AEGIS ECAS 2007 - View abstract

Panel	35. Reconstruction, Reconciliation and Development in the African Great Lakes Region
Paper ID	643
Author(s)	Hayman, Rachel
Paper	View paper (PDF)
Abstract	Before 1994, the United Kingdom had no bilateral aid policy for Rwanda and no presence on the ground. Since 1994, and particularly since 1997, the UK has become one of Rwanda’s most prominent and important supporters, both financially and politically. Belgium, with its long history of cooperation with Rwanda, continues to provide significant quantities of aid to Rwanda, but its development policy and relations with the Government of Rwanda (GoR) have been affected by its association with the previous regime and the genocide. The overall objectives of both these donors are the same – to support the GoR to implement its Poverty Reduction Strategy. However, the ways in which these donors determine their priorities, provide aid and engage in dialogue with the GoR differ substantially. This paper explores the reasons for the very different policies and perspectives of the UK and Belgium in Rwanda since 1994, notably the historical and strategic factors influencing how and why these donors act as they do in Rwanda. These examples illustrate a wider phenomenon amongst Rwanda’s donor community where the shifting priorities and objectives of individual countries reflect their analysis of the Government of Rwanda and Rwanda’s needs as well as domestic considerations which influence aid agendas. The paper explores to what extent these are specific to Rwanda and to what extent they represent a more general phenomenon. It finally considers the challenges posed for the recipient government in dealing with a range of donors which act very differently on the ground despite professing similar objectives for development assistance.

Abandoned Orphan, Wayward Child: the United Kingdom and Belgium in post-1994 Rwanda