Solution to Africa’s problems cannot be imported – Kagame

President Paul Kagame has said that Africa’s peace building process cannot be achieved solely through external solutions and requires Africans to own the solutions. Kagame was speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) that is underway in Davos, Switzerland during a session on peace-building in Africa. The President said that from experience, imported and imposed solutions do not serve the purpose to address local challenges. “You cannot import solutions from outside and impose them on people and expect them to work. It cannot. Im speaking from experience,” Kagame said. Giving the case of Rwanda, Kagame said that in the peace building process, the country made efforts to understand its problems and owned solutions. “Theres no miracle performed in Rwanda. We understood that owning our problems is very important to us as Rwandans…we owned our solutions and were opened minded to other options but theres absolutely need to own the process,” he said. Kagame revealed that in the process, some external partners were of the opinion that Rwanda should have probably been divided into two different states. “People were telling us we needed to divide our country into different states but we laughed it off. We told them we are having a conversation as Rwandans so who and how are you telling us what to do?” By owning the challenges and devising relevant solutions, the head of state noted that much progress had been achieved over the years. “We have seen much progress over the years but it is still very important to own our challenges, look for real solutions and build our capacity,” he added. Other leaders who took part in the session include, President Alpha Condé of Guinea, Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Somalia Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, President of World Economic Forum Børge Brende, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and John Kerry, the former US Secretary of State. The forum, underway in Davos, Switzerland, is running under the theme, “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World.” The 48th WEF features about 400 sessions focusing on major economic and geopolitical issues around the world. The international summit convenes world leaders from political, business, international organisations and civil society backgrounds among others. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

News

Solution to Africa’s problems cannot be imported – Kagame