Sustainable development cannot be achieved through shortcuts - Kagame

President Paul Kagame who is also the Chairman of the RPF-Inkotanyi told leaders of the party that it is only through accountable governance that a country like Rwanda will achieve its aspirations, adding that shortcuts can only yield short-term results, if any. President Kagame said this while addressing over 250 members of the party’s extended National Executive Council (NEC) during a meeting that was held at their headquarters in Rusororo, Gasabo District. He told the meeting that core values of leadership that can bring about sustainable development include discipline, accountability and doing things the way they ought to be done. “We cannot rely on shortcuts to get where we want to be…we need sustainability, there are young generations whose livelihood tomorrow rely on decisions we make today,” said President Kagame. President Kagame said that the reason RPF keeps involving the youth at such high level organs like NEC is for them to appreciate the fact that the future of the country and that of Rwandans rests in their hands. “It is therefore important to bring them along so they can learn early how best to correct the wrongs done by the older generation, which is ourselves. Otherwise they will get comfortable in that situation and that can only spell disaster for the country,” he said. He added that the country has a clear vision and aspirations but emphasised that achieving these aspirations cannot be left to chance, but through a deliberate effort to achieve them. The process, he added, must also be inclusive of the young generation for sustainability. “The youth are being involved all step of the way, my hope is that with time, they get to learn to make a meaningful contribution towards national prosperity, better than us who came before them,” he said. He called for commitment to implement decisions and resolutions made in such meetings including at the party level, saying that the country’s strides towards development should reflect these decisions. “We should not sit here, make decisions and leave them behind when we leave the room.” Speaking about the Covid-19 pandemic, President Kagame said that the country has had to make some difficult but necessary decisions, including a lockdown that was imposed mid-March which paralyzed many activities in the country. Rwanda was the first country in Africa to impose a total lockdown which lasted over two months. The lockdown, Kagame said, was critical in curtailing the virus in the country, but had some effects including the resurgence of street children in urban centres. “We must all do our part to minimise the effects of this pandemic,” he said. For the country’s leadership, he said, the implication is that their workload has doubled with the emergency of Covid-19, saying that besides working to contain the virus and mitigate its effects, they must continue with the work to move the country forward. He took time to thank frontline workers who have worked day and night since the outbreak of the virus saying that it has required a lot of sacrifice on their part to keep the country safe, including having to expose themselves to the virus.

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Sustainable development cannot be achieved through shortcuts - Kagame