Rwanda: Vision 2020 à mi-parcours. Les coulisses de l'exploit.

This paper outlines the Rwandan government’s achievements in terms of the execution of its Vision 2020 that was elaborated in 2000. Being ‘halfway’, the overall picture seems quite promising. Rwanda’s economy is thriving with impressive economic growth figures. The country is on track to reach most Millennium development goals in the domain of education and health. The government is applauded for the quality of its technocratic governance and its pro-active policy to create an attractive business climate. However, there are also problematic indicators such as the limited extent of poverty reduction and the huge increase in inequality. This paper argues that the current strategy - one of maximal growth at all cost – is counterproductive to the objective of maximal poverty reduction. A strong economic growth, concentrated in the hands of a small elite, results in a highly skewed developmental path with limited trickle-down potential. As an alternative, the paper pleads in favour of broad-based inclusive growth building upon the knowledge and enhancing the capacities of rural small-scale farmers