It is time for Africa to correct what went wrong – Kagame

Kagame delivered the message yesterday as he officially inaugurated three-day Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) Conference held in Kigali.

The conference is organized by Eisenhower Fellowships (EF), an organization that was started in 1953 in honor of the 34th US President Dwight Eisenhower.

The summit is themed around Africa’s integration in multiple aspects such as trade, work, technology, governance and partnerships.

It brought together over 200 delegates including top government officials, business leaders, academics, scientists and journalists.

The conference took place at a place where African Continental Free Trade Agreements (AfCFTA) were signed by 44 countries during the AU General Assembly held in Kigali in March 2018.

AfCFTA went into implementation since 30th May 2019.

As he addressed participants, President Kagame said Africa understands benefits of working together.

“I think it went into implementation for two reasons mainly Africans willingness and external factors that contributed to dividing the continent which have been slowing down. The outside is preoccupied with their own problems, rather than thinking everything is fine and all they have to do is to manipulate things, starting with Africa,” he said.

“It is the right time for Africa to correct mistakes we made. We sometimes knew that what we do affects our people and economy. Africa is at high pace to address its problems,” added Kagame.

He highlighted the youth should take the lead to correct what went wrong.

“ If you look at Africa and the enormous wealth, people should be asking why is it that parts of the world that were at the same level of economic standing 40-50 years ago, today are 100s of time better off,” he said.

“The question must be what went wrong. This is a question everyone should be answering including the young ones because otherwise how will they correct it, they must understand they owe it to themselves to understand the challenge and address them,” added Kagame.

The president explained that the youth represents great wealth along the journey to implement real Africa’s collaboration with the rest of the world.

“We know there is a lot of work to do to be where we want to be. We know we can count on not only ourselves but others for cooperation and collaboration; those are keys for us to be able to continue making progress,” he stressed.

Serving with Rwanda’s example, Kagame reflected how Rwandans unity was the enabler during 25 years resilience process after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Rwanda is the first African country to host the Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) conference.

The organization’s mission is to identify, empower, and connect innovative leaders through a transformative fellowship experience and lifelong engagement in a global network of dynamic change agents committed to creating a world more peaceful, prosperous and just.