EAC: Protectionism will not help locally produced goods

Editor, RE: Made-in-Rwanda: Solution lies in embracing industralisation (The New Times, March 18) This is a critical and strategic discussion that should continue and I’m glad it was triggered by the Minister of Trade and Industry; it means it is high on the agenda of the Government of Rwanda. For industrialisation to take place, there are many prerequisites: universities must be actively involved in research and development, availability of basic infrastructure (electricity, water, transportation and Internet connectivity), access to finance (and even preferential treatment for local firms...just replicate the EXIM banks in most OECD countries) and reduction of government red tapes. During the conversations, I would also throw this question out there; what is really our competitive advantage? If we think we can manufacture tyres in Rwanda and be competitive then indeed we are missing the point. I also don’t agree with these rules of nationalistic protectionism being promoted at the East African Community level; it creates uncompetitive and non-innovative companies (this sounds like welfare of sorts...Europe has tried it before and failed). For Rwanda, what we should focus on is how to aggregate in environment protection, textile, coffee, food processing and export (products and services) to big markets in Africa, China and USA. Finally, we need to tap into outsourcing opportunities in technology and related services. That should be part and parcel of our industrialisation policy. And, don’t forget to invest in think-tanks (local and regional). Al ************************* And what is “industrialisation”? Is it switching hand work to machine work? Replacing own oriented work with factory wage work? Relinquishing personal, landlord, or community directed work to factory planed work? Abandoning craft work on a complete product to factory line producing only parts? Giving up fabrication for known users to fabrication for abstract ‘consumers’ and for quick return on investments? No longer practice slow and economic (literal) transformation of natural resources and adopt rapid and massive (unsustainable) transformation of these? Producing for market exchanges instead of procuring for real individual and community needs? Remaining (‘underdeveloped’ or ‘developing’) bystanders, or ‘jobers’, while those (‘developed’) investors and their technicians build and run factories in our neighborhood, for their prime advantage? Which kind of industrialisation should we embrace? Francois X Nziyonsenga ************************* With all due respect, it is totally impossible to embrace industrialisation in a society such as ours, where we have 1500 registered religious denominations, and zero scientific labs. You cannot have a situation where religion reigns over science and then expect industrialisation to happen. The blame should go to our national strategists. Rwanda as a nation needs to impose building a science lab for every church and mosque in the country, to pave a way for industrialisation. Ntaganda Abdul-Rahman

Opinions

EAC: Protectionism will not help locally produced goods