WHERE IS OUR MONEY? RWANDAN SOCIAL SECURITY FUND UPDATE 1

Readers will recall that the Rwandan Social Security Board (RSSB) is required by law to publish transparently where people's money is invested. Indeed, this is what RSSB states on its website regarding its investment portfolio:

"Here, we share our investments, assets, revenues; expenditure and income obtained from the different ventures we are undertaking. Details of proceedings from our schemes, income from our real estate projects and cash put in are included. We have also included the cash in our current accounts collected from both our pension and medical schemes. We have also projected the revenue we expect from these different projects as they continue taking shape. A close glance at these details will help you to understand our investment patterns and to track our progress. We believe in transparency, that is why we want to share our investment portfolio with you." http://www.rssb.rw/content/investment-portfolio
 

But RSSB does not provide any details STILL beyond the two FACTSHEETS - one for July-September 2012 and for October-December 2012. It is as if RSSB did not exist before July 2012 and since December 2012.

 

In other words the government of President Paul Kagame is engaging in criminality, by breaking the laws of Rwanda.

 

Here though we share an even more revealing UPDATE. Readers will recall that we tried to trace how Rwandan people's social security fund ended up in Boston. The original hint came from Jeff Chu's famous article "Rwanda Rising: A New Model of Development" published by FastCompany in Boston in April 2009, http://m.fastcompany.com/1208900/rwanda-rising-new-model-economic-development

Readers will further recall that we later established that the biotech firm in which the Rwandan social security fund monies were invested is the Boston-based Merrimack Pharmaceuticals.

MORE THAN US$10,000,000.00 WAS INVESTED

In our same earlier posting, we came to the figure of US$10,000,000.00 that the Rwanda government invested in Merrimack Pharmaceuticals.

An anonymous source has now informed us that in fact the figure is US$25,000,0000.00 - monies drawn from the following institutions responsible for managing and investing Rwandan people's money:

# US$10,000,000.00 from social security fund (prior to the merger to form RSSB)
# US$10,000,000.00 from RAMA
# US$5,000,000.00 from Military Medical Insurance (MMI)

STAY TUNED

The law is on our side. We will sooner or later get to the bottom of where Rwandan people's money is invested but hidden from the public view but yet is required by the law. RSSB will have to sooner or later publish all the details with regards to where all Rwandan people's monies are invested - domestically or overseas.

DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR NEED NOT RUIN RWANDA AGAIN

Delusion of grandeur refers to the flattery that one is much greater and more powerful and influential than he or she really is. Another term that explains this phenomenon is "megalomania" ...- a condition characterised by delusional fantasies of power, or omnipotence.

A similar and useful term to explain this state of being is "arrogance" The dictionary definition of arrogance is "overbearingly assuming, or making pretensions to superior importance." The synonyms of "arrogance" include the following: autocratic; contemptuous; disdainful; and high and mighty." In this sense, "political arrogance" refers to those who practice politics in a manner that reflects features variously captured by the term "arrogance" and its synonyms.

THE CASE OF RWANDA

It is a no-brainer to show that the politics of both the immediate past Rwandan head of state, President Juvenal Habyarimana and the incumbent, President Paul Kagame, stem from delusions of grandeur.

So megalomaniac was Habyarimana that he even nicknamed himself "Ikinani cyananiye abagome n'abagome n'abagambanyi." This roughly translates in English as "one who is invincible or incapable of being vanquished or defeated."

The delusional reign of President Habyarimana ended in 1994 after 21 years in power - when he was shot down from the skies as he was about to land in the Rwandan Capital Kigali. What of course followed was the unleashing of the genocide that took up to 1 million Rwandan lives.

Fast-forward to Kagame's Rwanda. In one of his extraordinary Kinyarwanda speeches, the Rwanda President uttered the following startling words:

"Babandi rero baba hanze aha baba bababeshya bababwira ngo ntimutahe, n'ushatse gutaha bakamubuza ngo ba uretse, ngo ntutahe, ibintu biri hafi gutungana, ngo bazabanza bavaneho Kagame. Ryari se? Ryari? Binyuze mu yihe nzira se? Iya democracie se? Iy'intambara se? Iyihe? Barabashuka!" Roughly translated in English, Kagame is mocking hIs opponents for their daring to imagine he (Kagame) can be removed from power by any means known to humankind. President Kagame bombasticly asks: "By what means would such deed become even attempted? By democratic means? By war or what? Dream on!"

Perhaps there is no greater sign of the delusions of grandeur on the part of the incumbent Rwandan ruler than his assigning his ruling party RPF the "homework" on what is to be done in 2017. That is the year that the Rwandan constitution bars the Rwandan president from political power. By 2017, Kagame will have run Rwanda for 23 years - first as the kingpin from 1994 to 2000, and from then to 2017 as president. In other words, Kagame will have outruled Habyarima by 2 years as head of state.

But why is the assigning of "homework" to RPF a sign of megalomania?

Because Kagame still has 4 years before completing his current term. Were he not suffering from delusions of grandeur, he would know that 4 years in politics in a very long time in which anything can happen. Here is a man literally involved in all manner of ugly conflicts not least with DRC, Tanzania/SADC, UN, jailed political opponents, exiled former army chief of staff among others, and Hollywood actor Mia Farrow who is UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador. Within RPF, the Rwandan ruler just dumped the "last historicals," namely Tharcisse Karugarama and Protais Musoni from government. And then Kagme has the audacity to sweep all that aside and instead begins to plan for post-2017. The Rwandan ruler has in this case given the phrase 'delusional politicians take their nations for granted' a new a meaning. Former British prime minister, Harold Wilson, famously stated that "a week is a long time in politics." But not for Kagame evidently, who has began plotting how to retain his autocracy in 2017 while 2013 is barely over!

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Picture this happening in mid-July 2013 - eleven Rwandans dared to attempt staging a protest outside the presidential state in the capital, Kigali. To say that protests outside Kagame's residence or anywhere in Rwanda for that matter is unheard of, would a gross understatement. Yet it happened! http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23426421

Interestingly enough, the protesters said they had a "vision from Virgin Mary" to inform the Rwandan ruler "to introduce reforms or risk bloodshed."

These Rwandan braves who sought to tell Kagame to reform or ruin the nation, like his predecessor Habyarimana, speak for millions of their compatriots. We have been here before - but as these peaceful protesters are saying, it is not too late to save Rwanda from bloodshed! As previously stated here on my facebook page "IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO PREPARE FOR A PEACEFUL TRANSITION TO THE NEXT GOVERNMENT - EVEN IN RWANDA."See More
 

 

HOW IS RWANDA TO WITHSTAND DENIALISM, WAR DRUMS & ECONOMIC MELTDOWN?

Rwanda is troubled and troubling for most concious and observant compatriots. Only the die-hard sycophants of the incumbent regime would hide heads in the sand and preten...d that all is OK.

Today we seem to have what I may term "three Rwandas" briefly described as follows:

* Rwanda 1: Denialism
* Rwanda 2: War drums
* Rwanda 3: Economic meltdown

RWANDA 1: DENIALISM

In this version, we see a confident President Paul Kagame projecting an image of a strong leader cruising towards Vision 2020. Two former ministers publicly beg for forgiveness; the president reinforces his powers among the cowed RPF followers; and everyone goes home assured all is usual and well. But it is denialism, because all is not well.

RWANDA 2: WAR DRUMS

President Kagame went on record on 30 June 2013 that he is waiting for the opportunity to "hit" Tanzania's president Jakaya Kitwete. Aggressive rhetoric, accusations, and counter-accusations are now flying across the Tanzania-Rwanda borders; in DRC where Tanzania is deploying soldiers under the UN mandate; and in the corridors of the UN in New York City. The tone is akin to war drums.

RWANDA 3: ECONOMIC MELTDOWN

Official development aid to Rwanda is equivalent to over 40% of public expenditures, and as high as 12% of the country's GDP. So how did the Kagame regime offset the sudden 20% shortfall when donors withheld aid last year? Simple. Squeeze and draw from foreign reserves. As a result Rwanda's foreign reserves can presently only cover 3 months of imports down from 5 months - talk about reckless lifestyle. Other measures to which the regime has resorted is domestic borrowing further crowding out Rwanda's tiny private sector, itself dominated by RPF's Crystal Ventures.

With denialism, war drums and economic meltdown, where does reflection, sanity and even strategic re-direction come from in Kagame's Rwanda? We better kneel and pray!

STILL ASTONISHED BY WHAT HAPPENS IN RWANDA? THEN YOU SHOULD BE ASTONISHED BY YOUR ASTONISHMENT

The above photograph shows Monique Mukaruliza, the recently-fired Rwandan minister, seeking forgiveness; fellow ministers are looking on with an...xiety - we return to this matter below. We begin with a broader matter - Rwanda is today subject to what one could term the 'law of diminishing astonishment.' Nothing is shocking anymore. Rather, it would be more shocking if nothing shocking happened as a matter of routine. Put differently, if anyone is astonished by what happens in our country today, then she/he should be astonished by her/his astonishment.

And that is what a reader is asking me to do - highlight some of the most shocking things over the past several years to which Rwandans have become immune. The reader's point of departure is the just concluded RPF's meeting of Saturday 13 July 2013 where sacked ministers Protais Musoni, Monique Mukaruliza, and her Permanent Secretary Bill Kayonga asked for forgiveness. The fate of the former Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama's situation remains most worrying and unknown as he was not part of the repenters.

In addressing this 'assignment', however, the problem is that it is difficult to chose which astonishing things to highlight because they are so many.

Here is my random sampling that includes domestic and regional political as well economic issues. Readers are free to share their own analysis via public or private channels on facebook.

SHOCK NUMBER 1 - BEING MINISTER IN RWANDA IS KISS OF DEATH

Pity the men and women who are called upon to serve in President Kagame's cabinet. Reshuffling and dropping ministers has almost become a sporting and frequent event. The year 2013 alone has witnessed three such forms of entertainment:

* February - Claver Gatete, former Central Bank Governor swapped seats with former Minister of Finance and Planning John Rwangombwa; at least 8 other ministerial changes were made;

* May - Protais Musoni, Cabinet Affairs, and Tharcisse Karugarama, Justice Minister, the 'last RPF historicals' were dropped - the latter for hinting that he is opposed to removal of term limits to enable Kagame to extend his rule beyond 2017 which is what the RPF-drafted constitution allows after 14 years in power (beyond what the president had already accumulated directly or indirectly from 1994-2003);

* July - East Africa Community affairs mister, Monique Mukaruliza and her Permanent Secretary Bill Kayonga were sacked for incompetence.

Appointing or sacking cabinet ministers in Rwanda is strictly a one-man affair - unlike say in next-door Uganda where Parliament vets appointees before they are confirmed by the head of state. Kagame hires and fires at free will - and competence when hiring is the last thing among priorities. No wonder it is one of the scariest things in Rwanda to be told you have been made a cabinet minister.

Why?

It is scary because once you are fired by the President of Rwanda, no one in the country will want to be associated with you not only in public sector but also in the private sector and NGO community. Your compatriots begin to avoid you like a plague. Careers are ruined - until Kagame himself 'rehabilitates' you, if at all. Even repenting is not always an available option. Someone who disagreed with President Kagame on principles - which I believe is the case with Karugarama, is doomed.

I personally observed the case of Rosemary Museminali, who was recruited from the Red Cross to eventually become Minister for Foreign Affairs. When she was literally thrown out of an afternoon cabinet discussion and consequently dumped from the cabinet in December 2009, Rosemary languished in her family compound for one year. She then got a job outside the country - but even then she had to get an OK from the Rwandan powers that be.

Kagame's cabinet management style recalls cases of earlier autocratic rulers such former Kenyan president Moi. President Moi's long-serving deputy, Professor George Saitoti, only heard on a Kenyan radio station that he been "relieved" of his vice-presidential post and his home affairs portfolio in 2002. Moi left vacant the vice-presidency post, much like Kagame had quietly scrapped vice-presidency from 2000 to the present.

Saitoti's sacking was hardly shocking; it was in line with Moi's style of leadership. Moi despised his ministers and merely used them for his political purposes as opposed to seeing them as sector leaders with own capabilities. Above all Moi did not tolerate independent thought. He once famously stated that "everybody must toe the line...No room for dissenting fellows...I shall use all mechanisms at my disposal to silence them." On another occasion Moi reminded his cabinet: "as vice-president, I sang like a parrot after Kenyatta; now I am President and you must sing like a parrot after me"
www.ajol.info/index.php/asr/.../19862

Similarly, the idea that cabinet ministers are high-level appointees given the responsibility of overseeing specific areas of public policy (such as finance, national defence, or foreign affairs) is simply alien to President Kagame. He seems to believe that he is the expert in each field. And to prove that he is the expert, he has to continuously humiliate his ministers and officials publicly - a fundamentally-flawed motivation tactic that merely fosters silent resentment. Put in another way, President Kagame is closer to an old-style headmaster, complete with the language and demeanour of punishment for disciplinary infractions as well as sanction and dismissal of his 'pupils.'

SHOCK NUMBER 2: THE CATASTROPHE KNOWN AS MININFRA

President Kagame's cabinet upheavals are most spectacular in the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) which has had 5 different ministers in the past 7 years as follows:

* 2006: Stanislas Kamanzi
* 2008: Linda Bihire
* 2009: Vincent Karega
* 2011: Albert Nsengiyumva
* 2013: Prof. Silas Lwakabamba

MININFRA can no longer shock. Much of the country's nightmare, official hype, and Kagame's white elephants are based there, not least the following:

* The electricity nightmare before and after the World Bank stepped in during 2009-2010 with its Urgent Electricity Rehabilitation Project that financed the Jabana Heavy Fuel Oil Power Plant that increased supply to 75 megawatts in 2010 (from 41MW); the hype that Rwanda will produce 1,000MW by 2017 is the latest bogus claim;

* Privatisation of Rwandatel in 2003; its re-nationalisation in 2006; its re-privatisation in 2007; its re-nationalisation in 2011; its collapse and liquidation in 2013;

* Connecting Rwanda with fibre optic cables (2003-2006) as well as building broadband infrastructure on top of Mt Kalisimbi that was supposed to spread internet and television/radio coverage ended in a fiasco;

* The Kigali-Isaka-Dar Es Salaam 1,435mm standard gauge railway that supposedly was to be built by the American firm Burlington Northern Santa Fe; this US$4bil project was being hyped in 2006-2008 but has gone dead quiet, recently replaced by other Kagame pipe dreams, namely, the Kigali-Mombasa rail and pipeline.

Meanwhile, the mess in MININFRA provides a haven for President Kagame's money machine, Crystal Ventures Ltd (CVL). Key CVL's portfolios, include civil works and concrete products, construction and real estate development, telecommunications, aviation charter services, building materials, property management and engineering services. These CVL's products and services primarily depend on tenders from the Kagame government, and are regulated by it. It is a case of the wolf guarding sheep. CVL companies are what has become known as "tenderpreneurs" who cannot survive on the basis of their business acumen but on government contracts.

SHOCK NUMBER 3: WHEN TIGO'S CEO, TOM GUTJAHR, WAS SENT PACKING

The case of the former Tigo Rwanda's CEO, Tom Gutjahr, sent a different shock wave when he was given 24 hours to leave Rwanda in July 2011. RPF's New Times alleged that Gutjahr had been fired for embezzled funds and other fraudulent acts. Tigo Rwanda’s parent company, Millicom International Cellular in Luxembourg, quickly set the record straight - Gutjahr was not expelled from Rwanda due to corruption.

Gutjahr, it turned out, had refused to perform an uneconomical act. He objected to rolling out Tigo's network to President Kagame's 45 acre ultra-modern farm and its penny-less poverty-stricken neighbourhood at Lake Muhazi. And here is the sentiment for which Gutjahr was crucified: 'Tigo cannot install a network mast in any area just for one man even if he is the president of the country.' For Paul Kagame, however, Gutjahar's refusal to build a network was not about economics. Gutjahar had to be unceremoniously expelled from Rwanda for his arrogance or 'agasuzuguro.' Which begs the question: why hadn't RPF's own MTN Rwanda not build Kagame a network mast in more than 20 years they have been in country?

Wonders never cease. In today's Rwanda, not even a private sector operator can operate strictly on business principles. Public and private sector enterprises must cater to the strong man - President Kagame.

SHOCK NUMBER 4: THREAT TO HIT A FELLOW MEMBER OF EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

Perhaps the most recent shocking occurrence in Rwanda was when on 30 June 2013 President Kagame publicly stated that he was bidding his time to "hit" Tanzania's head of state. The latter had months before the Kagame incident suggested that Rwanda should negotiate peace with rebels since fighting for nearly 20 years had failed to render the region more peaceful.

"Hitting" President Kikwete would mean Rwanda either declaring war on Tanzania or fighting the UN-mandated Tanzanian-led forces currently deploying to disarm rebel
groups in East DR-Congo.

Such crude and brazen act of undiplomatic behaviour is reminiscent of Uganda's Idi Amin whose reckless and bombastic style led to the Tanzania-Uganda war in 1978-9. Threatening a fellow member of the East African Community and African Union illustrates the extent to which the Rwandan president has lost touch with reality.

For our purposes here, this brazen act of undiplomatic behaviour is proof, if any were needed of deeper extent to which the 'law of diminishing astonishment' is at work in Rwanda. It is increasingly impossible for Rwandans to be shocked.

WHAT NEXT NOW FOR RWANDA?

All manner of campaigns to change the constitution for purportedly allowing Kagame to finish the "great" things that he will not have completed in 23 years between 1994-2017 are well underway. But where all this end?

As elsewhere in the world it is often difficult to advise someone already detached from reality that they going in the deep-end. Few will dare tell President Kagame the truth especially as he is prone to shooting the messenger. Most will indulgently humour him and reassure him that he is the greatest leader Africa and Rwanda has ever had.

My sense and hope is that even the die-hard Kagame domestic and foreign supporters surely deep down know all is not well. The sooner more and more voices are heard among Rwandans and between them and our regional/international partners, our country risks descending into what Kofi Annan once termed the "evil from within" - powerlessness to stop a power-drunk regime from sending our country into a new round of an unimaginable violence.

In conclusion, years of feeding on Machiavellian beliefs that "it is much safer to be feared than loved,” and regular dosage of Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power, including "Crush Your Enemy Totally" as well as "Keep Others in Suspended Terror" have made Paul Kagame believe he is invincible. Yet it is at such moments that regimes begin to rot from within due to "paradox of power" when societies stand up and resist coercion, deception, and manipulation. People power is unleashed to fight for governance that is attuned to, and in service to the needs and interests of society - as opposed to domination. This is what Rwanda is crying for - and are ready to fight for.

_______________________________

Public confessions we are witnessing in Rwanda take us back to Chairman Mao cultural revolution and Comrade Stalin show trials in the Soviet Union back in the 1930s. In today's Rwanda, if you don't confess, you might as well go into exile and lose all. Here is Protais Musoni who is now reduced to being a drunk and useless - after using him for decades. I did not know Protais that well, but for years he dId the donkey work of building local government systems. I take this opportunity to accord him due respect for his leadership in the decentralisation process in Rwanda - Protais is the father of decentralisation, no doubt about that. Protais and I worked together in one key area - building the Cabinet Affairs ministry in the Office of the Prime Minister. This was among the 2006-2009 reforms that we worked so hard for improving decision-making that included among others creation of the Strategy and Policy Unit in the Presidency. Initially led by Charles Muligande, Protais stepped in to steer the Cabinet Affairs ministry until recently. Like every human beeing, Protais had his own shortcomings no doubt. For what it is worth Protais, I say to you that hold your head high, for you did some great work for your country.