Source: European Parliament
A project funded by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is under implementation.
It aims to promote modernisation of the mining sector in Rwanda and specifically supports technical and vocational education training, skills training , improvement of safe working conditions based on international standards, and digitalisation of mining sector services.
The project was approved under the multiannual indicative programme for Rwanda, for 2021-2023. Project activities do not involve direct mining investments, nor the extraction, transformation or processing of minerals.
The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) with the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) and the Integrated Polytechnic Regional College in Kigali, as the two main local partners.
The project is co-financed with BMZ and implemented by GIZ, with whom the Commission has signed a Delegation Agreement. The EU funds under this project are administered directly by GIZ, applying standard regulations in terms of justification of expenses. GIZ is a pillar assessed Member State organisation and project implementation is subject to GIZ contractual rules and internal controls
This means that it is GIZ and not the Commission, who has signed a contract with RMB according to their own pillar-assessed rules. Oversight is also ensured through the Project Steering Committee including the EU Delegation, which provides strategic guidance and oversight.
On 17 March 2025, the EU adopted restrictive measures against, among others, sanctions on the current RMB’s chief executive officer[1]. RMB as an institution has not been sanctioned.
The Commission has requested that GIZ as the implementing partner put in place all possible measures to ensure that the RMB’s chief executive officer does not benefit directly or indirectly, from any support provided to the RMB as an institution.
- [1] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/03/17/democratic-republic-of-the-congo-eu-lists-further-nine-individuals-and-one-entity/.