Think about it for a second: as Rwanda continues to register unprecedented progress in various political and socio-economic arenas, do you ever feel guilty of complacency where you get carried away with the current achievements and proceed to take your foot off the pedal and rest it on your desk?

Complacency, defined as a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievement, has been underlined as one of the most dangerous work attitudes that can destroy in a single day what has taken decades to build.

This self-confidence and satisfaction without the awareness of what is at stake is sometimes referred to as ‘one step forward, two steps back’.

And this is exactly what the annual national dialogue or Umushyikirano is designed to prevent, among other things.

And as part of efforts to reconstruct Rwanda and nurture a shared national identity while drawing from traditional aspects of home-grown solutions, this week, starting from today, December 15, the government intends to continue to encourage everyone who has a stake in our shared vision, that’s you and I, to always improve and adapt development programmes and missions to the country’s needs and context.

The 14th edition of Umushyikirano, which will take place at the Kigali Convention Centre and last two days, is scheduled to focus on shaping together the Rwanda we want – that is to say, emphasising the importance of collaboration between leadership and citizens as pillars to the country’s continued development.

You see, over the last two decades, Rwanda has made spectacular progress in terms of socio-economic development; for instance, in statistical terms, progress in the unity and reconciliation of Rwandans reached 92 per cent in 2015; there has been tremendous improvement in access to education; most of the Millennium Development Goals have been achieved, including targets in maternal health, with maternal mortality ratio at 210 to 100,000 live births, which surpasses the 268 MDG target; there has been a significant decrease in poverty rates – from 58.9 per cent in 2001 to 39 per cent in 2013.

Indeed, it would take us all day to go through all the achievements that Rwandans have achieved thus far.

But, having said that, we Rwandans cannot afford any form of complacency that may arise as a result of some of us thinking, and to some extent, believing that we are already where we want to be. The fact of the matter is that as much as a lot has been achieved, a lot more is yet to be achieved.

For instance, while it is true that our economy has grown at average of 8 per cent annually for the last decade, 8 per cent is not enough to support our annual national budgets, something that explains why, to a certain extent, we are still dependent on overseas development aid packages that are not ideal for a nation that wants to be independent both politically and economically.

Secondly, while it is also true that we have made commendable progress with regards to seeking energy to power our emerging industries, we are still a long way from meeting the projected demand for energy even for domestic use. And, if our economic development is to be powered by the private sector through areas such as services and manufacturing, we must meet our energy targets in a timely manner.

Moving on to services such as healthcare and education, it is reasonable to say that only a fool would dispute our progress. But our job in these two areas is far from over; we need to take it to the next level and go beyond simply providing access, and on to providing access to quality services – quality services that are propelled by innovations in science, research and development, as well information communication technology.

The fact of the matter is that we have to consolidate the gains of the past, and at the same time take effective measures to speed up delivery of other key projects that will not only help us to reach where we want to be, but also enable the less well-off in our society to benefit equally. I would like to emphasise that, for a country like Rwanda which lacks natural resources that have been traditionally the engine for growth for many other countries, it is absolutely important to continue developing our human capital, for it is our only way out.

Recent challenges have meant that many countries are seeking new ways to maintain a competitive advantage over others. In response, the prevailing sense is that the success of key projects, including ours, that are service-oriented will depend in large part on the people with higher levels of individual competence. An innovative mind-set will therefore be vital in ensuring that our economy is more competent than the neighbouring countries for instance.

In the end, what is clear so far is that, as we take the following two days to assess our achievements, map out our vision, and reiterate exactly where we want to be, I feel that now is also as good a time as any to remind both the young and old stakeholders of our vision that we cannot afford to take our eye off the ball.

Our country is passing through a crucial stage in history where our people are gradually breaking the chains that have held us captive to poverty, intolerance, and much more.

The least we can all do, leaders and ordinary people alike, is avoid being complacent by falsely believing that we are at the apex of our goals. We cannot let down the visionary leadership we are lucky to have, but more importantly, we cannot let ourselves down. We need to buckle-up because we have a lot more to do.

junior.mutabazi@yahoo.co.uk