Vision 2020 (Rwanda)

Vision 2020 is a Government development program in Rwanda, launched in 2000 by Rwandan president Paul Kagame.

Its main objective is transforming the country into a knowledge-based middle-income country, thereby reducing poverty, health problems and making the nation united and democratic.

Overview

The programme consists of a list of goals which the government aims to achieve before the year 2020.^[1] These are:^[2]

• Good governance
• An efficient state
• Skilled human capital, including education, health and information technology
• A vibrant private sector
• A world-class physical infrastructure
• Modern agriculture and livestock

History

In the late 1990s, president Paul Kagame and his government began actively planning methods to achieve national development. He launched a national consultation process^[2] and also sought the advice of experts from emerging nations including China, Singapore and Thailand.^[1] Following these consultations, and shortly after assuming the presidency, Kagame launched Vision 2020.^[1] The major purposes of the programme were to unite the Rwandan people and to transform Rwanda from a highly impoverished into a middle income country.^[2]

Progress

In 2011, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning issued a report indicating the progress of the Vision 2020 goals.^[3] The report examined the stated goals of the programme and rated each one with a status of "on-track", "on-watch" or "off-track". Of 44 goals, it found that 66% were on-track, 11% were on-watch, and 22% were off-track.^[3] The major areas identified as off-track were population, poverty and the environment.^[3] Research into Vision 2020, carried out in 2012 by academics based in Belgium, has rated progress as "quite encouraging", mentioning development in the education and health sectors, as well as Kagame's fostering of a favourable business environment.^[4] The research also raised concerns about the policy of "maximum growth at any cost", suggesting that this was leading to a situation in which the rich prospered while the rural poor saw little benefit.^[4]

In November 2013, Kagame told This Is Africa “Our thinking is based on people. In national budgets, we focus on education, health, we look at technology, skills, innovation, creativity. We are always thinking about people, people, people.”^[5]

References

1. Kinzer 2008, pp. 226–227.
2. MINECOFIN (I).
3. MINECOFIN (II) 2011, p. 2.
4. Ansoms & Rostagno 2012.
5. "Exclusive interview: Paul Kagame". This Is Africa. November 18, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.

Cited sources:

• Ansoms, An; Rostagno, Donatella (2012-09-01). "Rwanda's Vision 2020 halfway through: what the eye does not see". Review of African Political Economy. 39 (133): 427–450. doi:10.1080/03056244.2012.710836. ISSN 0305-6244.
• Kinzer, Stephen (2008). A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed it (Hardcover ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-12015-6.
• Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) (I), Republic of Rwanda. "Rwanda Vision 2020". Archived from the original on 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
• Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) (II), Republic of Rwanda (2011). "Vision 2020 Progress and Way Forward" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-05-13.

External links

• "Rwanda Vision 2020". Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy, Government of Rwanda. 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
• "The full vision with a foreword by President Paul Kagame". Rwanda Chamber. 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-03.