Rwanda’s economy is expected to grow by 6.5 percent in 2015 as aid flows continue to recover and the services and construction sectors expand, the country’s central bank governor said on Monday.
Over the next two to three years, average annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to reach more than 7 percent as the economy rebounds from delays in budgetary support from donors, John Rwangombwa said in an interview while visiting Dubai for an international conference:
“For next year we are targeting for 6.5 percent. The services sector is picking up and the construction sector continues to perform well.”
GDP will grow 6 percent this year, up from 4.7 percent last year, he estimated.
International donors delayed aid payments to Rwanda in 2012 after United Nations monitors accused it of backing rebels in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, some aid flows have resumed.
We expect in the next two to three years a recovery to the pre-shock numbers of above 7 percent.
Rwangombwa said – by “shock” referring to the delay in aid payments.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame said in 2013 that he wanted the country’s economy to grow by an average annual rate of 11.5 percent over five years. This target is unlikely to be hit in the short term, said Rwangombwa:
That does not discourage us. It’s like saying you aim for the moon, when you fail you land in the stars.
