President Paul Kagame has challenged senior government officials to build on the resources available to achieve the country’s development targets, urging them to end wasteful spending and poor delivery of government services.

The Head of State made the call yesterday while opening the 13th National Leadership Retreat, which is taking place at the Rwanda Defence Forces Combat Training Centre in Gabiro, Eastern Province.

Kagame said that the retreat shouldn’t be business as usual, arguing that it should instead serve to measure the pace at which the leaders are working towards their goals and help them to resolve doing more with fewer means.

"The National Leadership Retreat shouldn’t be just a formality. We should be considering the retreat as a means to measure how we are achieving our targets for the country’s development,” he said.

He added: "The first thing we need from this retreat is efficiency. How do we use what is within our means to achieve our targets using whatever resources we have?”

The Head of State warned leaders against constantly apologising for failures instead of working to improve their services to the people. He made it clear that he will not tolerate excuses, urging them to show results for their work.

"Mediocrity is the result of tolerating failures despite success being within your means,” he said, adding that a real apology is demonstrated through improvement.

"We have to evaluate if there is an improvement and where there isn’t recognise that we have not addressed issues adequately,” he said, calling for accountability.

Kagame highlighted the importance of achieving self reliance while valuing cooperation:

"You better develop capacity to take care of your own interests. Rwandans, we have our own interest, like anybody else. Our main one, is our future, prosperity, stability. Nobody is going to owe you that.”

"Don’t expect anybody will propel you to a level where you achieve global significance. Nobody is interested in taking you to that level. You can only rely on yourself,” Kagame added.

He added that despite Rwanda high rankings globally in several sectors, the journey ahead remains long:

"Don’t get too drunk with praises, be happy about it and pick more energy to do more sustainably.”

Bringing together over 250 senior leaders from the Central Government, Local Government, parastatals and the private sector, the retreat is focusing on "Reaffirming Brand Rwanda” to boost local production.

Around the focus of the retreat, three major sub-topics will be discussed, including how to improve delivery towards achieving the country’s Vision 2020 targets, how to revamp the country’s manufacturing sector, as well as guaranteeing rights and social welfare for the Rwandan child.

At the opening of the retreat, Kagame warned that it is unacceptable for Rwandan children to become beggars on streets, to be sold into slavery through human trafficking, or suffer from domestic violence.

"What happened to our child protection policies? How come there are children roaming streets and begging for survival?” he wondered, tasking government officials to do more to protect children.

Held early every year, the National Leadership Retreat is a unique opportunity for the country’s senior leaders to discuss national priorities, affirm the country’s shared vision to become a knowledge driven, middle-income country by 2020 and renew momentum to achieve development objectives.

Of the 16 key resolutions from last year’s National Leadership Retreat, 80 per cent have been fully implemented while the remainder of the resolutions have been dealt with half-way, except one resolution which has been dropped.

The minister for cabinet affairs, Stella Ford Mugabo, said that the dropped resolution concerns the upgrade of Shyira Hospital in Musanze District by providing it with the required equipment, staffing as well as installing electricity.

The rehabilitation move was dropped because it was found more costly than building a new district hospital, she said, and the government decided to commit a budget and build a new hospital on the same land.

The honoured resolutions are in line with fighting corruption, fast-tracking stalled projects, fixing land issues, increasing water supply, and improving healthcare.

At the on-going retreat, it is hoped that the country’s leaders will once again make new resolutions in line with improving government services and drive the country’s economic growth.

President Kagame insisted at the opening of the 13th National Leadership Retreat that it shouldn’t be a waste of time and urged leaders to think about how to "concentrate resources where they belong”.

"Let’s try and get something out of this retreat. Let’s talk less and do more,” he said.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw