Himbara resorts to misinformation on Rwanda’s economy, but facts are too stubborn

David Himbara, the long-time propagandist of the RNC terrorist group who also is on the payroll of a powerful individual in Uganda continues his sponsored crusade to tarnish the image of Rwanda. Very unfortunately for him, the facts are not on his side.

In his latest attempt at this, Himbara once again tries to paint an apocalyptic picture of the Rwandan Economy. The propagandist, masquerading as an economist, states that 56.5 % of Rwandans live below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day. He thinks he can hoodwink readers with his “comparative” statistics, which are cooked with data dated 2016 for Rwanda, 2009 for South Sudan, 2017 for Tanzania. Yet he compares the numbers to derive a conclusion that “Rwanda is the poorest”. His intent to tarnish could not be clearer.

Furthermore, he does not explain the controversy surrounding the “international poverty line of $1.90 per day” as it does not factor in cost of living index.

The World Bank says the following about poverty measurements: “The appropriate deflator for measuring poverty is not the Consumer Price Index or GDP deflator, but rather a composite “cost-of-living” index.” Academically, the concept of an international poverty line based on monetary value has been replaced with national poverty lines that factor in national realities such as the cost of living. Himbara, payed to smear Rwanda at any cost, avoids the real data set, because his narrative would collapse.

According to the Chronic Poverty Network, poverty in Rwanda, as measured by the international poverty line, fell from 77.2% in 2001 to 55.5% in 2017, while poverty measured by the national poverty line declined from 58.9% to 38.2%. That poverty is reducing fast in Rwanda is a hard undeniable fact, mostly due to its development oriented policies. These are totally inconvenient facts for Himbara’s narrative, so he just distorts the true image with cooked figures.

Despite the Coronavirus Pandemic, Rwanda is still growing at a 6.6% rate, according to the World Bank.

Facts are too stubborn for Himbara.