Ransford Smith Meets President Kagame

Commonwealth News and Information Service (London)

20 June 2011

press release

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith has ended a visit to Rwanda, where he briefed President Paul Kagame on preparations for the October 28-30 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Australia (CHOGM), and discussed bilateral issues with senior officials.

Mr Smith met the president on 17 June 2011 in the capital Kigali. As well as CHOGM, he discussed progress being made in examining areas in which Rwanda required the Commonwealth’s assistance in capacity-building and institutional strengthening.

Mr Smith highlighted areas in which the Commonwealth could assist Rwanda in its growth trajectory, including trade policy formulation and negotiation, export development strategy implementation, public sector development and reforms, and meeting MDG targets in health and education.

Other areas he cited were strengthening oversight institutions such as the Office of the Ombudsman, the human rights body, media, the Office of the Auditor-General, parliamentary committees and Rwanda’s election management body.

“We have had very fruitful meetings with ministers and senior officials and have a clear sense of how to progress. We will be following this up with officials so we can meet areas the country has identified as priorities,” Mr Smith said, who also met the ministers of finance, trade, education, and labour and public works.

At a Saturday (18 October 2011) event, Mr Smith gave a baby gorilla the name “Indamutso”, or greetings. He picked the name because he was bringing the Commonwealth’s greetings to the conservation sector in Rwanda.

“Indamutso”

The mountain gorilla population is estimated at 780 for both Virunga and Bwindi forest, of which 270 mountain gorillas belong to Rwanda.

The gorilla naming ceremony was organised by the Rwanda Development Board, whose CEO, John Gara, said the government’s conservation agenda had eased the threat of extinction of gorillas, whose numbers were steadily rising in the Virunga mountains, which traverse Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“They are a beauty to watch. We protect them for their own sake. A secondary reason is that we receive tourist dollars from them,” Mr Gara said.

Mr Gara said Rwanda was committed to involving the local communities in gorilla conservation and protection, and handed five per cent of park revenues to communities, as well as built infrastructure like schools, homes and community centres.

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