At the end of 2019, Rwandan President Paul Kagame was in a jovial mood when he presented the state of the nation address.
“2019 has been a good year for us, and my hope is that 2020 will be even better,” he said, his optimism informed by an economic boom then.
Economic growth had exceeded 9 percent in 2019, driven by large public investments in the National Strategy of Transformation. And according to the World Bank, strong growth was expected to continue throughout 2020.
But a few months later, Covid-19 struck, and Rwanda’s economic growth shrunk to 0.2 percent, with the government requiring significant financial support and debt relief from partners to stay afloat.
On December 21, when President Kagame presented the 2020 State of the Nation address, it was with a more sombre tone.
This year, he warned against complacency, saying that the sacrifices and gains made amidst the coronavirus pandemic need to be viewed with cautious optimism.
“We have had to make many sacrifices this year. It has not been easy. Even as we speak, things have not gotten back in order. That includes the need for families to avoid congregating during the festive season. But, without these sacrifices, it will end up costing us much more,” he said. “Together, we will recover and return to the path of growth and continue expanding the well-being of all families.”
He noted some important government achievements in 2020, including the construction of over 22,000 classrooms across the country, which enabled schools to restart while observing social-distancing measures.
Agricultural productivity maintained a good pace regardless of the pandemic, and more than $400 million was earned from agricultural exports.
From the country’s reserves, over 5,000 tonnes of food were distributed to impoverished families during the total lockdown.
Also, about 500 post-harvest facilities were built across the country to help reduce farm losses.
Some 200,000 new households were connected to electricity, and “soon all sectors in the country will have access”, the president promised.
In the health sector, the government built three new hospitals, established an emergency heart treatment facility, and acquired a new MRI machine.
The national referral hospital, King Faisal Hospital, is also undergoing significant upgrading at a cost of about $20 million.
