In its Vision 2020 plan, the Government of Rwanda aims to transform the country from a largely agriculture-based economy to a knowledge and information based economy, in an effort to reach middle income status by 2020. The Government has emphasized its intention to use investment in ICT as the key driver for this transition and as a vehicle for improving the delivery of public and private services, particularly in the rural areas.
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Source: Africanloft Media / World Bank.
…And possessed the ethnic militia – the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi – the blood thirsty hound from hell – who ransacked the nooks and crannies of the city and countryside butchering Tutsi and moderate Hutus in their thousands!
This was the beginning of the [tag]Rwandan Genocide[/tag]. That was 13 years ago.
As the packs of machete, club and gun-wielding Hutu killers systematically amputate, decapitate and eviscerate their Tutsi victims, those who have the wherewithal to intervene and put an end to the Rwandan macabre drama watched from the galleries.
Those that were already “on stage” when the drama started made a hasty retreat off stage.
It was a moment when the phrase “blood is thicker than water†had its true meanings.
Although the scars may have become old on the bodies of the survivors, I’m sure they remain fresh in their minds, as well as in those of their neighbors who turned against them during those 100 days of dark insanity.
More information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/rwanda/default.stm
White African blog writes: “there are three main areas of web technology innovation in Africa, three regions that define it…These three countries are Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. They represent the power nexus of Africas technological future.”
This excerpt is from his post- “African Technology Powerhouses”, where he discusses the “recognized technology leaders in their region”.
Not that I have any objections to his post; however, I think Rwanda probably deserves a mention, not only because of their innovative, ground breaking, and award winning venture into cheap energy- biogas, Rwanda achieved this feat just a couple of years after going through one of the most horrific genocidal calamity in African history.
“The award winning Kigali institute of Technology [KIST]is a prime driver of Biogas techonology, their ‘Centre for Innovations and Technology transfer’… has designed and built a 150m3 fixed dome digester in Cyangugu prison that is fed with human waste generated by 1,500 prisoners…has also solved the sewerage and hygiene problem at Lysee de Kigali School by providing a 25m3-Fixed Dome digester connected to 6 bio-latrines. The methane gas produced is used to cook for 400 students and for operating bunsen burners in the school science laboratories…”– Timbuktu Chronicles: KIST Rwanda, Biogas.
I believe Africa’s technological breakthrough lies more in the innovation and emergence of sustainable and/or cheap technology that can be replicated continent-wide with very minimal friction and easier adaptation. The biogas venture in Kigali prison and school is just one of them. The ability to create value from what seem worthless, and even repulsive, is nothing but sheer bliss and worthy of replication by other African nations.
Tags: Nigeria Rwanda Technology Africa