KIGALI - The Chairman of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), President Paul Kagame, has called on party members to consolidate the achievements that have been registered over the past years and map out ways of accelerating the country’s development.

The Head of State made the remarks, yesterday, while opening the RPF Congress at the national stadium in Remera.

The RPF Chairman told the congress that the country, its leadership as well as the people are always under scrutiny, but in actual sense it is RPF which is being scrutinised, as it is the engine of the country.

He, however, said that the scrutiny should not be seen in bad light but rather an encouragement to even do more.

The President noted that the fact that some people put their focus on Rwanda means that they hold it in high consideration and this should serve as motivation to work harder.

He told the party members that they should work for their country and not to impress others.

The President noted that while a lot has been done and the progress is visible, there is still need to put in more effort to address the remaining challenges and transform the lives of all Rwandans, adding that there is no room for complacency.

President Kagame emphasised the need to accelerate growth and development, pointing out that if the country is to achieve the desired levels of development, the Rwandan people will have to be involved.

He told the party leaders that it is their duty to champion this cause, basing on the principles that the party is built on, all of which are aimed at improving the lives of all Rwandans and taking the country to the next level of development.

The Minister of Finance, John Rwangombwa, made a presentation on the status of the economy, noting that despite fears over the global economy, the country is projecting steady growth this year.

Rwangombwa said that at the beginning of this year, as the US and European countries sunk into debt, fuel and food prices skyrocketed, the Sub-Saharan countries feared spill-over effects.

He noted that countries in the region were hit hard with inflation rates soaring, but Rwanda has been able to steer through the hard times due to the policies drawn by the government.

The Finance Minister pointed out that food and commodity prices were pushed up by the disasters suffered by highly productive countries such as Australia and Japan, but said that prices are expected to go down by the end of the year.

"The price of petroleum products is reducing globally and as a country which imports fuel, this is good news,” Rwangombwa said.

The Finance Minister said that Rwanda had projected a 7% GDP growth rate at the beginning of this year but the situation has improved and the projected growth rate is now 8.8%, which reflects a positive trend.

He attributed the growth to the heavy investment especially in the agriculture sector, following the government decision to invest in both seasons of the year, which reads to two bumper harvests this year.

Agriculture production is expected to go up by 8%.

Rwangombwa also pointed out strict monetary policies have ensured that the Franc remains stable, amidst soaring inflation in the region.

Eng. Colletha Ruhamya made a presentation on the status of clean water supply while the Prime Minister, Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, made a presentation on the implementation of the 12 Year Basic Education and the quality of education in the country.

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