Rwanda - 33.70
132
Keep dreaming and you’ll be Singapore some day
Just three short decades ago, Rwanda was in the midst of one of the most brutal genocides in the history of humanity. These events kicked off nearly a decade of brutal war that gripped Central Africa until 2003. Rwanda was ushered out of the carnage by Paul Kagame, the main character of modern-day Rwanda. In his twenty-three-year pseudo-democratic term, Kagame has ushered in a new era of development for Rwanda. Kagame has announced that his ambition is to transform Rwanda, presently one of the poorest nations on the planet, into the “Singapore of Africa.” Singapore, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, is a hub for global commerce and finance boasting a very high standard of living with a questionable track record for democracy. While Kagame’s Rwanda has already more than achieved Singaporean levels of democracy, the tiny Central African country has a ways to go on key fronts such as human rights and freedom, as well as economic success. However, Kagame has led his country closer to the promised land than many outsiders may be able to perceive. Kigali has transformed into one of the safest and most developed cities in all of Africa. Rwanda has consistently had one of the highest GDP growth rates in the world. Kagame has certainly set himself and his nation an ambitious goal, but with the right leadership achieving it is more than possible.
Human Rights - 21
Rwanda has fully abolished the death penalty. Rwandan police regularly failed to investigate the killings of political dissenters; suspicious deaths of political dissidents, activists, and members of unregistered opposition groups went uninvestigated. Police brutality is a rampant issue in the country as detainees are often beaten upon detention. Police regularly killed suspected poachers and drug dealers with impunity. NGOs have accused the government of carrying out the disappearances of opposition figures. The Rwandan Defense Force (RDF) has been accused of maintaining unofficial detention centers. There have been multiple credible reports of detainees being held illegally in unofficial detention centers and tortured by intelligence agents. No allegations of torture were investigated throughout the year, despite several credible claims that it had occurred. Conditions vary widely in Rwandan prisons, in part because the country is in the process of renovating them. Conditions in the majority of prisons met international standards while the majority of pretrial detention facilities languished. COVID laws prohibited family members from providing supplies to prisoners. Arbitrary arrest was the norm in Rwanda and arrest warrants were seldom issued. Judicial independence was generally respected. The former Hotel des Milles Collines manager Paul Rusesabagina, depicted in the film Hotel Rwanda, was detained in Kigali on charges of terrorism. Rusesabagina led an opposition group while living in exile in Belgium and the UAE and boarded a private jet in Dubai that he believed to be bound for Bujumbura. Instead, the plane was routed to Kigali where he was detained on charges of terrorism. Rusesabagina insists that he was deceived into traveling to Rwanda, while Rwanda claims that the arrest was part of an international law enforcement campaign. The UAE and Burundi have both denied any involvement. Rusesabagina was convicted and handed the minimum sentence for terrorism charges of 25 years. The government was slow to manage property restitution cases for survivors of the Rwandan genocide. The government evicted several people from “swamp land” and “flood planes” in the areas in and around Kigali citing flood concerns. Many of the evictees claim that they were not granted proper compensation. The government actively works to suppress journalists working in Rwanda and almost all locally-owned media is controlled by the government. The government blocks access to dozens of foreign news outlets, such as BBC’s Kinyarwanda page. The YouTube channels of many foreign-based dissenters in English, French, and Kinyarwanda are blocked. Social media is closely monitored by the government. Whatsapp recently issued a warning that conversations with Rwandan users are not private, as it has identified the Rwandan government as using Pegasus software to spy on Rwandan and some foreign users. The process to obtain permits to protest is excessively stringent, and even some legally-organized protests are shut down. Homosexuality is legal with no other rights or protections. Abortion is legal to preserve the physical, mental, or financial health of the couple as well as in cases of rape, incest, or fetal impairment. Access to abortion clinics is usually the bigger issue in accessing procedures, rather than the law.
Democracy - 62
The president is directly elected. 156 of 167 Assembly seats are directly elected, eight are appointed by the president, and three are reserved for the vice president, speaker, and deputy speaker respectively. Once the speaker and deputy speaker are elected, a runoff election is held to fill their regular, elected seats. The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is generally regarded as chronically incompetent. The ECZ failed to adequately investigate allegations of vote rigging and discarded existing voter rolls shortly before the 2020 elections. The 2020 election cycle was marred by violence. Parties registered under the Societies Act generally operated without impediment, yet despite being registered under the Societies Act the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was regularly undermined. The NDC was briefly unregistered under the Societies Act but later reinstated by an appellate court. Chishimba Kambwili, an NDC leader, was sentenced to a year in prison on forgery charges. Zambia has only experienced two peaceful transitions of power between rival factions in the country’s history, and has not experienced such a transition since 2011.
Freedom - 46
Dissident media outlets and journalists regularly face government harassment. The government is known to file dozens of lawsuits at once against dissenting journalists in order to intimidate them into changing their coverage or ceasing an investigation. Additionally, the government frequently shuts down dissident news outlets. The government is known to monitor social media and make arrests based on social media posts, though these arrests are seldom. Peaceful protests are sometimes brutally suppressed and the government sometimes (seemingly arbitrarily) decides to shut down a protest. State-owned media carries a government agenda and regularly slanders the opposition. Possession of over half a gram of any drug is illegal and possession of larger amounts can result in a maximum sentence of 25 years. Gun ownership licenses are issued at the discretion of authorities but are generally easy to obtain through bribery.
Economy - 24
Health - 7
Zambia has a life expectancy of 64 years and an infant mortality rate of 4.24%. 8.1% of Zambians are obese and 9% are malnourished. While nearly all of Zambia’s population has access to healthcare facilities of varying quality, the majority of the population lacks ready access to adequately funded and supplied healthcare facilities. 40.2% of Zambians have access to clean, running water. Zambia struggles with mosquito-borne tropical diseases, HIV/AIDS, and arsenic poisoning. The soil and water in several medium-sized to major cities in Zambia contains dangerous levels of arsenic and exposure to this contaminated soil and water has severely negatively affected the health of the local population.
Corruption - 6
Zambia has a highly incompetent judicial system. Judicial verdicts are bought and sold at nearly all levels of government and the judicial system often must be bribed into action. Police extortion is rampant in the country. Public services often must be bribed into action. Land rights are not adequately protected and tax extortion is rampant. Customs extortion is also rampant. Public services often must be bribed into action.
Competency - 9
The government is failing to provide for the people. Disease and corruption remain rampant in the country. The Zambian government has failed to effectively manage a court system or elections.
Future - 38
Zambia’s future looks uncertain as the PF has consolidated power and eroded Zambia’s democracy. The economy has been growing slowly.
Actions Abroad - 70
Zambia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and but is generally isolationist otherwise and maintains good relations with most nations.
57.5% of Zambians live below the international poverty line and 54.4% live below the national poverty line. 12.17% of Zambians are unemployed. Zambia has one of the largest economic disparities in the world. Zambia has a minimum wage of $43 per month. Nearly all of Zambia’s population has access to a healthcare facility of varying quality, though healthcare is of a notably lower quality outside of major cities. The Zambian economy shrunk 3% in 2020 and grew 1.4% in 2019.