Kigali, 27 April 2018
President Kagame this evening took part in the 2018 Ibrahim Governance Weekend – Leadership Ceremony, during which the 2017 Laureate of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was recognized.
Speaking at the event, President Kagame highlighted that African leaders share the conviction that accountable governance and service delivery are the core responsibilities of government.
The President congratulated Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her selection as the 2017 Ibrahim Prize Laureate and noted that the Prize committee’s choice recognizes her achievements in leading Liberia through a particularly consequential period of its history.
“Leadership is both a privilege and a duty. It is best measured in terms of concrete results that citizens can feel in their everyday lives as well as in the level of trust that they have in public institutions. During our time in office, we must work as hard as we can to do the right things for our people’s future, no matter how difficult,” President Kagame said.
Underway in Kigali, the 2018 Ibrahim Governance Weekend is a flagship three-day event of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
In attendance also were President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, former President of Cape Verde, Pedro Pires, former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, former President of Germany, Horst Kohler, as well as former Secretary-General of the Organisation of the African Union (now African Union) and Mo Ibrahim Leadership Prize Committee Member Salim Ahmed Salim.
The event convenes prominent African political and business leaders, representatives of civil society organizations, multilateral and regional institutions, as well as key international partners to debate issues of critical importance to the continent.