The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Yusuf Murangwa, has said that Rwanda is monitoring the US’s foreign aid review situation and will make adjustments if need be. He made the comments on Wednesday, February 5, as he presented the 2024/2025 national budget revision proposal to Members of Parliament. ALSO READ: Gov’t increases spending in revised 2024/25 budget by Rwf126bn He was responding to MP Germaine Mukabalisa’s query regarding concerns that USAID will halt funding for projects it has been supporting. USAID is the principal US government agency for international humanitarian and development aid, managing billions of dollars in assistance to over 100 countries. ALSO READ: Most of USAID's 10,000 staff placed on leave amid US foreign aid review On January 20, shortly after his inaugural, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order that called for a 90-day pause on most of US foreign aid to assess whether it is fit for purpose and is aligned with America’s priorities. In that context, Mukabilisa asked whether there were funds that were being channelled through Rwanda’s national budget to finance some projects of importance to citizens. “I would like to ask whether that was factored in to prevent a gap in the implementation of those projects,” she asked. ALSO READ: Rwanda, USAID sign over $643.8 million deal to support transformative development Through USAID, the US government has been supporting a number of projects especially in agriculture, health, education, through NGOs and through direct projects. In response to Mukabalisa’s question, Murangwa said the government has not yet made a good assessment of the implications so far, since the US’s decision regarding USAID is very recent. “We will be following to see what is happening, and in case of anything, we will be doing necessary adjustments,” he said, before adding that it is “so it's too early to know exactly what will happen,” he said. “We are closely monitoring the situation in the three-month period to see the gap that may be created in case they do not continue [funding]. It means that once we have identified the gap, where necessary, we will cater for it in planning,” he added. ALSO READ: $85m US projects expected to enhance healthcare in Rwanda On the significance of the USAID funding, Murangwa observed “it has been important, but, of course, the government is the main player in the development of Rwanda, and there are also many other development partners. We see very many other bilateral partners; we see multilateral partners.” A January 26 press statement from the US Department of State, in line with President Trump's Executive Order on Re-evaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid, announced that Secretary Marco Rubio had paused all US foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID for a comprehensive review. The initiative is said to be aimed at ensuring that all programmes are efficient and in sync with the America First policy. President Trump emphasised that the US will no longer distribute funds without expecting a return for American taxpayers, as highlighted in the press statement. Information from USAID shows that the agency’s mission in Rwanda was established in 1964, a few years after the establishment of USAID in 1961. The early decades of US assistance focused on health, sanitation and rural development – with agriculture and nutrition. The scope was later expanded to include areas such as research and education, family planning, democracy and governance, as well as humanitarian assistance. It indicated that annual funding to USAID/Rwanda has increased from about $48 million in 2004 to over $128 million in 2016. The bulk of the increase was due to the launch of several new U.S. Presidential Initiatives including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), and the Feed the Future (FtF) food security initiative, it pointed out. In 2023, the US provided over $175 million in aid to Rwanda, according to ForeignAssistance.gov – the US government's flagship website for making its foreign assistance data available to the public.
