{President Paul Kagame has said that good policies enable development of businesses and requested private investors to be more practical, cooperating with government entities that should fulfill their responsibilities in place of fanning blame-games. }
He made the observation yesterday evening during a discussion with private sector stakeholders at Kigali Convention Center.
President Kagame emphasized the importance of the private sector in the development process of Rwanda, calling upon them to build capacities among themselves.
“Achieving success begins with our mindset, believing in ourselves and having the determination to achieve in the face of all odds. If we had felt sorry for ourselves & believed we are too small to achieve, we would not be seated in this convention center. The trust among citizens and the trust citizens chose to have in their leaders have been the key to transforming this country. We need to believe in ourselves and in each other. Our progress is a result of this trust,” he said.
“Without that determination, we would lament on, considering ourselves incapable of doing it, saying such big things are not in our reach, they are beyond our capacity, reserved for others…yet we are similar.,” he said.
President Kagame said that businesses can’t be detached from politics since success of businesses doesn’t come from business principles learnt from class but rather emerge from good policies.
He commented on private investors declaring they can’t join politics and said; “Who is not in politics? Tell the person saying so that he/she is lying since no business is possible in an environment without politics.”
“We knew it right from the past. Our history has taught us that politics must be well organized, devoid of arrogance against some people. The suffering we endured in the past has left us with political lessons,” he observed.
“For now, I think we should teach people politics; they didn’t know the consequences of bad politics. Wherever you go [world over] people are crying…We can start providing political assistance. We went here, beaten and didn’t lament, but did what we felt is necessary. However, they are learning a lesson we completed in the past,” said Kagame.
“When you don’t work with the people, without working for people, it is not politics. And the situation later shows you that it is not politics prompting you to go back to do what you should have done two days before. It is currently worldwide, I am not lying I am going to be a ‘consultant’, I will be telling them“‘that is what we told you’” he said.
President Kagame asked private investors to do everything possible to keep the momentum of Rwanda’s economy so that the person returning home after 20 years will find the country different from how they left it.
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