KIGALI - The sixth annual National Leadership Retreat is slated to begin today at Kivu Serena in Rubavu, Western Province.

President Paul Kagame will chair and preside over the proceedings of the retreat which will last until Friday.

The retreat commonly referred to as ‘Umwiherero’ is expected to bring together about 200 top government officials including Ministers, Permanent Secretaries,Rwanda’s Ambassadors abroad, and heads of government agencies.

It is organised by the President’s Office in conjunction with the Office of the Prime Minister.

According to a statement from the Office of the President, the theme for this year’s retreat is ‘Beyond Aid: Mindset for Delivery and Development.’

"Discussions are centred on unblocking the key barriers to development in order to enable Rwanda to escape aid dependency,” the statement reads in part.

During the retreat proceedings, economy, social and governance sectors are each allocated a full day to allow close scrutiny of the mindset barriers in these key domains.

The press statement that was released yesterday adds that this format follows sector-wide collaborative work in advance of the retreat that led to the identification of priority strategic issues, main problems and proposed solutions for removing obstacles to Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation.

"We aim to make a breakthrough in how processes in the three branches of government recognize their interconnectedness in creating prosperity in our country,” The newly appointed Principal Private Secretary to the President, Dr David Himbara is quoted in the statement as saying.

According to Himbara, investment, both domestic and foreign, can only thrive in an environment where these three vital branches deliver in their respective domains but most importantly as a collective, effectively constituting a healthy regulatory system that builds confidence.

"Weakness in any one discourages serious investment – we can never get the amount of investment we aspire to in a disjointed framework, said Himbara in the statement.

The opening day is expected to feature a keynote address by President Kagame and speech on state of process and delivery by the President of the Senate, Speaker of Chamber of Deputies, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister.

The President of the Private Sector Federation is also scheduled to speak on the state of customer service delivery.

This is the first retreat to be held in Rubavu, the previous five retreats were held in Akagera which is currently under renovation, hence the change in venue.

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