Kigali, 4 July 2017
President Kagame and First Lady Jeanette Kagame today joined Rwandans to celebrate national liberation for the 23rd time, during a ceremony that took place in Shyira, where thousands of Rwandans gathered. The ceremony was marked by the inauguration of a model village and a new hospital constructed by the Rwanda defense Force Reserve Force.
In his address, President Kagame asked Rwandans to keep the momentum towards self-reliance.
“When you depend on others what happens when they don’t provide? Well, it’s obvious that you will die. Fighting bad leaders and bad leadership was accomplished. But the liberation process also requires getting rid of the results of bad leadership – hunger, poverty, and diseases.”
The President pointed out that Rwanda’s Liberation journey started with getting rid of bad leaders and that now Rwandans are involved in eliminating the consequences of the leadership.
“We have seen what is possible and we have been increasing efforts to help us liberate ourselves from the remaining challenges in the second step of the liberation struggle, like poverty and hunger. Our liberation story – across the country – shows that things have changed and citizens live better lives. They have access to education and healthcare. They can also work and feed themselves and sell the excess to markets. That trend is growing every day and while we are not where we want to be, we believe we will get there as soon as possible.”
President Kagame called on Rwandans to keep working together to maintain security and stability across the country, which is crucial for continued development and prosperity.