URUGWIRO VILLAGE - The Presidential Advisory Council (PAC), yesterday, concluded a 3-day meeting in Kigali where they have been assessing and discussing the country’s education sector and development of skills and the financial sector.

The group which consists of eminent Rwandan and International experts, who offer strategic advice and guidance to President Paul Kagame on Rwanda’s development, visited several projects in the country and held discussions with the President and members of his cabinet.

Speaking to members of the press yesterday, PAC member, Sir David King, said that the group which meets twice a year, had an extraordinary successful meeting where various issues were discussed and resolved.

"It was an extraordinary good meeting because we did a lot of business. We worked hard with the cabinet ministers directly, we talked about a number of issues and resolved them,” King said, shortly after the group held talks with President Kagame at Urugwiro Village.

"We focussed on two major issues; educational provision and skills development. We also talked about financial issues and financial development.”

King, who is the Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford, noted that group, which visited private and public universities, recognised a remarkable development in the country’s institutions over time.

"Our conclusion from the visits is that the development of these institutions is simply remarkable. What we see today in KIST, is an institution that is competitive with major institutions around the world,” King said.

However, King said, there is still a lot more to be done.
"Rwanda has need for technical people who can repair cars, build roads and water systems, who can mobilise the full aspects of IT and roll it out and keep it running, people who can work with their own hands,” King said.

"PAC thinks hands-on work people, who are skilled with their hands, need more considerable effort”.

He further noted that after visiting a number of banking and financial institutions around the country, the group observed the need to move towards using electronic money transactions, especially ATM machines.

On behalf of PAC, King acknowledged the vision and determination of the government to deliver in terms of development, adding that PAC is committed to its advisory roles to support the country’s development.

Ends