Crowd wave to president Paul Kagame during his citizen outreach. Agaciro was launched by president Kagame as a sign of Rwanda’s resilience
The Government has halted contributions towards the country’s sovereign wealth fund known as Agaciro Development Fund which was established in 2012, citing growth in capital and investment to make the fund self-sustaining as the key reason.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana, in a letter addressed to the government Chief Budget Manager, gave a directive that they stop accepting the 1% contribution which was deducted from salaries of public servants and other forms of contributions towards the fund.
“The Government of Rwanda appreciates you for your contribution to Agaciro Development Fund since its creation in 2012. As The Agaciro fund has grown and is making investments that are increasing its revenues, the Government has decided to stop receiving people’s contributions through deductions from their salaries and other methods,” the Minister of Finance said.
“It is in this regard that you are requested to extend the Government’s appreciation to all your staff for their generous contribution and to implement this decision with immediate effect,” he said.
Civil servants contributed about Rwf3bn annually to the fund which is now valued at over Rwf200b though it is yet to release the 2019 Annual Report.
The figures published by AgDF shows that at the end of 2018 it had grown to Rwf184 billion, equivalent to about $200 million. The fund grew from Rwf46 bn at the end of 2017 to Rwf184bn at the end of 2018, the superb growth attributed to the strategic investments it made.
“2018 was a highly successful year for the fund and the shareholder. The fund continued to enjoy impressive and sustainable growth and the financial Performance showed a strong net income of 5.3 Billion – an increase of 37% over the previous year,”
“Our total assets stand at 184 Billion francs, netting out the GoR transferred portfolio of companies (24 companies have completed the transfer process while 2 companies are in the process of completing the transfer),” a brief from the fund reads.
The previous year, Agaciro’s assets stood at Rwf55.5 Billion resulting in a growth of 9.6% when compared to 2018.
In 2019, the fund received a second phase in the transfer of Government shares in various companies to Agaciro which increased the fund size tremendously.
Officials said the fund remains well capitalized. With a balance sheet size of over $200M, which is invested in development activities aimed at boosting the growth of the private sector in Rwanda and the country’s economy.
Some of the key investments for the fund include treasury bonds, shares on Rwanda Stock Exchange and in ready to sell assets, all of which have increased in value and size.
The inception of Agaciro Development Fund is traced back to 2011 when Rwandans gathered at the ninth Umushyikirano (National Dialogue Council) chaired by His Excellency President Paul Kagame who came up with the idea to establish a sovereign wealth fund.
