A sense of entitlement: Simplistic and paralysis of a mindset (Part I)

The recent extended National Executive Committee of the RPF party that took place on August 31 exposed a problem one would only expect among misguided or political paralytic individuals few as they may be, but still beats any sense of logic/comprehension. One wonders; why any individual in their normal self would take a self destructive route at a stage and age of irredeemable liabilities in one’s personal life span. The name and shame in this very meeting left everyone present in utter awe for the sins committed by the same individuals who knew pretty well the red lines one can’t cross in RPF, like in any other organised institution. I, personally, and a few friends among top cadres I have tried to engage to do research on reasons behind such behaviour that left many dumb, have not been able to come up with a logical answer to such a behaviour of individuals who think they are a system in themselves, or entitled to who they are, never mind who they were not before this struggle, a struggle that will outlive our lives and one that was too dear/priceless to every Rwandan to tamper with, take for granted, or discount for personal reasons at the expense of masses that still count and underwrite the costs of our abnormal past now and for some time to come. Entitlement to positions Some of the answers to such distorted behaviour have been explained in terms of positions held by individuals who are so short-sighted that the holder of the position and the position are the same i.e. entitled to be there anyway, and change is not “acceptable”. High ranking positions in the country, whether in polity or military, are no entitlement to an individual or a group of people because of whatever reasons, historical or otherwise. People are not appointed to positions without canvassing for the same, nor are there interviews conducted to fill such positions. There are no contracts that define rights and obligations of each part to the contract, but rather an implied contract typical of all political/military positions the world over. And so the appointing authority has the right to remove such a person from the current position to another position or no position at all depending upon the performance of the same.This is how it done the world over. In Rwanda, though, there is seemingly a sense of entitlement by a few individuals (mainly for historical reasons that are time irrelevant) after appointment is done to some individuals, so much so that after the same is removed from a position (never mind what they were before such posting) they look for all sorts of excuses why they were removed from the position. Bitterness ensues, negativism defines the character of the individual, and resentment towards the very system that made them who they are becomes the norm. A bizarre situation indeed. Auto questions that are not Simple logical questions such as; was the position advertised? Did I apply for the position? Did I sit for an interview and emerged the best candidate? Did I have a contract specifying how one should leave the position? Did I merit the position among millions of Rwandans? Are there other Rwandans who can do this particular job better than I do/did? Was it a service to the country (or self serving)? Was such a job supposed to end anyway? Can’t I do something else even better, and more fulfilling than the current job? Was this position an end in itself or a means to contribute to the development of my country? If such questions remotely crossed the conscious of the very individuals, some of the behaviour we have witnessed of late may not have arisen in the first place. But these have to define the mindset of a leader worth their name in the knowledge that public positions are not a preserve of a few, nor an entitlement. It is the preserve of every Rwandan and their entitlement by extension. The only one thing every Rwandan is entitled to is being Rwandan. This is true to the RPF compatriots as it is to other Rwandans who are not members of the RPF. Positions, perks etc become entitlement to a position and not the individual holding the position as theirs to stay. Precedent The sense of entitlement has wrecked many a political systems in Africa, and created artificial class of who have/have nots depending upon the structure that created such entitlements. These normally take the form of ethnic identity, religious affiliation, geographical region, elitism, cronyism, clientelism etc and to some extent military structures in place which ply on citizenry. These entitlements come in the form of positions, but mainly access to the country’s economic resources and systematic corruption. In return, leaders of such countries are then ‘assured’ of ‘protection/survival’ from such interest groups so much so that if their interests are threatened, this poses the existential threat to the nation state. And, as such, this symbiotic relationship persists until the collapse of one party which also leads to the failure of the state. For instance, during late Amin Dada’s rule in Uganda (1971-1979), the sense of entitlement was so defined that, unless one was entitled/related to the entitled you had to live by the mercy of God only. Not only were the un-entitled denied access to all basic needs, their lives were in the hands of the entitled. It was as bad as that. In fact, there were entitled VIPs hard cards (x….is entitled) and with such a card the holder had free access to literally everything in the country, including people’s wives and daughters, which (as abnormal as it was) was accepted for it gave the victim a sense of entitlement by default. Extreme distortions The sense of entitlement leads to free rider mindset and parasitic economic structures which are not sustainable for this leads to mass discontent of un-entitled making governance impossible or compromised, politically or economically. This denies economic agents their due reward for hard work, and promotes highly skewed distributive economics based on remotely controlled forces of the powers that be. Such systems don’t last and, unfortunately, everybody becomes a loser, including the entitled in the event of state failure. Demystification of sense of entitlement Under entitlement state, the entitled are above any written and unwritten laws. They define the law to suit their entitlement status, while other citizens live at the mercy of the entitled. This has defined many African political systems so much so that, it is ‘an African governance paradigm’. This is not so in the New Rwanda. The exemplary leadership of President Paul Kagame will go down in history as not only heroic to our struggle, and an iconic for the New Rwanda because he demystified the sense of entitlement (among many other unique achievements we have registered as a country and a people) as an African vice for the survival of the state, especially at its early stage of development. This is unlike our history of leadership which were all characterised by and survived on systematic entitlement. And so, the struggle against entitlement has been on, but is yet to be a culture we can count/hold on to. Which is why I strongly hold to the unshakable conviction that, the change with continuity and sustainability come 2017, is no change at all. All is at stake, not least the sense of entitlement and serious consequences thereof. The writer is a former Cabinet minister, an economist and financial expert. nshutim@gmail.com. To be continued…

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A sense of entitlement: Simplistic and paralysis of a mindset (Part I)