By Enyichukwu Enemanna
No additional payments will be made to Rwanda arising from the cancellation of its migrant transfer deal with UK, British authorities have declared, announcing that Kigali has waved further payments.
A Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo had on Monday said the UK had asked Rwanda to “quietly forgo” the balance of payment, which amounts to the sum of £50m ($64m) – based on “trust and good faith”.
Rwanda is however asking the UK to pay an outstanding sum of money it claims is being owed, accusing the UK of breaching trust by suspending some aid to the country directly linked to the transfer deal.
A UK government spokesperson in a statement said “no further payments in relation to this policy will be made and Rwanda has waived any additional payments”.
The UK government has last month announced that it would stop bilateral aid to the east African country except for “support to the poorest and most vulnerable”, sparking the row over the asylum transfer payment.
The UK decided to halt the aid after accusing the Kigali of supporting M23, a rebel group that has captured swathes of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in a deadly uprising.
The aid cuts have amounted to “unjustified punitive measures to coerce Rwanda into compromising our national security”, the Rwanda’s government spokesperson said on Monday.
Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing the M23 rebel group, but has recently been more defensive, saying it has had to take measures to deal with the “existential threat” posed by genocidal militia near its borders.
Makolo said Rwanda would now be “following up” on outstanding payments relating to the migrant deal to which the UK was “legally bound”.
The plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, devised by the previous Conservative government in 2022, cost the UK £240m ($310m) before being scrapped by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Speaking in July last year, shortly after his election, Starmer said the plan was “dead and buried”, arguing that the scheme had “never been a deterrent” and would only deport “less than 1%” of small boat arrivals.
In a statement, a UK government spokesperson said: “The Home Secretary has been clear that the costly Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda wasted tax-payer money and should not continue.”
