An employee at Gatsibo shoe factory
Members of the Rwandan Private Sector and interested foreigners could start preparing bids to take up five lucrative factories in rural Rwanda.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry says government is planning privatization of five processing factories built under “Uruganda Iwacu” program.
Under government’s plan to promote industrial growth, a local processing factory was constructed in selected districts across the country as a way of promoting local products.
As a result, according to Minister Vincent Munyeshyaka, five factories were established in Gatsibo, Rwamagana, Burera, Rutsiro and Nyanza districts.
In a region with livestock vocation, Gatsibo district hosts shoe factory while Rwamagana has banana factory since it is country’s banana basket.
The government planned milk factory in Burera district, Honey processing plant in Rutsiro district and tiles production in Nyanza district.
At least Rwf450 million has been spent on construction of each of the five factories.
Some of the plants, according to Minister Munyeshyaka, are operational while others are at a slow pace.
“For instance, the factories in Rutsiro and Gatsibo districts are working very well. The one in Rwamagana district is under construction, while Nyanza factory has been reserved for training and exhibition,” Munyeshyaka told KT Press.
“We are working on a plan to hand them over to private sector,” Munyeshyaka says adding that it will be soon.
Under the government’s industrial promotion plan, Minister Munyeshyaka said, “We have developed industries in every part of the country and this is being done in three phases; we have industrial parks in every secondary city and Agakiriro in each district of the country,” Munyeshyaka said.
Agakiriro consists of workshops where the youth train in technical and vocational skills and start production to earn a living.
Rwanda’s manufacturing sector is still small but steadily growing at an annual rate of 7%.
According to Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the country targets to increase industrial contribution to Growth Domestic Product to 26% by 2020.
To attain this, the body says that several policies and strategies such as the National Industrial Policy and the National Export strategy have been developed.
The country has also put in place a National Industrial Policy which aims at diversifying the economy by increasing the share of industry to the country’s GDP, increase exports to $1.5 billion by 2020 and increase the number of off-farm jobs.
Under its 7 year plan, the government has vowed to create 1.5 million off-farm jobs.
