am an extrovert by nature and culture.

“The ENEMY within” in my humble opinion is a socio-cultural problem that needs...12

to be addressed. I expect @YouthCultureRW and @RDBrwanda to read this thread carefully and look for a way to educate our people about the problem I am about to reveal.

In the existing laws of Rwanda it seems our lawmakers they have also noticed a form or consequence of this...13

behavior and made a conscious effort (in law) to nib it in the bud, but the problem lingers and has jeopardized many (upcoming) enterprises and may continue to do so, if our people are not re-oriented about best practices and how this “bad culture” is and can be a clog in the..14

wheel of development of this beautiful land. There's a law on the contract for the sale of goods of price 50,000rwf and above, this law amongst other things states that any sale of goods (business transaction), worth 50,000rwf and above must have a written and signed contract..15

This law must have been promulgated to protect Rwandans from the bad practices that exist, I dare say that the lawmakers felt a pulse of the nation to have come up with that law, because till this moment, verbal commitments in business and worse still contractual agreements...16

are deliberately defaulted or any existing loophole in such contracts are exploited to the detriment of one of the a parties to such the contract. This shows that such actions are rampant and pervasive and as such can be described as (bad practice or) very frequent. Let me go..17

a little even lower than contracts. Prices are not the same for anyone, an average Rwandan seems to have no fixed price for his/her good or service, your appearance, language and color is the determinant of the price, even if you decide not buy/transact at exorbitant prices...18

@RURA_RWANDA has tried to rein in erring businesses with even periodic review and publishing of recommended prices. In my opinion, the general mindset of an average Rwandan is that; if you lack market information as a Rwandan you should be cheated, any foreigner is rich and...19

must be feasted upon. But as our Comrade leader @PaulKagame said “we have to learn to protect each other for no one owes us anything” again I think it would be wrong to assume this protection only meant “protection of lives” there is a difference between living well and...20

barely surviving. I interpret that statement to mean "interests of all Rwandans". I will further expatiate it to mean; "interests that promote the growth of Rwanda in all sectors of our economy".
Many small businesses start from the savings of young men and women in Rwanda...21

citizens and foreign residents inclusive, starting up by renting factors of production from owners, but have ended up closing mostly within the first 5yrs, some do not start up at all after carrying out a market research.

It seems that while available data shows that Rwanda...22

is growing, the small informal businesses are been eaten up either by bigger ones, greedy landlords, thieves/shop burglars, who break even walls to steal, or even an envious neighbor can approach the owner of a building housing a thriving business, to pay double of your rent...23

just to replace you, many are forced to close shop and many informal startups either struggle to stay afloat without any tangible growth if they survive the first 5yrs. Also few non-residents or citizens own formal or informal businesses here in Rwanda, available statistics...24

from @statisticsRW confirms this. I expect this to be higher, considering the demography and economy of Rwanda. This says a lot about how both visitors and investors or neighbors really see our country as a place to come and do business and/or how others who are not see us...25

To the best of my knowledge the government of Rwanda has performed excellently in providing the enabling environment. Can I say the same for the people of Rwanda themselves? An emphatic NO! While it is possible to invest heavily in the many promising sectors of the economy...26

such as: real estate, manufacturing, hospitality/tourism, education, agriculture and agro-processing, etc especially to avoid some of these engagements that lead to failure, It is still impossible not to meet the stated challenges in one way or another. And I dare say that; ...27

not every entrepreneur or foreign investor starts up with tens of thousands or millions of dollars, the vast majority start small, evolve, merge and/or eventually grow into their long term vision. Well think of Rwanda. like this: 3rd best roads in Africa? Cleanest Country in...28

Africa? Access to health care? Steady power supply? Register a business within 7hrs? Regulated prices by @RURA_RWANDA? Security? Political stability? Owning a biz 100% even as a foreigner? Visa free to all Africans? Near zero taxes on agriculture related businesses? Name it…29

A curious person would ask the question, or think that Rwanda must have achieved all these under 3decades because the land is full of high value natural or human resources. The shocking answer NO! Rwanda doesn’t have all what you assume she has, Rwanda has one thing going for..30

it, a great leadership right from the Isibo (Street) level up to @UrugwiroVillage Well after doing all the right things in the right environment, every business must interact with PEOPLE. So if the people have a bad attitude to business, lack entrepreneurial ethics and...31

frustrate growth. There is bound to be serious challenges to see tangible growth in the lives and face of the common man in that environment. In this case government can not take all the blame. Well meaning citizens/residents must speak up for a change in societal values...32

From my observation, I will state just a few things, many of whom I have engaged are:
1. Very pretentious of their real intent.
2. Jealous, envious of one another and/or likely to become envious and make deliberate efforts to stop the growth of others by any means possible. ...33

An easy response to this, is to wave this off is to BY saying, “after all, many societies have people with these same attributes”. Well not all societies have the same topography and demography as Rwanda. For example if majority of Nigerians are like this then that represents..34

even less that 10% of the entire population. But if in a population of 12M, the majority of people interacted with have this attribute then it becomes is a great problem. You can not run to @RIB_Rw every time when you have a misunderstanding with a fellow Rwandan. I'll share...35

among many; just 2 of my experiences to explain. I saw a house I needed during the full lockdown in Aug 2020 at Musanze. In company of someone we got the price to be about $30 monthly from the care taker. I booked an appointment to see the owner, an elderly lady above 65yrs...36

immediately she realized the intending occupant is not Rwandan the price went up to $45 right in front of the care taker she denied the price and labeled him a liar, we negotiated to $35. She told the caretaker in confidence that once I moved in, after my initial payment she...37

would increase the rent to $45. Well I got the hint and was prepared to still take the bait. I stated clearly that I choose the property because it was suitable to have a poultry farm of about 500chickens, the opposite building had a piggery and less than 50metres away there...38

is another poultry of about 1,500birds. I suggested that a renovation be carried out and that a door be made to access the bathroom from one of the rooms, I was asked to pay for 2years upfront. Again it was renegotiated to 6months upfront. I made payment on August 4th 2020...39

for all these to be done as she insisted she had no money to do anything. By Aug 24, to put a door and re-coat the floor of 2 rooms and a salon and coat the toilet walls and floor seemed to take ages, i visited the place in company of an acquaintance, only to be told my money..40

was exhausted. I was furious, everything else was completed just to coat the bathroom was left, she said because a 5L tin bucket of paint was 40,000Rwf, the toilet door cost 40,000rwf and there many other “invisible” expenses. I insisted that the elderly woman allow one of...41

her grand-daughters present that morning (an adult of marriageable age) to accompany me to GOICO plaza to buy the same paint and I was ready to bear all the expenses (for a later refund) just to verify. She obliged. We arrived GOICO plaza and bought a similar paint at...42

12,000Rwf, the grand-daughter could not hide her surprise for the cheating perpetuated by her aunt I assume, because one of her own daughters (according to the elderly woman) was handling the supply of all the paint and 1 door and labor needed, she was seated with her with a...43

hand bag full of over 2,000,000Rwf while the artisan complained of lack of materials. The daughter insisted the paint was different, we went back and got the price of the exact same tin at 28,000Rwf. Meanwhile, she supplied her own mother a door worth 10,000rwf at the value...44

of 40,000rwf. Seeing that her cover was blown she told her mother I should not be allowed to live there. In fact she offered to refund my money instantly, she opened her bag to display the wads of cash. Her mother and the whole family present there sided with her, including...45

the young lady that went to the market with me, she was even with the receipt, I was asked to vacate the house instantly, before I get my refund. I had 24hours earlier, put my properties there hoping that the house will be ready by the next day as they promised, which was on...46

a weekend. Arguments started, soon a crowd gathered, the “Umudugudu” (community) leaders where called and I was refunded after my idea was implemented with my own funds to give the house a better value. I was later to know that the main reason I was not allowed to stay was...47

because I intended to invest and possibly make profit. Next I searched and found another house with ample space and a potato plant nursery, near musanze caves, on the way to kinigi, sharing a boundary with the botanical garden of @INES_Ruhengeri no neighbor within 30Meters...48

distance and well reserved, again I inspected the place, and made my intentions known to the owner. The rent increased immediately from $60 to $100 monthly because I am a foreigner, a 3-bedroom apartment fenced round and gated with 2-rooms en-suite, one of which has its own...49

entrance/exit without use of the siting room. I asked to rent the one with its own entrance, the landlord refused, I offered to rent the 2rooms with sitting room so he could rent out the other one again he refused. He insisted that since I needed the place with the intent...50

of farming I must take the whole building. I renegotiated the rent to $80 monthly, but still had to pay for electricity, do some renovations myself and pay for @musanze_wasac monthly bills. This brought the total monthly costs to almost $90. Well I factored in the potential...51

profits after investment and paid for the place and secured the rights to build a bigger poultry in the large open space during the course of living there. Trouble started immediately I paid, the outer en-suite room I was to discover was been used as a brothel room by anyone...52

he authorized, I was called at odd times of the day to open the gate for whomever he sent to call me and use the room, after I had been forced to pay for everything. I made countless efforts to reach him, to stop the attitude and those actions disturbed my peace, especially...53

at night, I even sent emissaries, he promised severally and failed, when we met he bragged of having a “Boss” who is a general. After about a month I reported at @RIB_Rw within minutes the DCI listened to me, saw my tenancy contract, called him and that was it. In less than...54

30mins I got home to meet a tricycle emptying the room, it only contained a bed and clothes hanger, curtains and empty bottles of beverages plus other trashed items. I of course subtracted the rent of that room for that month and paid the rest without much fuss from him. ...55

An acquaintance told me, everything will be calm henceforth but from within 6months I should see another effort of the landlord to frustrate me, I felt the landlord was a young man like me and that was probably why he acted that way in the use of that room. His in-law, a Vet...56

Doctor whom I got to meet during the discussions said he was 28yrs and studied rural economics so I felt comfortable sharing my ideas with young folks like me. In the 1st week of Nov 2020 I received the day old chicks I ordered from Belgium via AgroTech at the Cargo wing of...57

the Kanombe Int’l Airport, with clearance from the @Rwandapolice I rode in a car with the driver to Musanze, arriving at past midnight. I became a farmer plus student at the same time. I was happy my dreams where coming through, I had redesigned and refurbished the nursery...58

into a deep litter system poultry, stocked feeds, bought medications and farm equipment to facilitate my farm. I envisaged employing workers, having a small farm, buying feeds, selling eggs, making profits to support my education, while contributing my small quota to growing...59

the economy. A lot happened from then till April 2021 (Yes, exactly 6months as predicted), first I came up short with the $80 rent, my house was burgled on December 1st between 3:00Pm and 4:44Pm in broad daylight, while is was at school for a lecture. My kitchen was emptied,...60

food stuff, cooking utensils and the gas cooker all gone. From my tight budget I replaced everything and reported to the Umudugudu, preliminary investigation was carried out within 24hrs, the culprit I suspected who is a shepherd boy I always saw stalking and surveying my...61

house from the INES Botanical garden side while pretending to be herding cattle was seemingly culpable, as evidences from his school proved he gave false information upon interrogation by the “Umudugudu” officials. The Umudugudu authorities, gave me a signed letter to take...62

take to @RIB_Rw Musanze to effect an arrest, as the young man had been fingered in similar incidences by residents of Rwambogo cell. At RIB Musanze, the officers appeared to intend to carry out a thorough job, I was interviewed, statements taken at different dates, times...63

and in different offices. It seems all they were interested in, was not to get the culprit but to ask everything about me, I didn’t really get to know why I was interviewed for many hours in different offices on different occasions, with repeated questions, concerning family...64

if i had visited Rwanda before, and many other issues. Well I am a self-sponsored student and young entrepreneur, a simple google search of my name can reveal a lot about my background, instead I was inundated with questions ranging from when I came to Rwanda, why I am in...65

why i choose to study in Rwanda, what I do primarily in Rwanda, my family background, how many chickens I have at the farm, what was stolen from my home, etc
In fact it seems I was been investigated instead of been assisted. The suspect roamed freely and other similar...66

incidents have been reported within 100-300Meters of my house, including to class mates, not one day (that I am aware of) was he invited for questioning, I even showed them his residence, they promised to get back to me since December, 2020. I have since lost hope in...67

recovering anything stolen, as a matter of fact I have been stolen from at least 6 times. Many times my Vice-Chancellor has invited me to receive financial help to the sum of over $300, not to forget that all foreign students of INES who were in Musanze where given a cash...68

support of 130,000Rwf to ease our living during the lockdown last year and we also received food supplied from the government of @PaulKagame of Rwanda during the lock down. Now I live in fear, just like many other students, entrepreneurs and shop owners because no one knows...69

who is next to be burgled. Even a shop right at the popular Embassy Hotel Karisimbi junction with the presence of over 4 neighborhood watchmen on green uniforms every night was burgled and the shop owner lost over 2,000,000Rwf worth of items weeks ago. So I've since adjusted...70

to my helplessness just like other residents of Musanze. We seem to be under a siege of house burglars. Fast forward to April my landlord came to inform me he wanted to build another house in the open space, which in the contract was meant to expand the poultry as the birds...71

grow, I had lost about 50% of the birds and they were showing signs of producing eggs by now but no eggs yet. I did not bother to argue about my rights, his shared humanity, lack of empathy for my ordeals or try to enforce the contract, so I asked him what it would cost him...72

to build a house he said 7Million rwf and above, then I asked how much he envisaged to get as monthly rent, he said between $80 - $100. I told him what if I gave him an idea to spend about 6Million spread over 6months and then make a minimum profit of $1,000 monthly as from...73

the 7th month, and also produce eco-friendly manure as a byproduct, he doesn’t even need to be there, just build a bigger poultry and provide the funds, we sign a contract and he gets the results, he could not hide his amazement. I brought writing materials and explained...74

everything to him, as a caveat I told him. Owing to language barrier he probably did not understand me very well, but we could visit a nearby farm (remember the Bukane poultry near the previous house?) so he could ask the owner all necessary questions in Kinyarwanda for better.75

understanding. He agreed to go, in 25mins we arrived there, I introduced him to the poultry operator as my landlord and acquaintance who needed to verify my claims that investing in agriculture was profitable, for income and eco-friendly manure productions. Both conversed in...76

Kinyarwanda, we stayed there for over 3hours, it rained though, and we left. Standing just near the fence of Farajah hotel opposite the ecole premier at Bukane he expressed his satisfaction and happiness about the idea and said once he gets a payment for a supply he did in...77

a neighboring country he would go ahead with his new plan of becoming a farmer. He told me he also had a herd of cattle. Less than 7days later, truck loads of building materials arrived and he started building another 3-bedroom flat in the exact place. Well I was asked to ...78

surrender the outer room again, which I now used as a store for chicken medications, poultry equipment and food supplies, they used it to store building materials and some of my equipment got damaged, chicken feeds got stolen, even an electric cutting machine of one of the...79

building technicians was reportedly missing despite the landlord providing a security man during the period of heightened building work. Upon erection of the building the chickens have no access to natural light from dawn till dusk, faced with impossibility to expand the...80

poultry house, the chickens' welfare quickly moved from bad to worse. I improved again upon the battery cage system I designed and constructed inside the poultry. Earlier in march 2021 my landlord had appeared, this time with a young man he claimed was his brother whom he...81

claimed just arrived from the Philippines, he said this brother has refused to stay in their family house and could neither stay with his wife and kids so the brother should stay in that outer room. Mind you the room has a bathroom and no toilet, (remember it was used as a...82

brothel room earlier), and when it rained, water sometimes trickled in through the window, they both insisted it was comfortable, I initially agreed, but upon 2nd thought I had no where else to use for its functions and my farm worker would have to operate from inside my...83

sitting room everyday so I rejected their plan via text a few days later. He decided to separate the new building and poultry with a fence, when it rained heavily, inside my house and kitchen got flooded electrical appliances such as blenders were not spared, as water got...84

trapped, until a hole was made in fence to let water out. These were the least of my concerns. Well I had many other problems of my own, bills needed to be paid and my hens were not laying, I again visited the farm at bukane in company of a motorcycle rider and now favorite...85

acquaintance for the most part of my stay in Musanze. The poultry owner gave me tips and told me areas where I needed to improve upon, after all we all imported the same batch and breed of Isa Brown chicks and theirs was already producing eggs while mine were just consuming...86

feed or taking medicines or dying off. Just as we were about to leave she whispered in hushed tones to my acquaintance with a special information for me, which I got to know that she has been wanting to tell me, but I since I did not visit and she could not speak English...87

fluently she was unable to reveal it to me. Well my acquaintance broke the bombshell, the last time I visited with my landlord he told her that once my chickens begin to produce eggs, he will ask me to vacate his house and buy his own chickens to put in the poultry house I...88

redesigned from his potato nursery. Weeks later as if to confirm the information, I asked him if he did not think the poultry is not a problem for “would-be” occupants of the new house, because the space between the new house and poultry is not even up to 30CM. Unknown to...89

me, he regularly visited my farm worker in my absence when he knew i am at school to ask if the chickens have started producing eggs. He immediately opened up and asked me to find a place to move the chickens to, because it had now become an inconvenience, I promised to work..90

on it. Well how can I move the chickens, but continue to stay and pay about $100 monthly, by now I had also employed a farm worker whom I paid monthly and the eggs were beginning to trickle in daily. About 3days ago he called me up, in the afternoon, I was in school studying...91

but he insisted I come to meet him at the univ gate, he vehemently insisted he needed money to pay the @WASAC_Musanze bill of about 31,000rwf which was for the most part incurred while putting up his new building. I reminded him that we had a gentleman’s agreement he offered...92

me ample time for the chickens to attain full eggs production before is pay up what i owe, I was owing him rent of 45days only. He insisted I paid him immediately, and to “help” me he had invited his brother who he said arrived from the Philippines to help buy all the...93

chickens from me so I could pay him and continue staying there. His brother immediately told me how is is a chicken supplier to rural markets, and how much favor he was doing me because he normally preferred to buy 2-month or 3-month old chickens that were not laying already...94

I agreed I will have to sell all to him and leave his house, this was pleasing to his ears, I was asked to prepare a contract, as cash is readily available to pay for all the chickens. And I have done as he desires. ...95

I have taken my time to write this down, summarizing as much as possible. Now this expository/narrative piece would ordinarily appear to have no impact on the economy of Rwanda right? Well I would say WRONG! Present day Rwanda is so small in size that with a population under...96

under 14M it is the country with highest population density in (mainland) Africa, the first is Comoros (an island). The leadership of Rwanda is very stratified and as I have observed in many cases the approach of leadership and action implementation is the bottom-to-top...97

approach and reverse the case when appropriate. It is typical in Rwanda that in any formal setting, at the entrance of the office you find the name/number/photograph/contact details of the superior or next in command to that office. This clearly shows that say, if the...98

individual at level 8 (for example) who is supposed to attend to issues at that level is not at the designated post at the right time, the person he or she reports to at level 9 can be contacted to know the situation and offer a solution. Leading to efficient service delivery..99

and near zero corruption policy as driven by @PaulKagame in Rwanda.

Well it seems the situation changes immediately a Rwandan knows that this is not applicable or that it might be stressful for a victim to get justice For example a block of shops right opposit...100

opposite* @INES_Ruhengeri got burnt, a lady who had paid an advance rent of over 2years said she got initial denial from her landlord that she ever paid such rent all because she told him she lost everythin in the fire including her copy of the tenancy contract🙆‍♂️The landlord..101

assumed she had no proof and so denied she ever paid, all other shops were promptly renovated and occupants resumed business. In her case it took over 2 months. I was even invited to join a group to make donations for her, (and i did) at the time of the fire she had operated..102

from that same shop for over 1year and had paid upfront of almost 3years in rent running into millions of Rwf. The deductions from this piece is that, culture as defined: is the way of doing things of a group of people over a long period of time. This lack of social or do i...103

entrepreneurial ethics, predisposition to cheating, envy, hatred for each others’ growth, etc has far reaching effects, as many economies grow with the proliferation small businesses. Entrepreneurs create jobs faster than anyone else, SMEs are easier to start up. Personally...104

i've directly or indirectly invited, facilitated or encouraged at least 500 people to visit Rwanda in the last 2years, some to study, others for tourism and some others to invest for business. I have just lost over 5,000,000Rwf, lost irrecoverable time and resources since I...105

came here, I will be finishing my studies soon, I have learned a lot from transformational leadership of @PaulKagame and how scarce resources can be put to good use, and many more. The question is what impression about Rwanda are Rwandans creating for themselves? ....106

As insignificant at this may seem, no seasoned economist will take numbers for granted, especially numbers that have a multiple effect. If there 1,000 people that invite or influence 500 people to visit Rwanda for different purposes, that is 500,000 visitors, estimate the...107

revenue they will generate for @FlyRwandaAir if only 50% fly with them, I don’t know if any country toys with very bad social ethics that has negative consequences on a potential to inject 253million dollars into its economy (if just 50,000 entrepreneurs, both Rwandans and...108

visitors invest 5M rwf each). One day, hopefully if I live long enough I might be asked: well you lived in Rwanda what efforts did you make? I will point to this piece and the many others and the various actions I have taken to contribute to pan-african development when I ...109

had the opportunity to do so.

Amahoro! (Peace)

@UnrollHelper