Editor, RE: “Rwanda’s model of democracy” (The New Times, May 8) Those who lambast Rwanda’s model of organically-developed democracy don’t criticise its accountability-centric basis. They like accountability, but to them rather than to the citizens of Rwanda. And, by the way, come to think of it, neither do those plutocrats and their paid shills in think-tanks, NGOs, academia, etc., believe that even their own governments should be accountable to anybody else than themselves. Damned are the voters; these can always be frightened with scarecrows to vote for ‘the lesser evil’ every four or five years to elect the right men and women to continue to do the bidding of the only people who really matter: The plutocrats! Rwanda’s problem is that it takes the idea of democracy as being ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’ too literally. Poor countries like ours are supposed to pay proper obeisance to the Western plutocrats’ wise spokespeople, not to prioritize the choices of our own people. As long as we fail to realise this basic requirement of the world we live in, we shall continue to be targets of denunciation. And, I see no problem with that as long as we continue to put our own people’s interests front and centre of policy choices and implementation, and we remain focused on accountability to ensure public resources don’t end up in private pockets. Mwene Kalinda
