Hotels Take Lion’s Share of Rwf 100 Billion COVID-19 Recovery Fund
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Nearly 50 percent of the government’s emergency economic recovery fund set up to cushion companies from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been spent.
Figures released Friday by Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente show that Rwf 44.3billion of the Rwf 100b fund, has been spent. That is more than 44.3% of the fund.
The fund was established in June to help the economy get back to its feet. Large and small companies were to demonstrate they had lost more than 50% of their business to benefit.
The fund came as confidential findings shared by the UK’s international development agency DFID with government showed at least 60% of the population or more than 8m people, had lost entire livelihoods due to the pandemic.
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Today at the signing of performance contracts by district mayors, known as IMIHIGO with President Paul Kagame, the PM Ngirente said the 138 hotels had got a combined Rwf 42billion from the recovery fund so far.
SMEs had got Rwf 800m, education institutions got Rwf 640m, while factories had received Rwf 370m.
Government said at the launch of the ongoing Fund that it was ready to add another Rwf 100billion – to reach Rwf 200billion.
However, as was reported by The Chronicles, the informal sector which employs 91% of the workforce, will not benefit from the economic recovery funds. One of the conditions to get the cash is that the business must be registered with the Rwanda Development Board.
