To all you friends who despair about Uganda's roads, schools, hospitals
and the performance of the government in service delivery, be inspired
by this story of one man's service to Uganda: Shaban Nkutu, a Minister
of Solid Achievements, a Tragic End:
http://epaper.newvision.co.ug/Details.aspx?edorsup=Main&queryed=9&querypage=37&boxid=24023&id=30889&uid=admin%40newvision.co.ug&dat=02%2F09%2F2012
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Sent: Wednesday, 21 March 2012, 11:57
Subject: Ugandanet Digest, Vol 306, Issue 4
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Ugnet-Digest
Today's Topics:
1. UGANDANS LET US TAKE A MOMENT AND READ THIS PIECE MAY BE WE
WILL PICK UP SOMETHING (Herrn Edward Mulindwa)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:57:21 -0400
From: "Herrn Edward Mulindwa" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>,
"G_NET" <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: [Ugnet] UGANDANS LET US TAKE A MOMENT AND READ THIS PIECE MAY
BE WE WILL PICK UP SOMETHING
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Kagame:
<http://one.org/blog/2012/03/18/kagame-people-dont-eat-debates-they-eat-food
/> ?People don?t eat debates, they eat food?
Mar 18th, 2012 9:40 AM UTC
By Guest Blogger <http://one.org/blog/author/guest-blogger/>
This is a guest post from Peter Opondo, head of news at NTV Uganda. In this
piece, he uses his encounter with President Kagame to illustrate Rwanda?s
changing government. This was originally posted on ONE
<http://one.org/africa/blog/people-dont-eat-debates-they-eat-food-kagame-tel
ls-rwandans/> ?s Africa Blog.
Description: http://one.org.s3.amazonaws.com/images/kagamephoto.jpg
They call it ?Umwiherero,? literally meaning a ?retreat? or a ?getaway? for
a private meeting in the main local language, Kinyarwanda.
And indeed the 9th Rwanda National Leadership Retreat was a true getaway,
held at the secluded Military Academy in Gako, Bugesera district, located 50
km SE of Kigali City and just 20km from the Burundian Border.
For a Kenyan journalist currently working in Uganda, it was an eyeopener on
how Rwanda is governed.
It was at one and the same time about a national leadership seeking to
cultivate a shared vision and common goals for the country as well as about
President Paul Kagame?s towering efforts to steer the country towards a
particular direction.
I was part of the NTV Uganda crew that got an invitation to attend the
meeting after we had earlier put in a request for a one-on-one interview
with the President. We were told the President would find some time on the
sidelines of the meeting to grant as the interview.
But we were also excited that we would have the privilege to sit in and
observe as Rwanda?s top leaders including cabinet ministers, top
technocrats, mayors and diplomats set strategic priorities for the
government over the next one year even as they reviewed performance of the
past year.
On a drizzly morning of March 4th, the main hall at the Military academy was
filled to capacity for the official opening of the retreat. As they waited
for the arrival of the President, the gathering was psyching itself up with
patriotic songs.
In one of the songs that had some Kiswahili words, I could gather they were
singing that nobody would build Rwanda other than Rwandans themselves ? a
thread the President would pick up later in his speech.
As the singing went, the tall and lanky Kagame gingerly walked onto the
podium without much fuss.
And after the usual preambles the included the national anthem, the
President rose to the podium for the opening speech where he went on to
dissect what he thought was the main challenge not only for Rwanda but also
for Africa ? poverty.
In his analysis, African countries were not truly independent as long as
poverty remained entrenched.
?Depending on the generosity of others demeans us as Africans, it is
pathetic ? we must change our mindsets about poverty, let us fight for out
integrity as a people,? he said in a soft, almost pained tone.
So why are African countries still poor? It?s not because we don?t know what
we are supposed to do, it is because we don?t do what we know we are
supposed to do, he concluded.
?It?s my impression that we could have made more progress than we have
already. We are doing much less than we are capable of,? he further stated.
Energy is a key factor in the fight against poverty. In 2011, Rwanda had set
a target of generating 30.4 MW and connecting 65,000 households. But during
the year, only 5.4 MW was generated even as 72,227 households were connected
meaning demand was stretching supply even further.
President Kagame was clearly not happy with the situation.
?As your president, I must take responsibility for not pushing for more
funding to the energy sector. I will take responsibility and correct this.?
he stated and added ominously ?but some of you are also going to be
casualties for not doing the right thing.?
A government official told me later on the sidelines of the meeting that the
leadership retreats were also an opportunity to appraise the performance of
senior officials and often those found not to be delivering ended up losing
their jobs.
?We talk too much, we attend to many workshops yet there are no results?
people don?t eat debates, they eat food,? he quipped.
Although the president had a written speech, he was not reading it. He was
ad-libbing, simply stating his thoughts ? the sign of a leader who knows his
stuff and trusts himself to make the point without going off message.
This much was even much more evident at the plenary session, still under the
chairmanship of the president, as the performances of the various sectors
were reviewed. Every often the president would interrupt a presentation by
asking, ?Isn?t this the same issue that we have had over the past two years?
Why haven?t you solved it?? or ?Did you listen to my speech, we want action
and results, not just empty talk.?
And later when we sat down for our interview he simply restated his vision
for a poverty free Rwanda. ?Rwanda might be land locked but ideas are not,?
he stated.
Given the central role and dominant that president Kagame is playing in
shaping the future of Rwanda, concern has been raised as to whether he was
doing this at the expense of setting up strong institutions that would
ensure the implementation of the set goals even without him in office.
In fact, currently there is a push by some supporters of President Kagame to
amend the constitution to remove the two-term limit. Kagame is currently
serving his second seven-year term, which expires in 2017.
We put that question to him during the interview. ?It is not a matter of if
but when I leave office, because I will have to go at some point. What we
are doing here (leadership retreat) is just part of that process of ensuring
that we all know where we are headed as a country and what we are supposed
to do to realize that dream.?
Besides the official business at Umwiherero, there were other things worth
noting.
No. 1 was the youthful nature of leaders in Rwanda, especially the top
technocrats.
Here?s an example: President Kagame?s chief of staff, Ms Ines Mpambara is
34. The Finance Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ms.
Pitchette Kampeta Sayinzoga, is 32! The director of communications in the
office of the President is Yolande Makolo, who is 39. She describes herself
as ?one of the older people here?
Notice that all these three youthful top technocrats are women. And that is
not by accident. Rwanda is truly empowering its women and it is actually
leading the world on that front.
After the last elections, Rwanda became the first parliament in the world
with a female majority after women got 44 out of the 80 (55 percent) seats
in the assembly.
The other thing I noticed in Rwanda was that nearly all top government
officials carry Blackberries. These phones are not status symbols but tools
of work. One official told me they were all on BBM, so they don?t waste
taxpayer?s money calling each unnecessarily.
Right from the President himself, they are all also on the social networks
especially on Twitter and Facebook, tracking and responding to any queries
about their respective duties. They are technology savvy, keeping with the
times.
And coming from Nairobi and working in Kampala one can only but admire the
physical infrastructure in Kigali. All streets are neat and lit. I didn?t
bump into a single pothole. Skyscrapers are rising in Kigali in accordance
with the city?s ambitious master plan.
The plastic bags that litter the streets in Kampala and Nairobi are not in
Kigali. They?re actually outlawed.
Clearly, Rwanda is going places and President Kagame is firmly on the
driver?s seat.
Th? Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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