Kigali, 28 March 2018
President Kagame today opened the Local Government Retreat.
The retreat brings together over 1,300 leaders including Sector and District Executive Secretaries, District and City of Kigali Council members, Provincial Governors and Executive Secretaries.
Addressing local government leaders, President Kagame said that Rwandan leaders cannot afford to serve only their own interests.
“For leaders to have a better life, they have to create better lives for the people they lead. There are problems we cause ourselves, others that come from elsewhere, and some that originate from our country’s history. We have the obligation to find solutions for all of them, otherwise we will not live as we wish to,” President Kagame said.
The President encouraged local leaders to be brave enough to ask for accountability from their peers.
“A leader must be brave enough to ask why things are not being done as planned. A weak leader lacks moral authority to question or punish an accomplice. This retreat must leave us with new ways of thinking and working,” President Kagame said.
The three-day gathering, which runs from 28-30 March 2018, provides local leaders with a platform to discuss citizen-centered transformational governance.