This and That on a Busy Day

What a busy day we had today!   It involved being out of bed at the crack of dawn, visiting three government offices, lunch at a thoroughly horrid lunch buffet (I had missed this buffet, luckily, on the day that I had begged off the morning activities before we went to the prison in the afternoon), and then headed out of town for a five day trip.

We started the day at the Ministry of Justice where we had a very interesting conversation with the Attorney General of Rwanda, a pleasant chap with a wonderful sense of humour.  We talked about how justice is achieved in a situation like Rwanda's and how the gacaca courts worked.  He said if everyone who was involved in the genocide was to be put in jail, then the president of the country would really be a president of jails.   He pointed out that in some localities, up to 70% of the population was involved in the genocide.   How can the area move forward when only 30% are left to work and pay taxes.   How would the infrastructure be improved? He raised a very interesting point indeed.

After we left his office, we went to the Ministry of Education and talked to the Deputy minister of Ed.  We talked about Rwandan schools, how there were no longer any restrictions on who could go to school (there had been, pre-genocide, a cap on the number of Tutsis who could go to school).  The washrooms in the ministry of ed were dreadful - lights not working, toilets barely flushing.  It was a lucky thing I had my toilet paper holder with me - no toilet paper in the washrooms - in the ministry of ed!!!

Then we went to the business development office to talk to the guy in charge, an affable chap who was very eager to show how much he wants businesses to put branch plants in Rwanda, and how eager he was to help set this up.  He didn't seem to be the least bit worried about the growing Chinese interest in this country.   He just wants development.

He should consider developing the rural areas - people on the hill tops still live in houses made of mud and cow manure, and have no running water, no toilets and no electricity.  A pall of smoke hangs over the whole country because people still cook outside on wood-fired grills.  Still, it makes for picturesque scenery.