Forget about cleanliness, forget about africanomics! There is only one thing that matters: dictators are a real threat to world security and the creation a dictatorship-free zone to replace the current dictators of Rwanda, Uganda, The Congo, Cameroon, etc. is the right thing. Didn't I write at Foreign Policy (see Postcards from Hell) that "Africa's hells would never exist without those little devils in human shape called dictators and tyrants"?
Let me give you an example. The United Nations recently released an assessment report on October 10, 2011 stating that “the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has the capacity to become the driving force of Africa’s economic development if its vast forests, water resources and trillions of dollars worth of mineral reserves are used prudently…”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39986&Cr=democratic&Cr1=congo
The D.R. Congo sits over hundreds of trillions of dollars and has enough resources to feed the entire world, including Rwanda and Uganda, Congo's troublesome neighbors. The world needs Congo's immense resources to supply a hungry world, and Congo has become central to China’s national security interests as well and the way they’re tapping into Congo's resources is very questionable due to secrecy in any dictatorial system. That’s why I continue to advocate for a dictatorship-free zone in Africa.
A dictatorship-free zone in Central Africa and East Africa is in the best interest of its inhabitants. For Congolese, it will create jobs and prosperity selling its resources appraised to hundreds of trillions of dollars to a hungry world. For the industrial world, it will make it much more transparent and cost-effective to access Congo's resources (including rare earths) by avoiding the traditional contraband via illegal shortcut through Rwanda and Uganda.
Didn’t I write in the June 2011 edition of Foreign Policy "No doubt, crime normalizing is the favorite tool for those little devils in human shape called tyrants to bring entire nations to hell unless there is a global movement to cut the root of the problem and transform those hells not into paradises but into decent places to live, exercise all freedoms, and prosper"? Enough food for thought for foreign policy makers!

I must applaud Rwanda. Yes, their not perfect, with the detention centers and such, but considering their situation and what they're trying to do, they're relative saints. And I agree with you Kapenda. We do need to replace the dictators that rule Africa. But, in my view, it's not that simple, or that easy. The sad truth is that one central (absolute) authority calling the shots can get things done quickly, and if it's on the right path, than the progress can be swift. But I honestly believe that the current president cares about Rwanda. Yes, he essentially made himself its "dictator", but I think once he gets Rwanda on her feet, he will allow democratic government to take over. He's the only autocratic ruler I'd say that about, and I'm quite hopeful about him, and about Rwanda. I hope they become an example for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, especially newly independent South Sudan.

One thing that we know for sure is what a dictatorship means. No matter how you dress it up, these men rein by fear and terror. The principle behind a dictatorship is an immoral one and can never rightly be justified.
We see and understand these things clearly, but what we don't see is who controls these puppets and what is the vision of the puppet master? That's why we pick our poisons very carefully. To get rid of one puppet for another means to erase a known evil for an unknown replacement in which we have not prepared for.
People put people in power. No matter who you are or what you have, you will ultimately need manpower and support from someone equal or of greater authority than you in order to rule. So killing the messenger grants us immediate gratification, but listening to his message just may reveal the where abouts of his Master?

Clean water is only available to 46% of Africans. If Mr. Kagame can transmute Rwanda into one where everyone can count on proper sewage, the dictatorial nature of his government will be worth it. Whenever people suggest doctors and hospitals be sent to Africa, they should really think about sending civil engineers first.

This article exhibits too much intellectual laziness, and a habit of stereotyping Africa into one monolithic country. The author, who is a Yale PhD student, should know better. How many countries has he visited to make the “objective” statement that Rwanda is the cleanest in Africa? Has he been in Cape Town, Casablanca, Praia, and Gaborone just to mention a few?

Can you how ridiculous it would be if the expansive streets of Tripoli and the seas side mansions of the Gaddafi were used to justify his brutal regime?
Don’t you know that people abandon all they have to fight for dignity and freedom?

And for the record, Yes, this is a regime that has been accused of such grave crimes as genocide. If you wipe out my entire family and continue to oppress me, having a clean street will not bring me happiness. Enough of this crap!

.....All this housekeeping makes Rwanda a pleasant place to visit. But it also raises the question: Does such a poor country really need so much spit and polish? And why scrub with such a heavy hand?.......

WHY NOT? ACCORDING 2 U A POOR COUNTRY CANT BE CLEAN....PATHETIC!

In the near term it does seem that Rwanda is best served by a benevolent dictatorship.
The genocide is too recent, and a quick transition to democracy would probably just result in more ethnic violence and division.
Hopefully in a decade the country will have developed and be ready to free up its political system.

Leaders of independent nations such as Rwanda are determined to decrease poverty and portray the greatness of its people to the rest of the World by implementing permanent change. They are equipping their citizens never to live in disparity and hopelessness. One such way of fighting the war of poverty is economic empowerment - a never-ending process where Rwandan people strive to challenge and be challenged.

Thank you, for sharing the success story of Rwanda!!!

Shame on you, Foreign Policy, for publishing such an amateurish piece. The author clearly has little knowledge of Rwandan history, or politics. This type of reporting helps shape the image of Rwanda that Westerns hold, and it is an inaccurate one that in turn bolsters and shapes donor policy. Interesting that this piece comes out shortly after Tony Blair defended his relationship with, and reaffirmed his commitment to the policies and practices of Rwandan President Kagame. International donors may be clueless, but I'd bet that diplomats on the ground in Kigali know full well that the 'successes' of the government come on the back of ordinary Rwandans who are not part of the state machinery.

I agree that the international community is looking for a success story, but not at any cost. What the author perceives as order and cleanliness is actually an ambitious drive to modernise described by James Scott in his "Seeing Like a State". Rwanda is actively engaged in a social, economic and political engineering process that privileges a few (presumably those that this author consulted) at the expense of the many (which the author appears not to have consulted). Without an understanding of the how these policies impact local actors, keeping in mind that even by Rwandan government numbers, 80 - 90% of Rwandans are subsistence farmers who live on less than $1 per day. Indeed, World Bank and IMF number acknowledge that at least 65% of Rwandans live on much much less. Indeed, among the peasant folks I consulted in my own research in the Southwest of the country, the average daily income was only 11 cents per day!

It is also important to keep in mind that the government controls much of the political, social and economic sphere. Thus, it can demand clean and orderly valleys where poverty reigns because residents know they can be fined up to 10,000 FRW (approx. 17US$) if they do not. Umuganda is a historical practice that is rooted in more than a century of oppressive practices by local officials on the local populations in their jurisdiction. In its current manifestation, umuganda is still seen by many Rwandans as a humiliation that serves the government 's agenda.

These are but two glaring examples from the author. I could go on, but suffice it to say, he needs to look beyond the obvious, stop filtering what he does see and experience through a Western lens, and try to identify and explain what he does not see and hear. In a country where authoritarianism is entrenched (not emergent as the author contends), the author should, as any competent political scientist would, look at points of exclusion and inequality rather than blandly praising the government. I suggest he start by picking up the recently published "Remaking Rwanda", edited by Scott Straus and Lars Waldorf.

The Other Horn of Africa
By Ahmed M. Mohamoud "Silanyo"*
October 20, 2011

HARGEISA – Drought, famine, refugees, piracy, and the violence and terrorism endemic to the shattered city of Mogadishu, a capital ruined by civil war: these are the images that flash through peoples’ minds nowadays when they think of the Horn of Africa. Such perceptions, however, are not only tragically one-sided; they are short-sighted and dangerous.
Behind the stock images of a region trapped in chaos and despair, economies are growing, reform is increasingly embraced, and governance is improving. Moreover, with Yemen’s government imploding across the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa’s strategic significance for maritime oil transport has become a primary global security concern. In short, the Horn of Africa is too important to ignore or to misunderstand.

Of course, no one should gainsay the importance of combating famine, piracy, and terrorist groups like the radical and murderous Al-Shabaab. But, at the same time, we have seen my homeland, Somaliland, witness its third consecutive free, fair, and contested presidential election. And Ethiopia has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, with GDP up 10.9% year on year in 2010-2011, rivaling China and leading Africa. Indeed, Ethiopia is one of the few countries in the world poised to meet the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals on time and in full in 2015.

In the wider region, too, things are looking up. South Sudan gained its independence this July at the ballot box. And Uganda has discovered large new deposits of oil and gas that will help to lift its economy.

All of these changes reflect the fact that the Horn of Africa’s peoples are no longer willing to be passive victims of fate and their harsh physical environment. On the contrary, they are determined to shape their destinies through modernization, investment, and improved governance.

After decades of stable enmities, the peoples and nations of the Horn of Africa are learning how to cooperate and align their interests. For example, Somaliland and Ethiopia are collaborating on the construction of a gas-export pipeline from Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, promising new jobs and income for people in one of the poorest and least developed parts of the world.

Although there is much that we can and will do to help ourselves, the Horn of Africa can still benefit from international assistance. But the international community needs to do more than provide food and medicine to victims of famine and drought. Necessary as that is, we need pro-growth investments that will help provide jobs for our peoples and products and resources for the world. That means focusing on promoting market economies and stable government, rather than subsidizing failure and failed states.

Unfortunately, at least with respect to Somaliland, this is not the case. For 20 years, ever since we re-established our independence – we had voluntarily joined with Italian Somaliland to form Somalia in 1960 – the international community has closed its eyes to the successful democracy that we have built. Even more perverse, it appears to be demanding that we abandon the peaceful, tolerant society that we have established and submit to the control of whatever government – if there even is one – rules (or misrules) the remainder of Somalia from the rubble of Mogadishu.

Our successful democratic experiment is being ignored in part because of a hoary ruling a half-century ago by the Organization of African Unity, the precursor to today’s African Union. Back then, with the recent demise of the colonial empires stoking fears of tribal rivalries and countless civil wars, the OAU ruled that the frontiers drawn up by the imperial powers should be respected in perpetuity.

That taboo still claims routine support from many African leaders. And yet Eritrea’s secession from Ethiopia did not lead to other breakaway movements in Africa. Likewise, South Sudan’s peaceful, and internationally supported, separation from Sudan has not led to new calls for Africa’s borders to be redrawn.

A 2005 report by Patrick Mazimhaka, a former AU deputy chairman, cast heavy doubt on the application of this rule in Somaliland. As Mazimhaka pointed out, the union in 1960 between Somaliland and Somalia, following the withdrawal of the British and Italian colonial powers, was never formally ratified. But his report has been left in a drawer ever since.

So when should a people be able to declare their independence and gain international recognition? The Palestinians’ decision to take their case to the UN has put this issue on the front burner. International law is of no help here; indeed, the World Court has offered only scant guidance.

·
Secession should not result from foreign intervention, and the barriers for recognizing secession must be high;
·
Independence should be recognized only if a clear majority (well over 50%-plus-one of the voters) have freely chosen it, ideally in an unbiased referendum;
·
All minorities must be guaranteed decent treatment.
The basic principles that I believe should prevail, and which Somaliland meets, are the following:

All three of Somaliland’s parties adamantly support independence, confirmed overwhelmingly by a referendum in 2001. So there is no question of one clan or faction imposing independence on the others. Yet, although Somaliland is deepening its democracy each day, our people are paying a high price because of the lack of international recognition.

World Bank and European Union development money, for example, pours into the black hole that is Somalia, simply because it is the recognized government. Somalilanders, who are almost as numerous as the people of Somalia, are short-changed, getting only a fraction of the money invariably wasted by Somalia.

Justice demands that this change. The national interest of most of the world’s powers requires a Somaliland willing and able to provide security along its borders and in the seas off our coasts. Our people are willing. But, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, give us the tools, and the international recognition, so that we can finish the job.

_____

* Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud "Silanyo" is the President of Somaliland.
submitted by abdirahman bidhaan dahir

Thank you for this engaging and informative piece. Mr. Dagan however should avoid making assumptions that Kigali is "the cleanest place in Africa". Africa is a vast world, and it would be wiser to title this article "One of the Cleanest Places in Central Africa"

On a brighter note, Rwandan consciousness is gradually and steadily advancing in terms of economy, hygiene and health care. General hygiene should be top priority in every society. It's not an exlusive Western practice.

Much love folks,
Lisa O.

How I wish I can go to these places now! I found these wonderful pictures when I was looking for electric paper cutter for our school when I found them. Long live Africa!

I have tears in my eyes....its? so beautiful. keep going, you are model for whole afrika and and even for western societies the way you face the dificulties and work together. thanks a lot for sport betting posting. wish you the best from germany...

It is just fabulous how this little landlocked country that has a horrible history? started changing their futures and best is that they are doing it together!
The Rwandans have sent people to all corners of the freebet world to use others ideas.
God bless Rwandans! I am really looking forward their future...

This web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll definitely discover it. I like these success stories, but let's hope they will stay like this. The bank i work will open some hew headquarters in Rwanda in the next year. Let's hope it will be good and i will have the chance to visit the place sometime.

An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people are not enough to speak on such topics. You reminde me of a documentary a recently seen on tv...awesome places in africa...To the next. Cheers

There is noticeably a bundle to know about this. I've been there and its am amazing place. I have also some beautiful photos. I assume you made certain nice points in features also.

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I'm impressed at what Rwanda has achieved, lets not hold on there within their progress but alternatively make it forwardworkouts routineover time. I only say let Kagame head the AU after he's finished with Rwanda, maybe then most African nations shall start improving.