Kigali, 08 February, 2011
President Kagame on February 8 attended a Gala Dinner held in his honor at Serena Kigali Hotel. Speaking at the dinner, President Kagame thanked ACBF for their work in empowering institutions and citizens on the African continent. Underlining the importance of ACBF’s mission, President Kagame said: “Today, capacity building is more important than ever because the citizens of African countries are demanding more from their leaders and from the institutions that serve them.
President Kagame asked the audience to pause and ask themselves: “What capacity and for what end?” President Kagame cited some of Africa’s biggest impediments to development as the lack of ownership, broad and unclear objectives and not focusing on delivery of results. President Kagame emphasized the importance of change of mindset from one that is focused on technical skills to one that is results -driven. “To produce results, the Government of Rwanda created Strategic Capacity Building Initiatives to ensure that Rwanda’s development is demand-driven rather that donation-driven,” President Kagame said.
Concluding his remarks, President Kagame called for a continued drive towards attitude and cultural change, deep within the African continent, to deliver transformation and the development results all Africans aspire for themselves and for future generations. The ACBF ‘Innovation Award’ was also launched during the dinner.