In his New Year’s message, President Paul Kagame called on Rwandans to actively continue contributing to the country’s transformation by insisting on high-quality services.

The President emphasized hard work and collective efforts as key to realize the country’s transformation goals in the New Year.

The President’s call comes after a relatively successful 2016 in which the country registered impressive growth in all sectors, and several national projects including the Kigali Convention Centre, among others came to fruition.

However, to sustain this momentum in 2017, at individual level and as a country, we must double our efforts to build on the achievements of the previous year.

This will require more efforts especially at the individual level. As an individual citizen ask yourself what you can do to contribute to your personal development and the country. This is what should guide you in the next 364 days.

Obviously, team work is the magic when it comes to ideals and aspirations that Rwanda stands for as a country. At all levels team work should be emphasized, whether in public or private sector. The bedrock of the current transformation is team work and systems that put national interests before anything else.

For leadership right from the grassroots to the national level, their work is well cut out. They must play their part in ensuring that every citizen is involved in the transformation journey that Rwanda embarked on over two decades ago.

They should always be ready to be held accountable by the very people they lead. That is the price a good leader must pay. This will also require more participatory development initiatives where citizens will feel they are the architects of the transformation.

This coupled with security and national unity will ensure that Rwanda’s journey to a middle income status is realized earlier than expected.

Happy New Year.