Natural resources and energy
Rwanda has good assets of the rock type
cassiterite, from which tin is extracted and exported.
The country's reserves of methane gas under Lake Kivus are among the largest in the world.
After many years of waiting for funding, the gas is
now extracted from, among other things, the American
company CounterGlobal and contributes to Rwanda's
electricity supply.
-
COUNTRYAAH:
Major exports by Rwanda with a full list of the top products exported by the country. Includes trade value in U.S. dollars and the percentage for each product category.
On a smaller scale, tungsten, columbit tantalite (coltan)
and gold are extracted. The extraction of coltan, which
is used in, among other things, mobile phones, increased
sharply in 2000 and 2001, when it was the country's most
important export commodity. Since then, production has
stagnated. This is partly due to a price race caused by
overproduction and partly because all Rwandan mineral
exports have been subjected to tougher international
scrutiny due to suspicions that it may be contraband
from Congo-Kinshasa. Above all, it is the United States
that requires strict reporting that minerals exported
from Rwanda are not illegally mined in Congo-Kinshasa.
Most of the energy consumed comes from wood, peat and
charcoal, which hardens the remaining forests.
Hydropower has been expanded and is now responsible for
most of the country's electricity production.
Electricity is also generated in thermal power plants
powered by imported diesel. In the long term, the gas in
Lake Kivus is expected to be able to generate the
electricity that Rwanda needs, but so far Rwanda has a
deficit in electricity generation and the electricity
grid is worn and insufficient.
-
Abbreviationfinder: A popular acronym site in the world covering abbreviation for each country. For example, RW stands for Rwanda.
FACTS - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Carbon dioxide emissions in total
840,000 tonnes (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions per inhabitant
0.1 ton (2014)
The share of energy from renewable sources
86.7 percent (2015)
2016
December
Presidential election in August 2017
December 10
The government announces presidential elections until August 4, 2017.
Rwandans abroad may vote one day earlier. President Kagame is up for re-election
and is a great favorite for the victory.
November
"French officers participated in the genocide"
November 1st
The National Commission against Genocide publishes a list with names of 22
French officers accused of helping to plan or carry out the genocide in 1994.
The Commission seeks the resumed investigation of the shooting down of the
presidential plane 1994 (October 2016) to hide these French
men's involvement in the genocide.
October
The postponement of presidential plans is being investigated again
October 7
France resumes an investigation into the assassination that became the
starting point for the 1994 genocide. French judges now want to interrogate
former Chief of Staff Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who lives in exile in South
Africa. Nyamwasa accuses the incumbent President Kagame of having been behind
the shooting of then-President Habyarimana's plan which had French crew (see
Modern History). Kagame, for its part, refers to the expert witnesses who
previously concluded that the missile that destroyed the plane was fired by
Habyarimana's own guard force. According to Kagame, the reason must have been
dissatisfaction with Habyarimana's policy towards the Tutsis.
March
Long prison sentence for "rebellious" officers
March 31st
Two former military commanders are sentenced to prison for 21 and 20 years
respectively for "incitement to rebellion". Both have been detained since being
arrested in August 2014. They previously belonged to the inner circle of
President Kagame.
Suspected war criminal again in Rwanda
March 20
One of the most wanted suspected war criminals, former Mayor Ladislas
Ntaganzwa, is extradited to Rwanda from Congo-Kinshasa three months after he was
arrested in the neighboring country. Ntaganzwa is charged with his absence for
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Rwanda in 1994. He is
suspected of guilty of murdering thousands of people and of organizing mass
rape. He was originally prosecuted before the UN Court of Rwanda but his case
was transferred to the Rwandan judiciary in 2012.
February
The government wants to move refugees
February 12
The government says that Burundian refugees should be moved to other
countries in the region. According to the UN, there are about 75,000 Burundian
refugees in Rwanda, but it is unclear where to go and how to proceed. All
neighboring countries have also received tens of thousands of people who have
fled the violence in Burundi. The play is interpreted as a response to
accusations by UN staff that Rwandan authorities have recruited refugees into a
resistance movement to overthrow the Burundian regime.
January
Kagame is running for re-election
January 1st
In a New Year's speech, President Kagame announces that he will run for
office in the 2017 presidential election.
|
