The afternoon sessions here after lunch were for the most part held hostage as the EAC heads of state left hundreds of attendees waiting in vain. It’s just now approaching 6pm here in Kigali and we’ve been waiting for more than 4 hours for the afternoon session to convene.
I’ve actually seen several people asleep in their chairs. No one knows what’s going on and several delegates have been stomping in and out of the conference hall in fits of silent rage.
We’re not sure what’s going on, nor do we know how much longer we are supposed to wait.
The fifth Head of State, Jakaya Maurice Kikwete, President of Tanzania, arrived only this afternoon after missing the morning session. Well, at least that’s the official word. He has arrived, but there is no sign of him or his planned afternoon speech, nor the rest of the Heads of State for that matter.
This of course is not the type of inefficiency and disorganization you want to show the world at the Inaugural Investment Conference that’s trying to highlight the region’s readiness for investment.
If I were an investor, I’d be worried right about now. More on this later.
UPDATE:
After more than four hours of waiting, the Heads of State finally showed up around 7pm. We were gone by that time. So no updates from that session. We were able to catch the last moments of President Museveni once again slamming EU investment practices. It makes one wonder what he’s got up his sleeve seeing how busy he is slapping the hand that feeds him.
