President Kagame described the state of the nation as strong and challenged leaders and citizens to reject complacency and work to sustain the country’s achievements.

The Head of State delivered the State of the Nation Address at the ongoing two-day 14th National Dialogue (Umushyikirano), which kicked off in Kigali yesterday.

The First Lady Mrs Jeannette Kagame was also in attendance.

"It is my duty, and also my pleasure, to report to you that the State of our Nation is strong and growing stronger. We know this from our own experiences but it is also measurable,” he told about 2000 citizens gathered at the Kigali Convention Centre as the rest of the country and Rwandans in the Diaspora followed the meeting through various platforms.

Quoting the United Nations’ Human Development Index, the President reminded citizens that Rwanda has been among the fastest-growing countries in the world over the last few years.

"Over the past generation, Rwanda has been the fastest-growing country on the United Nations’ index of human development, meaning that we are not only making progress, but doing so at a good pace,” Kagame said.

The country has fast recovered from the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi as Rwandans worked to rebuild their unity and turn around their economic fortunes.

The World Bank describes the country’s economy as successful over the last decade, with high growth, rapid poverty reduction, and reduced inequality among the highlights.

"Between 2001 and 2015, real GDP growth averaged about 8 per cent per annum. Recovering from the 2012 aid shortfall, the economy grew 7 per cent in 2014 and 7.5 per cent in 2015, up from 4.7 per cent in 2013,” the Bank’s review of the country indicates.

The Bank has projected that Rwanda’s economy will grow by 6.8 per cent in 2016 but further recover in 2017 when it is expected to grow 7.2 per cent.

Hard work

President Kagame encouraged Rwandans to keep working hard to ensure that the country, which the World Bank says is the second easiest place in Africa to do business, continues to develop.

"We used to struggle just to survive. Now we struggle to thrive and prosper. I would like to thank all Rwandans for their patience and trust, especially because many of the investments we have made do not necessarily translate immediately into more jobs or lower prices.

"The period ahead is, therefore, about building on all these gains, in order to achieve economic transformation,” he said, promising that the future for Rwanda holds "not only more jobs, but better ones.”

Among other areas, heavy investments in the country have been going into construction, mining, information and communication technology, tourism, banking, as well as insurance.

With the government working to achieve the target of making Rwanda a middle-income country by 2020, Kagame encouraged Rwandans to keep working towards self-reliance and invited them to include it among the resolutions from the on-going National Dialogue.

"Among the decisions of this Umushyikirano, we should resolve to set a deadline, which should come sooner rather than later, after which Rwanda will no longer be waiting for what others hand out to us,” he said.

Held every year, Umushyikirano is an annual gathering that gives all Rwandans, both in the country and abroad, the opportunity to ask their leaders questions directly and engage about the country’s challenges, opportunities and growth agenda.

At the 14th National Dialogue, citizens have so far thanked the country’s leadership for accountable and reliable governance while also requesting that more efforts are made to further develop agriculture, build feeder roads, and make sure that the forthcoming presidential election on August 4 is seamlessly organised.

The dialogue, which ends today, is running under the theme, "Shaping Together the Rwanda We Want,” that places emphasis on the collaboration between leaders and citizens as pillars to continued development.

CLICK here to read the full State of the Nation address by President Paul Kagame. 

editorial@newtimec.co.rw