Gregory Mthembu-salter

Beyond the Record: the Political Economy of Cross Border Trade Between Cyangugu, Rwanda and Bukavu, Dr Congo Gregory Mthembu-salter

African countries are often exhorted to trade more between themselves, with official statistics indicating disappointingly little economic activity between them. Yet the statistics massively under-capture the complex realities of African cross-border trade. This dissertation offers a new methodology for assessing un-recorded African cross-border trade, and applies it on the border crossing between Cyangugu, Rwanda and Bukavu, DRC. The dissertation provides estimates for trade values and volumes in a range of goods and services, demonstrating that trade on this border is vibrant and mostly unrecorded. There is also a historical summary of trade across the Cyangugu-Bukavu border to provide context. The conclusion argues that intra-African trade is far more substantial then official statistics indicate, and that alternative methodologies, such as the one implemented for this study, are needed to evaluate and understand its workings.