It’s time we talk less and do more

We are exactly 25 days away from 2014. Christmas and New Year fever is already being felt around Kigali. Come next year and we will be six years shy of 2020; the year to watch – at least as far as Rwanda’s development aspirations are concerned.For the uninitiated, Rwanda has a major economic blueprint known as Vision 2020; it envisages a middle income, knowledge-based, private sector-driven economy by that year. A lot has been done in this regard with necessary policies in place to ensure the achievement of this vision. Building blocks towards the attainment of this vision have been laid over the last 13 years or so.The government has put in place policies. It has put in place the necessary framework. But these alone are not enough. This is where you and I, the ordinary folks, come in: the implementation bit.There are a number of advocacy groups that undertake various activities to prepare the private actors such as entrepreneurs, cooperatives and other businesses in various sectors (farmers, technicians and miners). Granted.It’s about time we reviewed the progress we’ve made thus far. We have to ask ourselves how we are faring at the moment. What changed have we brought about over the last five years? What have we achieved? What are the gaps?You might have seen this as you go about your business in town: You are at a conference, basically one of those big meetings that bring together likeminded people. You get a lift from all the buzz and plethora of opportunities and possibilities presented by working together. You zero in on something you could do together, exchange business cards and set up a meeting. Hope abounds. As you make the calls on the appointment day, you are unprepared for what comes next.For some reason there are always meetings that come up just at the time that you were scheduled to see your potential partner. You make another appointment. When the day comes you notice the enthusiasm has sort of subsided. The zeal and the ‘can do spirit’ are missing. And that’s bad news because such moods spell doom for any venture, more so the one you are just readying yourself to embark on.You form a committee/ taskforce to champion the execution. You need a time table. The sooner you implement this, the better. Uphill begins here; the work is left to the chairman, the partners can’t send somebody as they are in endless meetings and will hopefully “get back to you”. Perhaps you could send an email of what was discussed for their consideration and input. Someone advises you that it would be easier if there was per diem of sorts. Whichever way, nothing will be done within the proposed deadline.This is a typical story of ‘maneno matamu na matendo finyu (sweet words and puny actions). It is development (in this case Vision 2020) mired in bureaucracy and ‘talkshop’ traps. This type of challenge is difficult and dangerous. When you have people who are supposedly championing a cause but are only good with rhetoric and poor or at least slow with actions, you are in deep trouble.This wide horizon between decision and implementation is the bane of the private sector. We all know the necessary change that we must make but no one wants to bell the cat. For example, year in year out, we talk of the challenges facing the private sector but hardly examine the progress made and the remaining challenges whenever we have an opportunity to do so.Six years to 2020 is still enough to realise what desire to have achieved by that time. We have a chance to right what’s not going well. But this will need each one of us to play their part, to be seen to be doing something and pulling in the same direction. It’s not time for plans and strategies. That we have. It’s time for real implementation.Some action, please…even if it means dying while trying.The writer is an entrepreneurship development consultant based in Kigali.