Vision 2020 portrays the government’s medium term goals. A copy can be found here:
www.moh.gov.rw/docs/VISION2020.doc. Being land-locked, Rwanda has a keen interest in
reducing its dependence on foreign energy imports and it placed a high emphasis on renewable
and/or locally produced forms of energy. The use of biomass will be brought back to 50 % of the
energy balance, from 86 % now. This is expected to be done through the use of modern fuels
such as LPG and kerosene, and the use of electricity. In the short term, the government
committed itself to increase electricity access from the current 100,000 clients in the country (6 %
of the population) to over 350,000 by 2013 (13 %), and eventually more than 35 % with access in
2020. Large deposits of methane gas estimated at 60 billion m
3
are embedded in the deep waters
in Lake Kivu. Although the resource is shared with Congo, Rwanda is ahead in developing the
site, it is expected that Rwanda will apply these resources of about 350 MW (electric) for some
50 years, of which 250 MW is earmarked for electricity production and 50 MW for production of
liquid fuels; the remainder is considered for fertiliser production and direct use.
The country has strong private sector laws and a drive for privatising public services and
promoting private sector involvement. Benefits are provided to foreign investors, in terms of tax
holidays, import tariff reductions, etc. Although not necessary, it helps to register with the
Rwanda Private Sector Federation (www.rpsf.org.rw) that can help with possible bureaucratic
tangle. In addition, it can assist obtaining import duty and tax privileges. In addition, the Rwanda
Investment and Export Promotion Agency can be helpful too (www.rwandainvest.com) with
registration, licensing and obtaining tax incentives. The country developed a strong regulatory
environment, which on the one hand seems overly bureaucratic, but on the other hand creates
clarity and transparency. Another result of the regulatory environment is that the Rwanda
Revenue Authority is well aware of all commercial activities and monitors this closely. Its mandate
is to “Mobilise revenue for economic development through efficient and equitable services that
promote business growth.” (www.rra.gov.rw). Recently a Rwanda Development Board has been
created that should be contacted before any new activity starts in reality.