President Paul Kagame has assured the Rwandan community, that there are certainly several people with ability to sustain what his leadership has built and offer what the country expects from a head of state.
Shock absorber of Rwanda, President Kagame whose popularity keeps increasing among the citizens and the world spoke on April 1 during an interview offered to local journalists of TV10 and Royal FM respectively.
In more than two hours, the president answered questions of the journalists and received ideas of an audience which was keenly following the interview.
Kagame’s leadership defied all odds, taking a country devastated by the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi to a level that is desired by many countries.
Owing to this, journalist Oswald Mutuyeyezu, asked if there can be any Rwandan with Kagame’s caliber, who can lead Rwanda towards its ambitious dreams.
The president admitted that indeed, the burden leaders carry to protect the country is big and you would know that someone has a problem if they don’t accept to carry it.
Kagame said that while people appreciate him for achieving big, he is not the only person who can deliver to Rwandans’ expectations.
“You will not see anyone like me, but that person different from me could be way better than me. We are unique and this uniqueness can bring someone who would do things better than me and you say wow! This is what we have been looking for,” Kagame said.
“This is the thinking we want people to develop. There should be people already doing the right thing to an extent that you can see it today. By the way, everything we do here does not come from me. Some of the things come from others and I only coordinate. We may not exaggerate and think that everything out there is done by me.”
The President further said: “When people throw stones at me on one side, on the other side, I receive credits from achievements where all Rwandans contribute. It all comes from Rwandans and mine is to do a good coordination.”
The president believes that leadership requires character and consistency which contributes to good leadership.
If I could make a choice, with certitude that there is capacity for things to keep going well, I would have gone way earlier
“I would feel guilty if I keep going while my staying has bad consequences on the lives of people,” Kagame said.
“If ever I read from people that they are tired of me, I would go before they say it.”
The president also shared his view of the Rwanda he dreams about and said, it is a country that has manageable problems like in any country.
“There is no issue with having problems, provided that there are ways to solve them…a peaceful country, steady leadership with an ably structure that solves problems that arise, a country that develops in all aspects.”
The president gave an example of health where people get referrals to international hospitals.
“People go to India, Belgium and Turkey for medication. Sometimes I ask fellow leaders here what we should do to make these services available locally. Whenever a small health issue arises, some will want to go to Kenya, others to South Africa….Why can’t wee treat that here? Why would we need to go abroad?
During the Party congress, the President said that he is the shock absorber, and someone else should be prepared to take over.
