President Paul Kagame, on Friday, July 25, challenged new cabinet members to defend and uphold Rwanda’s dignity as they serve to fulfill their responsibilities with the right mindset, will, and capacity towards the nation’s development.

He made the address after officiating the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed Prime Minister, Justin Nsengiyumva, and ministers, ministers of state and other senior officials.

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The establishment of the new cabinet followed Wednesday&039;s appointment of Nsengiyumva, replacing Edouard Ngirente, who has been serving since 2017.

According to Rwanda’s constitution, a new Prime Minister comes in with a new cabinet, and before assuming office, they must publicly take the oath before the President.

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The new cabinet has many returning ministers. There are four new faces, namely Dr. Bernadette Arakwiye, the new Minister of Environment, Dominique Habimana, Minister of Local Government, Jean de Dieu Uwihanganye, Minister of State for Infrastructure, and Telesphore Ndabamenye, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Animal Resources.

Kagame told the Ministers and members of the Cabinet that their responsibilities carry different weights, implying that they must have the will, knowledge of what they are doing, and the capacity to carry them out.

"Giving you these responsibilities has its own weight," he said. "First of all, it stems from your capacity, knowledge, and your willingness to fulfill them. You must have the will, you must understand what you are going to do, and you must have the ability to do it.

"There are certain roles that people are given because others have seen potential or ability in them. That is recognition that comes from the outside. But how you carry out those responsibilities - how much ownership and commitment you bring, and whether you see the task as something greater than yourself, as something that concerns the whole country - that cannot be given to you by others. It must come from within you. The way you apply what you bring from the inside, that is entirely up to you.”

While Rwanda shares similar characteristics with other countries in culture and people, among other things, especially in Africa, the President said, in some ways, the country is very different from the rest of other countries, whether in Africa or the world.

According to the Head of State, as much as there has been progress in development, there are reasons why it still lags behind compared to the rest of the world, with history and malfunctions playing a role.

The problem, he said, is that some people shy away from fixing the underlying issues with "a savior mentality” that Rwandans and Africans must live in poverty and misery until someone from outside comes to save them.

"That is the first problem we must overcome as we sit here, starting with ourselves as much as we can, and doing it while knowing where you come from and where you want to go.”

"Those who help you when you are on the way to where you want to go are useful but they will not carry you and drop you where you want to go. If you don’t know the destination, they don’t want to and don’t need to, they would rather you stay where you are as it is what benefits them.”

"You are useless if we don’t get rid of this habit of not understanding the responsibilities we have, what we deserve, and the dignity we should give ourselves before waiting for someone else to give it to us,” he said.

He pointed out that there are many things from which they should draw strength to get out of such a situation, with examples from day-to-day life, starting with Rwanda’s history, by which those who were involved in it, other than Rwandans, today, come and tell people that victims are now perpetrators.

"They were involved in it, they witnessed it, and they end up bringing lessons to teach you how to live, lessons on democracy and not just democracy, but liberal democracy. The way I would summarize it in a few words is that they tell you to live as you want in poverty, even if it might kill you and let others live as they want in poverty, and they also talk about human rights. Who doesn’t understand human rights among you that they have to keep on talking about it for over 100 years?”

"The kind of disrespect that people, Rwandans, Africans, experience on a daily basis is staggering,” Kagame said, noting that on the other hand, he doesn’t entirely blame other people.

"We have a responsibility. Why don't we just reject it? What do you lack to reject it and raise questions you must raise about yourself first, but also about others? I can't quarrel with you just because you have been coming around and giving me lectures without blaming myself for committedly listening to you and going by what you are telling me that I know.”

He noted that Rwandans and Africans must not accept such disrespect for years, adding that it is reflected in the way they go about their responsibilities, including the ones they have been sworn in for.

"It's as if you are doing it for other people rather than for yourselves and your people. In the civilised world we find ourselves in today, you don't fight over anything and everything every day. You choose your fights, but you must choose the fights.”

"There are the fights you must fight, unless you have no purpose and no meaning attached to the responsibilities you have and what you owe yourself...the mindset must change, we can't be the same Rwandans, the same Africans we were 100 years ago, 50 years ago. We can't.”

Message to young cabinet members

Kagame said there is a reason why most members of the Cabinet are in their 30s and 40s.

"You, young people, educated, travelled all over the world, you know your history, where you are coming from, and you just behave and move forward like nothing happened?” he questioned them.

Kagame noted that they should change the course; otherwise, they would start breeding a generation that just complains about things.

"You can't do it unless there is something in you. You have to correct the mindset. Even your self-awareness and appreciation. Appreciating yourself and being aware that you can do something for yourself, and you have the capacity to fight back with ideas, with values. There is everything that you have to put into such a fight.”

He added that having moral values is one thing and using them is another; however, good morals are there as a foundation for the benefit of the people.