From Left, Sandrine Umutoni, State Minister for Youth, Maj. Gen Albert Murasira, MINEMA and Jeanine Munyeshuli, State Minister for Public Investment and Resource Mobilization at MINECOFIN.
President Paul Kagame says that appointing youths to leadership positions is a deliberate move to pass on responsibility to them early, so that they can grow through it and become better versions of leaders for the future.
The Head of State made the observation at Urugwiro Village on Thursday while officiating the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed officials; Maj Gen Albert Murasira, Minister in charge of Emergency Management, Jeanine Munyeshuli, Minister of State for Public Investment and Resource Mobilization in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, and Sandrine Umutoni, Minister of State for Youth.
He pointed out that the new Ministers who took oath are going to continue serving the country because they have already had other duties or served before, reminding them that the new roles they were assigned come with a greater responsibility, not just individually but also for those they lead, with the main objective being serving the nation.
President Kagame said that among the new appointees and those who took the oath include the youth, emphasizing that it is a deliberate effort to give young people responsibilities, so that they are not just on the periphery.
“In the Youth Ministry we already had a youthful Minister but since he is male, we needed a female to balance the act. We urge young people to look up to them, not just because they are male or female but because of their actions and what they can deliver, considering that they are also in that category of the youth,” President Kagame said.
President Kagame said the government intentionally puts young people in leadership positions to groom them early.
President Kagame said that appointing youth to leadership positions to work alongside their more senior leaders is a deliberate move, to ensure that young people take up the mantle and responsibility early. He pointed out that it is important to give young people leadership positions for them to be able to grow and mature in them.
The Head of State was referring to the two new State Ministers in the Ministries of Youth and Finance, observing that it doesn’t only give them a chance to grow through the ranks but it also prepares them to follow in the footsteps of their elders.
President Kagame said leadership comes with responsibility and discipline and ideally it should start from a young age. He told the new Ministers that while they are embarking on their new positions, they have already been in different positions of leadership elsewhere and their new roles only reiterates the responsibilities they have.
Earlier this week President Kagame made some changes in cabinet, where he shuffled, reappointed or dropped ministers and senior officials within key government ministries and institutions.
