President Paul Kagame on Sunday thanked members of the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) for their support in Rwanda’s progress. PAC is a group of experts in different fields and of different nationalities who offer strategic advice to the President and the Government of Rwanda. The council, which met in New York, includes Andrea Redmond, Ashish Thakkar, Christian Angermayer, Dr Clet Niyikiza, Dale Dawson, Dr Donald Kaberuka, Dr Éliane Ubalijoro, Bishop John Rucyahana, Kaia Miller, Michael Fairbanks, Prof. Michael Porter, Michael Roux, Dr Paul Davenport, Pastor Rick Warren and Scott Ford. I sincerely want to thank all of you for staying the course and sticking with us for a very long time. From the time we were not given any chance to do anything, Kagame told PAC members. The President, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said that the country has since made “a very good story.” After so many years of being together in PAC, things keep changing and they change for the better. People have been working hard, and the people of Rwanda have been a central part of this story, he said. Today, we can say that we have good news in a sense of where the country is. We are not yet there as we all know, but we have made progress. It is still work in progress, he added. The Head of State told the members that their support has facilitated inclusive growth for all Rwandans, be it in urban or rural set-ups. Whether its education, coffee, or any kind of support, it has become a real life story that people tell. They tell you where they have been, where they are and how they made it to where they are now, he added. Some of those people, he added, were born 25 years ago or were under 10 in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and that many didnt have any hope that they would even go to school. Now, the same people are young, proud, men and women who tell you these stories of how theyve made it. They can be as proud as they want, as anyone in the world, he noted. The President stated that most of this is a result of partnerships, the friendships, and the hard work and resilience of the people of Rwanda. While there are times when many people gave up on Rwanda, Kagame said those who stayed have carried on. Those who stayed have nothing lacking in the spirit of fighting on, he noted. The head of state is expected to address the UN General Assembly tomorrow.
