An Overview

The Republic of Rwanda (pronounced /ruːˈændə/ or /rəˈwɑːndə/ in English, IPA: [ɾwanda] or [ɾɡwanda] in Kinyarwanda) is a small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Home to approximately 10.1 million people, Rwanda supports the densest population in continental Africa, most of whom engage in subsistence agriculture. A verdant country of fertile and hilly terrain, the small republic bears the title "Land of a Thousand Hills" (French: Pays des Mille Collines; Kinyarwanda: Igihugu cy'Imisozi Igihumbi).

The country has received considerable international attention on account of its 1994 genocide, in which between 800,000 and one million people were killed.[2] In 2008, Rwanda became the first country in history to elect a national legislature in which a majority of members were women.[3]

Rebuilding

Rwanda today struggles to heal and rebuild, but shows signs of rapid development. Some Rwandans continue to grapple with the legacy of almost 60 years of intermittent war. One agent in Rwanda's rebuilding effort is Africa New Life Ministries, a partnership of native Rwandans and American missionaries whose ministry is dedicated to education and child sponsorship. Since the genocide, Africa New Life Ministires have housed and supported hundreds of orphans, and created and staffed schools to educate the next generation of Rwandans.

The major markets for Rwandan exports are Belgium, Germany, and People's Republic of China. In April 2007, an investment and trade agreement, four years in the making, was worked out between Belgium and Rwanda. Belgium contributes €25-35 million per year to Rwanda.[29] Belgian co-operation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry continues to develop and rebuild agricultural practices in the country. It has distributed agricultural tools and seed to help rebuild the country. Belgium also helped in re-launching fisheries in Lake Kivu, at a value of US$470,000, in 2001.[30]

In Eastern Rwanda, The Clinton Hunter Development Initiative, along with Partners in Health, are helping to improve agricultural productivity, improve water and sanitation and health services, and help cultivate international markets for agricultural products.[31][32]

Since 2000, the Rwandan government has expressed interest in transforming the country from agricultural subsistence to a knowledge-based economy, and plans to provide high-speed broadband across the entire country.[33]

Geography

This small country, slightly smaller than the US state of Massachusetts or half the size of Scotland, is located near the center of Africa, a few degrees south of the Equator. It is separated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Lake Kivu and the Rusizi River valley to the west; it is bounded on the north by Uganda, to the east by Tanzania, and to the south by Burundi. The capital, Kigali, is located in the center of the country.

Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending over rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile drainage systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an average elevation of almost 9,000 feet (2,740 m). On the western slopes of this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley, and constitutes part of the Great Rift Valley. The eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of the eastern border region. Therefore the country is also fondly known as "Land of a Thousand Hills" (Pays des milles collines). In 2006, a British-led exploration announced that they had located the longest headstream of the River Nile in Nyungwe Forest.[38]

Transport

The transport system in Rwanda centres primarily around the road network, with paved roads between the capital, Kigali and most other major cities and towns in the country.[39] Rwanda is also linked by road to other countries in East Africa, notably to the port of Mombasa via Kampala and Nairobi, which provides Rwanda's most important trade route.[40] The country has an international airport at Kigali, serving one domestic and several international destinations.[41][42] There is no public water transport between the port cities on Lake Kivu, although a limited private service exists.[43] A large amount of investment in the transport infrastructure has been made by the government since the 1994 genocide, with aid from the USA, European Union, Japan and others.

The principal form of public transport in the country is share taxi, with express routes linking the major cities and local services serving most villages along the main roads of the country. Coach services are available to various destinations in neighbouring countries.

In 2006, the Chinese government proposed funding a study for the building of a railway link from Bujumbura in Burundi to Kigali in Rwanda to Isaki in Tanzania.[44] A delegation from the American railroad BNSF also met with President Paul Kagame to discuss a route from Kigali to Isaka and at the same time the government announced that it had selected a German consulting company to undertake pilot work for the proposed rail line.[45]

Communications

The use of fixed telephone landlines is not widespread in the country. Many people use one of the two main mobile telephone networks: MTN or Rwandatel. MTN has, since 1994, been the larger operator of the two. Rwandatel launched its GSM Network in December 2008. Costs for making calls and sending text messages are significantly cheaper than MTN. Both networks operate mainly on a pay as you go basis and SIM cards and airtime for MTN can be bought throughout Rwanda. MTN has good coverage of the country and Rwandatel intends to expand its new GSM network to cover the entire country by March 2009.

There are two main Internet Providers: Rwandatel and MTN. The Rwandatel EVDO card is widely used but has been oversubscribed and therefore operates at a very low speed. Coverage is good throughout the country. The cost of purchasing equipment and operating costs are high in terms of quality of service. MTN operates a similar but cheaper system, although this is also slow. Both operators offer an extremely expensive, but higher speed fixed WIMAX variant wireless 'broadband' service in Kigali. This achieves very low speeds compared to western standards, but is capable of VOIP. Rwandatel offers ADSL in some areas of the country; but this is far from widespread.

Internet cafes exist, but generally provide cheap but slow connections.

The postal system is mostly reliable. Those wishing to receive post must register and pay for annually, a Post Office Box at the Post Office.

There is one national television station: Rwanda Television which broadcasts feeds from various international broadcasters during the day. The evening programming largely consists of locally produced news programming repeated in Kinyarwanda, English and French.

Subscription based satellite television is easily available; particularly in Kigali. There is currently only one operator: South African based DSTV. DSTV equipment and smart cards can be arranged through the DSTV agent in Rwanda: Tele-10. Initial enquiries must be made through Tele-10, although viewers can reduce costs by subscribing directly via DSTV in South Africa after the initial three month subscription period.

 

 

These articles are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and have been adapted and may have been modified from their original versions from Wikipedia.

back to top