And 'Hello' to the Commonwealth...


Rwanda: Commonwealth Meeting Should be More than Just a Ceremony

Frank Kagabo
Kigali

As Rwanda prepares to join the Commonwealth, it becomes of great necessity to try and understand what role international organisations can play in fostering development at the national and regional levels.

Rwanda has just recently joined the East African community (EAC) and is now set to join the Commonwealth, an organisation that hitherto has been a representation of countries that were formerly colonised by the United Kingdom.

It is only Mozambique which joined almost twelve years ago that has no historical connections with the United Kingdom. If Rwanda is admitted as it hopes to during this week CHOGM in Kampala Uganda, then it will be the second country to belong to the world wide group.
A Commonwealth team led by former Jamaican Prime minister, Percival Patterson was designated to consider the Rwandan application late last year. Other countries that have been said to be interested in joining the commonwealth are Algeria, Yemen, Sudan, Israel and the former Palestinian territories.

So, as these events unfold, one may be tempted to ask what is there to gain from belonging and being members of such organizations. Speaking about Rwanda's application to join the Commonwealth, the Minister of state for regional cooperation Rosemary Museminari has this to say:

"The reason we applied to join is because our country has strong links to the Common wealth. Once we join we would share with others several things like infrastructure and trade because countries join forces as a team. Of course we would be very happy to join the Commonwealth. We are waiting hoping we will be admitted".

This in essence captures the importance of a country joining international organizations such as the Common Wealth and others. However, it is equally important with hindsight to take a look at the position and the benefits developing countries like Rwanda and the rest of Africa have benefited from belonging to international organizations especially trading blocks.

It is well known that developing countries always play second fiddle roles when it comes to international trade which is a major component and basis for universal development. One remembers the way trade talks between developing African countries and developed countries mostly in the west collapsed in Cancun Mexico in 2003. At that time, African countries stood firm and called the bluff of the developed world.

The key demand of African countries was that there should be reforms in agricultural trade that would lead to the removal of subsidies in industrial countries and provide greater access to global markets. Rather than accept the demands of African nations, the developed countries saw it fit that the talks collapsed.

So, Rwanda as a developing country needs to join key international groupings in order to advance its international trade position. By dealing with the many members that are within the British Commonwealth, Rwanda will be gaining a better trade position which is of paramount importance. The developing countries that belong within the Commonwealth should work towards transforming the bloc into one that puts trade top on its treasons for existence.

It may have emerged as a reminder or representation of British imperialism but can now he harnessed for the benefit of all its members especially the developing countries like Rwanda. This is so because of the fact that the Commonwealth countries represent more than forty percent of the World Trade Organization.

The grouping can also be a big solidarity bloc when it comes to international trade negotiations despite the different development levels that may be inherent among its members.

So, the out most importance is that developing countries like Rwanda and the rest of Africa can gain most from the Commonwealth and other international organizations by using them as a mechanism for the promoting free trade. It has been argued that poor countries can only develop by trade. The approach of availing aid to African countries has not brought about the much needed development as expected so far.

It is only by free trade that we in Africa can get on to the roadmap towards development. Restrictions and issues like subsidies that farmers in the developed world get in order to out compete the developing countries of the world should be an issue to deal with by international organizations such as the Commonwealth.

Free trade; as advocated for by David Ricardo in his analysis comparative advantage shows that it can benefit all parties as long as they have different costs of production. Rwanda has positioned itself as the ICT hub on the African continent. Rwanda's joining the Commonwealth means many countries in the bloc mainly in Africa will benefit from her comparative advantage in the area of Information Communication Technology (ICT) that she has worked her to attain.



Looks like they'll be doing their business in English from now on...

French women still looks better though.

And they have proper cuisine.

So who gives a fk.

Only you do wolfy.

I know I know, it's "the empire" all over again and all that.

Wondering when will the opium or weapons export to Rwanda start?

So who gives a fk.

Only you do wolfy.

Not at all. The Commonwealth is a unique and valuable institution with a flexible constitution which has allowed it to evolve since the immediate post World War II situation, unlike other international bodies.

Joining the Commonwealth would bring tangible benefits to Rwanda and give them a chance to showcase their improved economic status throughout Africa.

You two will be enthralled to know that I was recently reading a history of the pineapple.

The pineapple originated in Brazil, but for a couple of centuries it was English pineapples that were renowned above all others for their fine flavor. The English took the Brazilian pineapple, applied hot house technology, and really took it into a whole new dimension. English pineapple strains were later shipped back to the New World and cultivated. So there, add the pineapple to the list of great English achievements. Born in Brazil, attended finishing school in England.

Fascinating stuff.

I think Wolfy should invite HC to stay at his place for a few weeks and see if he can't rub some of those abrasive edges off.

"Not at all. The Commonwealth is a unique and valuable institution with a flexible constitution which has allowed it to evolve since the immediate post World War II situation, unlike other international bodies."

Now I see why nobody wants to publish your book. Reading the yellow pages would be more fun...

And enriching.

Now define "flexible constitution"

my boyfriend says I have a flexible constitution

You sure do, baby.

Oh, and a reminder - from now on you call me A Pimp Named Slick Back. And that ain't Slick Back, bitch, it be the whole freaking' thing -

A

Pimp

Named

Slick

Back

Ya heard me??

Now go and get my money.

Good analogy Kiwi, hc is a bit like a pineapple - a rather prickly and ugly bulbous thing protecting a rather delicate sensitive fruit inside. It's a shame the same transformation cannot be performed with hc's social skills.

Yeah yeah we heard it before.

You are good and English, and I am bad and poor (and ugly!).

We know it already.

By the way, where is the book? I want to educate myself in all things western, thanks to our New Clavell.

And Kiwi, good for England if they got a raw product and made it better. I presume you would think I would be pissed off with that? Quite to contrary actually. All power to whomever makes clever use and transform things for the better. But I'd hardly think Brazil would be in the position of improving anything hundreds of years ago, quite to the contrary.

But anyway...I'm curious, why are you researching that?

I was reading about pineapples because I wanted to know if they were a luxury item in the 19th Century United States. I was looking at some old cocktail recipes using pineapple and just wanted to know if they were run-of-the-mill drinks, luxury drinks, novelty drinks, girlie drinks or what.

Found a great quote from a 1930s recipe book which is my new signature. . .

Yeah girls, get baking!

Interesting quote indeed.

I'm wondering how did pineapples end up in South East Asia and who was the one promoting it? Probably the English trying to bypass Portugal? Or? Did you go that deep into the pineapple universe?

A curious fruit that resembles the evil and non-AngloSaxon Chinaski, most certainly a bad guy!

There was something about that in the earlier part of the book (which I wasn't paying so much attention to). I think the Portuguese or Dutch first took them to SE Asia. The English got into the whole pineapple thing slightly late (even their pineapple hothousing techniques were mostly learned off the Dutch), but then made up for lost time - in the 19th century French tourists would pick up pineapples in England to carry home.

They spread around the world surprisingly fast. Even the Indians took them from Brazil up to the Caribbean.

Apparently their main value to the Indians was for making wine. The wine supposedly wasn't that great. Still interesting. Have you ever tried pineapple wine back home? Maybe everybody got into Cachaca instead and they stopped making it?

"Apparently their main value to the Indians was for making wine. The wine supposedly wasn't that great. Still interesting. Have you ever tried pineapple wine back home? Maybe everybody got into Cachaca instead and they stopped making it?"

Never saw it actually. Not common at all, and yes, cachaca dominates the market (in some places it costs less than water). I'd think some places in the north would still have this in small communities and such.

Great fruit though, many drinks in Brazil use it as ingredient (including many forms of "batida", a mixture of fruit, condensed milk, loads of ice and cachaca or vodka...the sweet and cold innocent drink that can get one in trouble quickly without noticing).

I THOUGHT FRANCE GAVE MUCH GREATER AID TO ITS COLONIES THAN uk EVER DID?

sorry for the caPITAL LETTERS. IM PROBABLY WRONG YET AGAIN.................... wolfy and google will prove it.