From a national strategic perspective, the Presidential Advisory Council [PAC] structure in itself and initial conception would be a significant means for the development of Rwanda.
Unfortunately, since its launch in 2007, what it has achieved is primarily to reinforce apartheid types of policies which exclude the majority of Rwandans, prioritizing a separate development benefiting a tiny minority consisting mainly of Tutsi elites while the rest of the Hutu population is in the process dispossessed of the little assets it had, its children are excluded from education, is unemployed, and health is only available to the wealthy.
Another important aspect of the PAC structure and its neo-liberal tendency – apparently linked to its selective particular foreign membership – is that it has become an instrument for the Rwandan president in gaining support for his regional or national misdeeds, either for his interference in Congo to plunder mineral resources or his crackdown on political dissidence and stifling democracy.
As of 2009 the list of PAC members was as follows. Obviously many names do not appear anymore in the present membership or new others do for different particular reasons. Others have changed positions.
The members Presidential Advisory Council as of 2009:
- Scott Ford – President and CEO of Alltel
- Sir Tom Hunter – Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist, co-founder Clinton-Hunter Development Initiative
- Dr. Donald Kaberuka – President of the African Development Bank Group, former Minister of Finance, Rwanda
- Dr. Clet Niyikiza – GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Vice President of Worldwide Research & Development
- Kaia Miller – founder of Aslan Global, Inc.
- Joe Ritchie – Rwanda’s Honorary Consul in Chicago, founder Fox River Financial Resources, Inc and CEO of Rwanda Developement Board.
- Michael Roux – Rwanda’s Honorary Consul General in Australia, Chairman, Asian Markets, KPMG; Roux International Pty Ltd; RI Group;
- Bishop John Rucyahana – Retired ex-Bishop of Shyira Diocese of Rwanda
- Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa – Rwandan Entrepreneur, Board President of Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency
- Dr. Eliane Ubalijoro – Assistant Professor at McGill University, Canada
- Pastor Rick Warren – Religious leader, founder Saddleback Church, and PEACE Plan.
- Prof. Michael Porter is also a member of PAC though he did not attend the launch.
- Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Others PAC members are:
- Bel Dowson
- James Musoni, Rwanda’s minister of Finance
- Rosemary Museminari, Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs minister
- Gatare Francis, new Personal Representative of President Kagame to the NEPAD Steering Committee
- Himbara David, Private Secretary to President Kagame
- Kanimba François. Governor, Rwanda National Bank
- Michael Fairbank, Chairman Emeritus and founder of The OTF Group, a software and strategy consulting firm based in USA.
