Gako, 6 March 2012
President Kagame has asked leaders to harness all synergies in order to emerge as winners for their nation and its people. While concluding the 9th Leadership Retreat that lasted three days at Gako Military Academy in Bugesera, President Kagame reminded leaders that there is need to distinguish between individual interests and those of institutions they serve:
“General and national interests cannot depend on individual whims because institutions are above all of us. We should be in a position to manage processes through proper coordination and communication if we want to make a breakthrough in our national objectives. We should also understand the cost of not managing processes together since we are all working for a common goal.”
Referring to issues that keep coming up at every retreat as not achieved or half way accomplished, President Kagame said that Rwandan leaders should not afford the luxury of forgetting important things discussed.
“When we discuss issues here, we all understand that they are priority but when we go out there, implementation becomes a problem. We need to know that we have a duty to perform. If you look at where we have come from, you can see that we are making progress, but because of our situation, it’s no time to rest on our laurels yet.”
President Kagame also asked leaders not to spend time hunting for those who expose their weaknesses but instead spend time working on eradicating the weaknesses:
“Let us focus on real issues and not pettiness. Let us not remove our combat gear; instead, let us tighten our boots and take on the challenges ahead.”
To mark the conclusion of the 9th retreat, Ministers, Ambassadors and High Commissioners signed performance contracts (Imihigo) with President Kagame, where they committed to achieve several priority aspects this year. The Right Honorable Prime Minister, Pierre Damien Habumuremyi also pledged to keenly follow up on the implementation of the resolutions of the retreat and service delivery by government and institutions.