When Rwanda development board initiated the ‘’Visit Rwanda’’ campaign days ago, both positive and negative criticism sparked up mostly from across the Globe. Well as most countries across Africa applauded President Paul Kagame for such great creativity, the western world criticised the move claiming it’s a waste of foreign aid for such a poverty stricken country and that the money could be used for constructive programs that would later see most Rwandese employed.
However, deputy foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungire replied saying the sponsorship deal money came from tourism as there’s a budget to market the country’s tourism sector which is the biggest foreign exchange earner and no foreign aid was used to facilitate the move. Therefore donor’s aid is specific and well accounted for in Rwanda.
It should be remembered that the ‘Visit Rwanda’ campaign will be emblazoned on the left sleeve of players in Arsenal’s first, under-23 and women’s teams.
However, local political analyst Robert Mugabe called the Arsenal deal elitist, saying many Rwandans did not know how it will benefit them. ‘Many people in Rwanda are kept in the dark and don’t know the actual money invested. Rwandans are learning this through foreign media,’ Mugabe said.
The country’s goal is to double tourism receipts from $404 million by 2024, the Rwanda Development Board said in a statement.
