Editor,

I CONGRATULATE and thank President Paul Kagame for delivering such a powerful and historic speech (see the article: "African leaders must act to end conflicts: Kagame”, The New Times, May 21) that I believe to be key to unlocking many obstacles that have kept the African continent behind. 

Other leaders must join the President’s call and cause to stamp the internal conflicts out of the continent if more development is to be realised. 

At the moment where many of the current African leaders are the direct offspring of the African internal conflicts, it is their time—not to wait for history to repeat itself but to declare a fight for a new Africa—that will give the new African generation real hope with developed infrastructure that will enhance their quality of life.

There is need for a new generation of African leaders that must seek to transcend serving their personal interests and work towards achieving a common goal – to give every African citizen the opportunity to live a better life.

It might be true that some leaders have already hinted at the same points in the past, but it is about time to ask ourselves what has always lacked to fully eliminate hindrances to Africa’s development. 

This new generation of African leaders must accept that, it’s through their self exemplification and action, beginning from within their respected countries, that Africa’s potential will be unlocked. 

The hindrances to the continent’s development has always been, but not limited to, the African leaders’ direct involvement in the silencing of dissent through crushing their oppositions, their failure to concede after losing national elections, changing constitutions without ever consulting the people as a way of clinging onto power and the opposition political parties’ failure to applaud the incumbents where a positive score towards national development has been registered. 

Now is the time for leaders to take seriously their fellow leaders’ call to unite and not to disunite, to rehabilitate and not to kill, to build and not to destroy, and to know that criticism, and legitimate and constructive opposition should not lead to bloody conflicts and enmity amongst political actors but more development.

Clet Kintu Mugabo, New York, United States