President Kagame today officiated at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected City Council Executive Committee at the mini Amahoro Stadium. Speaking after witnessing the swearing-in, President Kagame asked the new City Council Executive Committee to know that their being elected to office is a vote of confidence by the people and should therefore not betray this trust.

Asking the new city leadership to work hard to make the city better, President Kagame said: “Those that you are going to replace did a good job. You should aim to do better and faster especially in improving security, cleanliness, infrastructure and good governance because anything else would be unacceptable.”

President Kagame counseled the new Kigali City leaders to avoid recklessness in their work and always endeavor to be modest in order to serve people better. “If you are overbearing, you will end up being seen as a burden to the people you are supposed to serve,” the President said.

The President said that the image of the city should be preserved because what happens in the city is reflected elsewhere in the country.

Calling on the leadership of Kigali City and the people in general to work hard bearing in mind that the country has unique problems to deal with, President Kagame said: “We should not be ashamed of dealing with our problems in the best way we think because they are our problems, they are unique and therefore need to be dealt with differently. If others elsewhere work 8 hours and retire to have fun, we should not do the same; it’s not a sin to work hard, the sin is to fail to get what to eat and to suffer in poverty. “

President Kagame asked the city leadership not to rest on their laurels because they see things moving in the right direction. “When you successfully jump over hurdles, more and difficult ones keep appearing. You need therefore to stay focused if you have to keep overcoming them as they come,” President Kagame said. President Kagame said that Rwandans have the truth and dignity on their side; hence anybody who would like to cause them problems is bound to fail.