Every so often, a leader says something that cuts through the noise and lands where it matters most, on the lived experience of ordinary people. President Paul Kagame’s recent remarks did precisely that. Loud, impatient, and worrying to some, they boil down to a question as old as politics itself: what is authority for, if it does not serve? ALSO READ: Kagame urges RPF members to sustain fight against corruption This question did not begin in Rwanda. It did not begin in Africa. It follows authority wherever it goes. Long before constitutions, or development targets, Socrates warned that leaders who govern without responsibility are like captains steering a ship without a rudder: dangerous to all they govern. Authority, he argued, is not a prize to enjoy but a burden to carry. When those entrusted with authority fail to improve the common life, their claim to legitimacy wears away, no matter how lofty their words. The President’s frustration fits directly in that tradition. He wasn’t talking about paperwork or ceremonial appearances; he was focused on real results. His concern was whether institutions that command loyalty, resources, and authority are actually easing the burdens of the people who sustain them, or benefiting at their expense. This is not a uniquely Rwandan dilemma. Versions of this exist elsewhere. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi scolds bureaucracies for slowing service instead of delivering it. In Ghana, former President John Mahama warned that democracy without development eventually feels hollow. In Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew built an entire governing philosophy on a simple principle: policies and strategies must work in the lives of citizens, not just on paper. Different contexts, same demand: show results. What makes President Kagame’s intervention striking is its impatience with symbolism. Declarations of intent, speeches, and ceremonial gestures cannot replace a hungry belly, delayed services, functioning schools and hospitals, or work that puts food on the table. It is unsettling because it strips away the protective layer often granted to authority. Authority, wherever it sits, must deliver tangible results for ordinary people. These concerns are real. Across Africa, governments have at times turned authority into patronage rather than service, using authority to reward some instead of meeting public need. Oversight becomes control, accountability becomes obedience, and citizens are left navigating systems that exist to manage them rather than serve them. History shows that when authority drifts this way, trust thins and the purpose of leadership is lost. But an even more insidious risk is at play when institutions are left unchecked, their authority unchallenged simply because they speak the language of authority or command influence. When reverence replaces scrutiny, abuse finds cover. When authority is assumed rather than earned, service becomes optional. Socrates would have recognised this instantly. He distrusted leaders who mastered influence but neglected service to the people, who attracted followers without taking responsibility for their well-being. The same lesson can be seen in the reflections of Chris Rwakasisi, a former Ugandan minister who fell from authority, spent years in prison, and emerged with an enduring lesson in humility. He compared authority to a banana leaf in a plantation: “The green leaf swings in the wind, proud of its green colour. But the dry leaf below, still clinging to the same stem, replies: I too was once like you.” In that exchange between the banana leaves lives an entire philosophy of leadership. Leadership’s tragedy lies not in falling from authority, but in failing to learn while holding it. Seen in this light, the President’s challenge is less condemnation than invitation: to institutions, public officials, and citizens alike, to demonstrate value in tangible results; to remember that authority is rented, not owned; and to hold leaders accountable every day. Every society rests on a fragile bargain. People comply with authority not because they must, but because they believe the system works for them, not just over them. When that belief fades, titles and pledges offer little protection. Recent governance data give substance to the President’s insistence that authority must deliver. Rwanda Governance Scorecard, tracking eight pillars of governance, shows safety and security consistently scoring above 90 percent, reflecting success in basic public order and stability. Yet the same data highlight areas where citizens still feel public services from education to other citizen-facing institutions, need improvement. Service delivery has lagged over the past decade, showing outcomes remain uneven. Rwanda Bribery Index 2025 shows that some citizens continue to encounter demands for bribes to access basic services, underscoring that the work of creating accountable and effective institutions is far from finished. These highlights make a larger point: good intentions are not enough. Institutions must deliver measurable results in citizens’ daily lives. Security forces in Rwanda excel in part because their mandate, performance, and accountability are clear: the public judges them directly on safety and protection outcomes. Other sectors, by contrast, often lack clear performance benchmarks known to citizens, making it harder to measure success, enforce accountability, and replicate the efficiency seen in the security apparatus across all arms of government. Transparent evaluation in every citizen-facing sector must be the next frontier for governance excellence. This isn’t about the President or any single institution. It’s about whether those with authority are making life better for the people they serve. When the President asks the question so directly, it’s a challenge to every leader, and to all of us watching, including the private sector, to stop treating authority as a given and start seeing it as something earned every day, in real ways, in the lives of the people served. The writer is a management consultant and strategist.
