However, the France 24 report says these claims started with a private agency, Oxford Policy Management (OPM), that works with Rwanda in areas regarding statistics on the country’s socio-economic situation.

The source says that this time there was a disagreement between OPM and Rwanda over the methodology used, which could have led the UK-based firm to be sidelined in the last part of EICV4.

Gatete said OPM is just one of the agencies government works with through the institute of statistics, and has a prerogative of working with others when there is need.

“If a consultant can’t do a certain piece of work, you hire another one, if they are also not available you can get another one, it’s not that they are the only ones to do the entire work” said Gatete

Rwanda’s strong stance on corruption has made it a darling of the West, which has resulted into the country enjoying a steady flow of foreign aid.

Analysts say allegations Rwanda has been fabricating development data, not only challenges the government’s reputation, but also threatens foreign aid flow, especially if these claims are found to be legitimate.

This comes at a time when the country is on the verge of changing its constitution to allow president Paul Kagame to continue his rule, reducing poverty being one of the factors fueling his domestic and international support.

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