Several businesses in Rwanda have welcomed the latest confirmation that the highly anticipated Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) would finally take place in June 2022. According to a joint statement by President Paul Kagame and Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary General, the next CHOGM will be held during the week of June 20. Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary General. The high level meeting has been postponed twice owing to the Covid-19 outbreak, a decision that had left many business operators in a state of disappointment because of the anticipated opportunities that come with it. Ian Williams, the General Manager of Mantis Epic Hotel in Nyagatare district recounts that most businesses had lost hope in the meeting. “We’re very excited that the meeting is finally going ahead, we were very worried that the meeting would be cancelled after this time or taken virtual,” he told The New Times in an exclusive interview. He also added that the global gathering will not only benefit businesses, but come down to everyone’s radar. “Apart from commercial impact, it will also showcase Rwanda to the eyes of the international press, as all Commonwealth Heads of State are expected here, and hence benefit the Rwandans in general,” he added. The high-level consultative meeting is expected to bring together 53 heads of state and their entourages. For Aubin Bahizi Mutesa, the Manager of Sovana Restaurant in Kigali, this is an immense opportunity that they are bracing for. “We are very glad for the new date and we promise to do our best and serve the guests with integrity, and we shall also reap from that, as they will have to spend some time here,” he said. He added: “We’re also upgrading our digital platforms to sell our products, so that they can be accessible to our clients and the guests in all possible forms, so as to increase the access,” he said. The leaders’ summit will be preceded by meetings for representatives from Commonwealth networks for youth, women, civil society and business. According to Jean Damascene Ngiruwonsanga, the Head of Marketing and Communications at Tom Transfers, a company specialized in car rental services as well as accommodation among others, the new schedule is an array of hope. “We are now relieved, as the new date is set, because the investments we had made won’t make losses for this time and we hope that hosting this big event will increase our capacity as the private sector,” he noted. Is postponement possible in 2022? Businessmen and women who talked to The New Times indicated their full optimism that CHOGM won’t be postponed this time. They base their argument on the current Covid-19 vaccination progress registered in the commonwealth countries and particularly Rwanda. As of the end of January 2022, over 8.5 million Rwandans had been inoculated with the first dose whereas more than 7 million got two doses of the vaccine. More than one million people also got the Covid-19 booster. Up to 10,000 guests are expected in this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
