The fight against Corruption has taken Centre stage during Monday's National Executive Committee meeting convened by the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front at Rusororo based party headquarters.
President Paul Kagame is determined to maintain a tough stance against all forms of corruption that threaten the growth of the country.
'Working for the wellbeing of Rwandans is a mandate that does not change under any circumstances. People should get what they deserve. We cannot be drawn back to where this country came from,' President Kagame also chairman of RPF told about 250 party members.
The previous NEC meeting was held in June during which several party memebers that are part of senior government officials were put to shame for their alleged involvement in corruption. Later after the meeting, prosecution rolled into action leading to questioning of several officials.
'Last time [June] we met, we talked about corruption and other governance challenges that negatively impact Rwandans. This should not still be happening. When fighting a bad habit, we have to uproot it, rather than get to a point where it's tolerable,' Kagame reminded the party members.
The President explained that although there may be different approaches or methods of work, they all have a common ultimate goal and vision.
'We may defer in the way we think or do things, but we have a common vision, building the nation. Everyone must make their contribution to move the country forward. We must fulfill our fiscal responsibilities. When you have conducted business, it is your duty to pay tax. We need the tax to build schools, roads etc. It is for the general interest, so whether you like or not, you must comply,' Kagame said.
Rwanda Has Become Very Attractive
For the past two decades since after the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, Rwanda embarked on an aggressive assignment to achieve the 2020 national vision. The visible achievements have catapulted the 12 million people east African country to one of the best performing and well managed and secure state. The country has set another tough 2050 vision seeking to elevate Rwanda into a high income economy.
'For years, we've had people requesting to be naturalized Rwandans. I keep telling leaders, I hope they agree with me, whoever wants to be one of us should be given the opportunity, as long as they want to make a contribution towards building our country,' Kagame said on Monday at the NEC meeting.
Kagame argues that 'We cannot say the country is full, like those before used to proclaim, therefore we could not be accommodated. That is not who we are. There is room for everyone, including those Rwandans who are still abroad.'
However, Kagame said that being accommodative of everyone should not be misconstrued to mean that Rwanda is submissive; 'It does not mean that some people are going to claim to be more important than everybody else. We are all equal and must be treated equally.'
In his address, President Kagame noted that he would not wish to be anyone else or from anywhere else. We must be proud to be who we are. Whoever wants to be someone else, that's their problem. It would be shameful because there are people who want to be us.'
Source : https://taarifa.rw/kagame-talks-tough-about-corruption-again-at-nec/
