Kagame made the observation Tuesday afternoon at the Parliament where he held an interactive discussion with young African Social Media influencers and journalists ahead of the 25th Liberation Day #Kwibohora25.
Commenting on the secret to Rwanda’s progress, Kagame said the secret lies in knowing that ‘whatever you get will be on the basis of your efforts combined with others effort’.
He stressed that the country has always tried to balance resources and what it can do with those resources whereby domestic revenues have been rising very fast while the country has gotten money and assistance in terms of development assistance.
“Everything has been in an upward trend. I think so far so good. The challenge we have is that of the flow of resources. We get resources, but it’s always never enough as you always need more to do even more to consolidate the gains we have made,” said Kagame.
“I don’t think we have made enough progress. We have to keep doing more and better. There should never be a point where we feel like we have arrived. Keep going, even when you are doing well, always be worried about something: either of doing more or be worried that what you have achieved can slide back. That’s our philosophy. It’s a daily thing,” he added.
Kagame talked on the rationale for launching the liberation war in 1990 originating from injustices where hundreds of Rwandans were being denied their rights, those living outside and those inside living under harsh conditions.
“After the war we started rebuilding. We had to call upon everybody’s contribution. Rwandans from outside and those inside were able to move together and get us where we are now. In Rwanda we never saw ourselves as an island. We are part of a much bigger family, the African continent. We are part of the EAC and a much wider continent as it is the best way to reconnect and tap into this relevancy of coming together through social, political and economic integration,” he said.
President Kagame said that along the 25 years journey, the country fought one war of liberation and later reached a phase of explaining everything done. It is in this context that Kagame stressed that doing the attention should be drawn on doing the right thing because some people keep thinking differently.
“Perception will always be there, you can’t avoid it. Mainly it portrays you the way you are not. Rwanda still suffers from that. There are people who still see us like we were 25 years ago. Don’t be discouraged by perception. Just be educated by it. You need to work hard to change your perception; you can’t bribe your way through. Keep doing your best,” said Kagame.
He went on to say that ‘before you even convince anybody outside, convince your own people, and make sure they are with you. Make sure they are involved, they are benefitting. It is built on tangible things. People themselves will start disproving the wrong perceptions’.
President Kagame also advised the youth to be confident and make the right contribution.
He said Sacrifice may get to some point that worries people but highlighted that there is always a contribution to make to oneself and country through participation.
“Your sacrifice should be not to jump too fast to what you think is the easiest path for yourself. How do you contribute to changing the things that affect you, when you don’t expect that somebody else is coming to fix it for you?” Kagame advised.
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