Kagame arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday for a two-day working visit where he attended International Anti-Corruption Summit on the first day.
President Kagame was invited to give a talk on Rwanda’s anti-corruption efforts that made it the third least corrupt African country over the past two years.
Referring to an example of a policeman from one of African countries who solicited a bribe from him, Kagame highlighted that a country needs to enhance wellbeing of its personnel and share the little resources equitably so that everyone feels like they are being taken care of.
He reflected on hard times Rwanda endured after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi which took lives of over one million victims, shaking national economy and administrative entities.
Kagame explained that the liberation struggle in Rwanda and in Africa more generally, has always been based on the ideals of eliminating discrimination, entrenching good governance and ensuring all citizens benefit equally from nation-building.
As a new government, Kagame said, the turning point in Rwanda’s peace-building process came after months of intense national consultations. Out of this dialogue, key institutions were created to foster transparency and lay the foundation for a sound national fiscal base. These included the Rwanda Revenue Authority, the Auditor General, the Ombudsman, as well as home-grown solutions such as performance contracts signed by officials at every level known as “imihigo”.
“We must make sure that these institutions and mechanisms actually work. They are created to give us results. We quickly found out that fighting corruption has a huge political cost. Officials who did not live up to the agreed standards were dismissed or brought to justice. Others fled into exile and pretended to be so-called “opposition” or “pro-democracy” groups,” stressed Kagame.
He pointed out an example of the first Foreign Affairs Minister after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, (Jean Marie Vianney Ndagijimana though he did not mention his names).
“After the Genocide Against the Tutsi, the first Foreign Minister appointed connived with leaders particularly the then Prime Minister. He was given money to go open new embassies but never came back. That was the first interim Government,” said Kagame.
“Today he is one of the opposition leaders living in France and people accept he is fighting for democracy,” he added.
President Kagame said, a couple of years later, the same PM agreed with the then President (Bizimungu Pasiteri though he did not mention his names) to go and buy vehicles; Mercedes Benz for cabinet ministers with cash in hand.
“He had to carry cash. I told the President this was wrong. We cannot afford to prioritize this type of thing. First of all, our first priority shouldn’t be buying Mercedes for our ministers. This is 1998, four years after Genocide. We are trying to build institutions and the first thing that came to mind is to buy Mercedes for Ministers who have no offices or furniture,” revealed Kagame.
“I told the then President that we cannot afford to prioritize this type of thing and we cannot give money to someone else. We can’t keep doing that unless we are to be doomed to never leave the transition,” he added.
Kagame explained that this so called opposition ‘has turned us into what they call authoritarian because we did not allow them to take this money. Between not fighting corruption and being called authoritarian, I prefer being called authoritarian’.
President Kagame highlighted that zero tolerance to malpractices and corruption is the foundation of the modest progress for which Rwandans continue to work.
“The strategy for us is to build on Africa’s cultural heritage to cultivate the mindsets of responsibility, accountability and efficiency in our leaders and especially in our young people as we continue to build and strengthen institutions that will serve this cause,” he affirmed.
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