Rwanda gets $120m in green funding from WB

Rwand & Renewable Energy

Despite the UN climate change summit descending into farce and leaving many developing nations, in particular those in Africa, extremely unsatisfied, some of the world's poorest nations continue to pursue green policies.

The East African nation of Rwanda is a country ravaged by civil war, genocide and severe economic hardship is now looking trying to ensure greater energy security for its citizens as it tries to recover from its difficult past by signing six agreements with the World Bank which will see a cash infusion into various sectors totaling about US$120 million.

Almost US$70 million will be collected to finance the scaling up of the electricity sector and a project aimed at increasing the national electricity access to households to 16 percent by 2012 with 50 percent access by public institutions in the education and health sectors as well as local government.

Commercialization approach

The agreement, jointly financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Canadian-International Development Agency (CIDA), also includes US$8.3 million for the Sustainable Energy Development Project.

Marie-Helene Bricknell, the World Bank's coordinator for Rwanda, sees evidence that the Rwandan government's green efforts and commercialization approach is working. "Rwanda is a darling in East Africa because they perform," Bricknell said.

Last December Alternative Energy Africa reported how Rwanda was becoming an unlikely "green leader" for Africa in response to its growing problem of cultivated land being pushed out further destroying streams, hydroelectric plants, and water supply.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame added that Rwanda was named the fastest reforming country worldwide, with business regulations now surprisingly easier in Rwanda than the average economy in Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the rest of Africa.

Considering the problems the country has faced, the fact that Rwanda is now emerging as a leading light in sustainable policies should be an inspiration to all developing nations.

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