It will be very exciting to live in Rwanda in the years ahead. Nothing unusual about that, you might say. The future is always exciting for the promise it holds and intriguing because of the unknown. That is exactly the point, with a slight difference, though. Our future is not unknown. We are busy making and living it today. The exciting bit comes from the very act of creating, and projection of, what it will look like. It will be exciting to see a reversal of trends, for instance. We will see Rwandans acquire excellent knowledge and services at home, not having to go out in search of them. We will see them live longer and more fulfilling lives. We will witness the world come to Rwanda. Not just those looking for where to do good, genuinely or to still their conscience, or who come to impose their values and lifestyle. Not the “experts” and consultants of every stripe, vending their wares, sometimes unwanted and whose quality is often questionable. If you do not buy, you risk punishment from every imaginable quarter. Nor the messengers of the powerful who come, with stick in hand, to give instructions and orders to stay in line or face dire consequences. Not those, but real people this time, who will come to seek expertise and quality services, and a unique experience. I am not letting my imagination run away with me and asking you to tag along. It is real and already happening. Only you may not have noticed. Not your fault either. This sort of thing is becoming more regular and therefore normal. Have you noticed we have many cities within the City of Kigali? The Kigali Innovation City located in the Special Economic Zone in Masoro, the Kigali Health City in Masaka, the planned Green City of Kigali in Kinyinya, and one probably to be named Kigali Sports and Entertainment City in Remera. There will probably be more such cities. All these “cities” are ecosystems of specialised services. Last Saturday, October 7, you must have heard of the latest of these cities. President Kagame was at one of them — the Kigali Health City — to inaugurate IRCAD (Research Institute Against Digestive Cancer) Africa headquarters in Masaka, Kicukiro District. IRCAD is part of a global system dedicated to research and training in minimally invasive surgery. The centre will train African surgeons from across the continent. The Kigali Health City will also house the Kigali Central and University Teaching Hospital (CHUK), the Rwanda Heart and Research Centre, and pharmaceutical companies, among others. Rwanda is also the headquarters of the African Union Medicines Agency. These developments are closely linked to the continuous upgrading of the country’s health care facilities in terms of professionals and equipment. President Paul Kagame made three important points in connection to IRCAD and more broadly to other developments. First, he said something about living our future today or better still living in the future. That is a deliberate choice to reverse what happened in the past, when as he said: “yesterday was expected to be the tomorrow”. Second, was the huge effect this would have in changing people’s lives through improved access to health of a high level that they never thought about. Third, by bringing together the best and the brightest from Rwanda and across Africa, it would promote pan-Africanism and build a better world. Not far from Masaka is the Kigali Innovation City (KIC). KIC is an ecosystem of tech start-ups, innovation companies, financial investors and academia aimed at developing smart solutions for Rwanda’s and Africa’s economic development. It hosts two international universities: Carnegie Mellon University – Africa and the African Leadership University. The University of Rwanda’s Centre of Biomedical Engineering and E-health will also be housed there. Kigali Innovation City, too, is built around the idea of developing Rwandan and African talent and acting as an innovation and technology hub. A little distance farther, in Remera, another city of this kind, is developing. You might call it the Kigali Sports and Entertainment City, although I have not heard the name used. This one comprises a sports complex that includes the now world-famous BK Arena, Amahoro National Stadium that is under renovation, and other smaller stadia and grounds for different sports. It also includes Zaria Court set to open in 2025. Zaria Court is touted to be “a hub for social and cultural community gatherings and a magnet for sports enthusiasts, influencers and Africa’s growing middle class”. The BK Arena has already hosted major regional and continental sports and cultural events. The same week that IRCAD was inaugurated, another important development was announced. An Aviation Training Centre of Excellence was going to be built in Kigali to build local and regional capacity in the aviation industry. That, too, will attract trainees from Rwanda and across Africa. Because of these developments, and existing ones, more talented young Africans, will come to Rwanda in search of knowledge and skills offered at all these centres. They will come to display their own talents in sports and other cultural performances. Other people will come for the services they will get in Rwanda. When they go back, they will take a part of Rwanda with them but also leave behind a part of their countries. It can benefit us all. But for us, with all these facilities and the people they attract and the benefits they bring, talk of the world coming to Rwanda and our ability to live our future is not wild imagination. It is real and we had better build more.
