Africa and Rwanda: from Crisis to Development

Speaker : Mr. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda

Date : Thursday 22nd May 2008

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Lecture Synopsis

by Panos Vrahiotis

The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) hosted a public lecture in honour of one of Africa’s leading politicians, Mr. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda. Mr. Kagame has been largely credited by the world community for ending the ethnic violence in his country and steering it towards a path of development and prosperity. President Kagame gave an inspiring and thoughtful lecture to a gathering of over 400 people at the Shangri-La Hotel on Rwanda’s transition from a country which faced deep socio-economic and political crises to becoming a nation that can now aspire to a brighter and a more prosperous future.

Through practicing a doctrine of security, guided reconciliation, anti-corruption, and above all a drive toward self-reliance over several years, Mr. Kagame has produced economic growth rates of over 5 percent a year for Rwanda. This approach has won him a fervent base of support among world leaders including President Bill Clinton who recently appointed him to the board of the Clinton Global Initiative. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has also become an advisor to the Rwandan government. Bill Gates is reported to be working closely with President Kagame in improving the state of Rwanda’s health sector.

In his introductory comments on the President, Prof. Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of LKYSPP noted: “His life story is remarkable. For most of his adult life, President Kagame has been a soldier. Under his military leadership, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) assumed power in the year 1994. President Kagame assumed presidency in April 2000. Under his leadership, Rwanda’s economy has done well.”

Prof. Mahbubani further added that in a recent trip to Rwanda, President George W Bush said, “The President is a man of action, he can get things done. I’m proud of your leadership.” A Harvard professor, Josh Ruxin said, “I’ve worked in fifty countries and I think this is the only country on the planet that stands a chance of migrating from extreme poverty to middle income in the space of the next 15 years.”

Defying the image of “The Hopeless Continent” as a term used by The Economist on its cover story several years back, Mr. Kagame said: “Globalisation and its undoubted increasing pace can be noticed in the form of larger flows of foreign investment, finance and innovation into Africa, as well as the rest of the world. The African Continent has experienced a six percent growth rate average in the last several years, with Foreign Direct Investment doubling between 2004 and 2006 to reach thirty nine billion dollars.”

Mr Kagame explained that an equally important growth benchmark is that in Africa enterprises are no longer just state monopolies or limited to industries that extract raw materials, as had been in the past. These companies are now led by entrepreneurs and are to be found in telecommunications, financial services, construction, transportation as well as emerging industries such as media and leisure.

“We are convinced that private investment is the real basis for economic growth, greater prosperity and improved lives,” he said. “Success on this front certainly demands relentless and focused efforts at dispelling the misconceptions that paint our country and continent as unfit for business”

The Rwandan President however cautioned that despite the progress made in the continent, there were still monumental challenges ahead that needed to be overcome to remain steadfast on the path of progress and prosperity.

“The existence of tensions and conflict is still present in parts of the continent,” he noted. “Economic growth and development which could improve the prospects of African nations has been thwarted by weak institutions, technical capacity and absence of critical professional ability.”

Today, Africa is a rapidly growing continent boosted by trade and investment; with a population exceeding 800 million people across 53 countries. While stating that the people were the greatest asset of his country and continent, the President expressed concern that still vast social, political and geopolitical issues needed to be addressed. In this context, he highlighted the important role of the African Union to not only discuss the problems but also manage them.

“The inherent values of Africa must be managed,” he said. “External factors and forces make it different. In the case of Rwanda, we look at countries like Singapore as inspirational development models due to the rapid pace at which you successfully transformed your country.”

Commenting on the positive trajectory of the Asia-Africa relationship, he noted that China and India starkly contrasted with the traditional European and North American trade and investment dominance of the past.

“Following the 2006 China-Africa Trade Agreements led to the doubling of the number of tariff-free African products. Besides the growth of trade, Chinese investment has risen to twelve billion US dollars in 2007,” he said.

In response to a question asked by a student of LKYSPP on the state of the African Union and what changes are necessary for countries to pave a brighter future for themselves, Mr. Kagame responded: “Africa cannot be managed by outside. The African mindset must be prepared to change. People must evaluate whether businesses and Governments are representing their interests. As Africans we have to build on commonality but also build on adversity.”