05/12/12 Government of Rwanda (Kigali) Rwanda's Development Path Will Not Be Derailed By Freezing of Aid

 During the session Minister Mushikiwabo outlined efforts
the Government of Rwanda has undertaken to help build peace in the eastern DRC.

 

"We have worked closely with the ICGLR and we are
happy that we are heading to the right direction because M23 movement has
agreed to pull out of Goma as a way of allowing negotiations to take its
course".

 

"There has been a breakthrough and we are informed
by the DRC government that it has already put together a team that will
negotiate on their behalf during the talks with M23 rebel movement"
Minister Mushikiwabo said.

 

She called on lawmakers to use their forums to tell the
correct version of the situation in the eastern DRC and to counter the
distortion by the so-called Group of Experts.

 

Speaking about the aid freeze and how it could impact Rwanda's
development, Minister Rwangombwa said that the decision by some donors will not
in any way derail the country's development plans. He explained that the aid
they expected to be delayed or withheld constitutes about 12 percent of the
national budget. The Minister said that of the total amount of aid, five
percent was the proportion most likely not to be received.

 

"This means that our development will not be greatly
affected and we expect to received over 85 percent of the money from multilateral
donors such as the African Development Bank and the World Bank" Minister
Rwangombwa said.

 

Minister Rwangombwa re-emphasised the need for Rwandans
to maintain the spirit of self reliance and look towards a future independent
of foreign aid.

 

"Beyond the DRC crisis, we need to draw a lesson
from this and plan on how we can do without foreign aid" he said.

 

Defence Minister General James Kabarebe gave a detailed
explanation of the events that led up to the creation of the rebel group,
saying it emerged out of the failure of the DRC government.

 

He said that Rwanda
has worked hard to encourage peace in the Congo
and accused the international community of deliberating ignoring the role
played by Rwanda
in building peace in the DRC.

 

'We have had different efforts including Umoja Wetu and
brokering the 2009 deal but no one has ever recognised this' he said. Umoja
Wetu was an operation jointly mounted by RDF and Congolese troops aimed at
routing negative forces including the FDLR out of Congo.

 

'Cooperation with the DRC army continued today. For
example, the joint intelligence team which up to now remain operational in Goma
– including another mechanism called the joint intelligence fusion centre'

 

"We have the joint verification mechanism that also
has Congo on it that has
never at any point corroborated the allegations against Rwanda by this
UN report and its sponsors" Kabarebe said.