Rwanda government issues strong support for creators during CISAC’s annual Africa meeting

On 25 July, CISAC’s annual African Committee (CAF) meeting took place in Kigali, Rwanda. This year’s three-day event was opened by Minister of Trade and Industry of Rwanda, Francois Kanimba. In an opening address, the minister offered strong support for the protection of creators. “The Ministry of Trade and Industry and East African Community Affairs and its sister institutions continues to make efforts in making the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights in Rwanda a priority.’’

The minister recognised the important role creative industries can make to Rwanda’s economy in term of growth and employment. ‘‘In order for Rwanda to harness socio-economic and cultural benefits from these industries, businesses need the certainty of adequate rights and protection. We must ensure their interests are protected and their ambition to innovate and take chances is supported to fuel Rwanda’s digital and cultural economy.’’

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The Rwanda government has recently made efforts to enforce the law on artists’ royalty payments, in line with the 2009 law on intellectual property. Last April, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) announced that in July, business establishments playing local music will be required to pay royalties to artists through the Rwandan Society of Authors (RSAU).

Speaking later at a press interview, Kanimba said that Rwanda was at ‘‘crossroads’’ in terms of developing the local creative industry and insisted that enforcement of the law was a way to deal with those who attempt to frustrate the process. "What we need to do and you will see this coming up in the next few months, is that government institutions involved in this area will find ways to enforce the law. Otherwise it will be for nothing," he added.

Africa’s creative industries have huge growth potential but creators currently have an uphill struggle to secure fair remuneration for their work. According to a survey compiled by CISAC for the Kigali meeting, less than 40% of all radio stations across the region are licensed to broadcast music. Of 2580 broadcasters identified in 22 countries, only 1031 are licensed and pay royalties to authors

The year’s annual CAF united creators and representatives of more than 30 authors’ societies. Speakers also included delegates from UN agency the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO).

The forum also saw the confirmation of a strategic plan for collective management organisations (CMOs) in the Africa region. The plan is seen as a way to drive development of growth in royalty collection over the next four years. Other key topics covered during the meeting included licensing challenges within the television and radio sector, the licensing of digital services, and how best to support the development of African CMOs by national and international organisations.