January 16th; 2017, by Dr David Himbara
As you know and as you have often heard him say, President Paul Kagame frequently goes hunting for food (Guhaha) overseas.
In January 2017 alone, President Kagame will have made the following journeys hunting for food:
1. Kigali to India, 8-11 Jan, 5,386 km, 7:30hrs
2. India to Mali, 12-14 Jan, 8,525 km, 11:30hrs
3. Mali to Rwanda, 15 Jan, 4,509 km, 6:30hrs
4. Rw to Davos, 17-20 Jan, 5,773 km, 8:00hrs
5. Davos to Kigali, 21 Jan, 5,773 km, 8:00hrs
Paul Kagame in India. January 9th; 2017
So how much fuel do you think Kagame will burn in the food-hunting trips?
The above trips total 40.9 hours. The Gulfstream executive jet that Kagame charters from RPF’s Crystal Ventures Ltd consumes 503 gallons of fuel per hour, according to the manufacturer’s website. Which means that by the end of January 2017, Kagame trips will have burnt 40.9hrs x 503 gallons = 20,572.7 gallons. Multiply 20,572.7 by $1.70 per gallon you get $34,973.59 in total fuel cost of Kagame’s GUHAHA trips. Now convert the cost in dollars into Rwandan Francs at RWF820, you get RWF28,678,343.80.
RWF28 million does not sound like a lot of money. But what if we add the (1) cost of chartering the RPF Gulf Stream jet, (2) presidential hotel suites, (3) presidential living costs, (4) and the costs of more than a dozen of entourage?
Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the First Lady in Mali on 13th and 14th January, 2017. Photo (c) Rwandanews
We will figure out those things next time. Meanwhile, how much food did Kagame bring back from Gujarat, India and from Bamako, Mali?
