2017: Putting into context the debate on Rwanda's future

I got goose bumps during the delivery of the landmark speech by President Paul Kagame while swearing-in our leaders two weeks ago; my eyes welled with tears as President Kagame seamlessly drew Gen. Karenzi Karake’s saga against a Rwandan context embodying our history as a people, what we have had to endure throughout our journey to where we are today and where we are headed. For clarity purposes, President Kagame drew parallels to ramifications that unfolded when a “village judge,” as rightly put, engaged legal doctrine without appreciating the effects of a prejudiced judgment! Probity and deference aside, Judges epitomise the character of a people they serve and unfortunately, as our case is, freedom fighters that stopped heinous crimes against humanity and Genocide in Rwanda are being sacrificed at the altar of Western bigotry, arrogance and contempt. My takeaways from that speech were numerous, when President Kagame stated that he was happy that “it was happening to us” and not other Africans and went on to espouse his critique, appreciate that we are going to draw a logical conclusion to this provocation that hinges on misrepresentation of facts to serve orchestrators’ interests which do not resonate with the Rwandan vision and ambition. If I had my way then I would strongly encourage Jean Louis Bruguiere as well as Fernando Andreu Merelles to visit the Genocide memorial sites in Rwanda and emulate the Queen of England who recently visited the notorious Bergen-Belsen death camp in Germany; such a visit might give them some perspective. Some of our friends have been critical of our ‘continuity’ debate, but it is our duty as their friends to share our context which in all aspects is unmatched. This should not be treated simply as an event, but rather an outcry similar to others we have seen on our continent and beyond—this time probably one of those rare moments in history where the people are overwhelmingly expressing appreciation of a leader with distinct and rare qualities such that a whole population enthuses over pleading with him to continue leading them. This is largely because of this: Kagame has created hope for Rwandans where there was none; he has turned a failed state into the fastest growing economy in Africa and among the fastest in the world; he has redefined our worth and purpose; he has turned a country that was once described as a “full glass” that couldn’t receive its own citizens to a country receiving and caring for hundreds of thousands of refugees from the region and beyond; he has reconciled and unified Rwandans and is, indeed, a source of inspiration. The time for change is coming and there will be a strong and stable Rwanda after President Kagame, that time is not 2017: not just yet! As we continue to follow the debate with strong views in favour of President Kagame continuing his stewardship of the country, a question came to mind, “Did Rwanda make Kagame or Kagame made Rwanda”. ‘‘Rwanda is a place to invest’’ I am sure it is not a clear cut-out answer but certainly worth a practical examination. In examining this question: putting into context the current debate on continuity, of which some have chosen to simplify as “Third Term,” where we are seeing an unprecedented movement across the country of citizens out of their own volition marching to Parliament and using every single opportunity to air out their demand to amend the constitution; when interviewed they unanimously request for continuity; individual farmers, cooperatives, business community, civil society, prisoners to faith based institutions. Listening to the justification and testimonies ranging from prosperity to security under President Kagame’s leadership validates the notion that Kagame made Rwanda and the person Kagame is synonymous with the development of Rwanda. Markets don’t lie on how they preserve the governance of a company or a country; Rwanda continues to be highly regarded by the markets–when the government sold its shares in Bralirwa and Bank of Kigali, the markets spoke! When government issued a debut Eurobond of four hundred million US dollars back to back with difficult political times characterized by donor suspension of aid, markets were loud enough with an unprecedented oversubscription of over 8.5 times (US $3.5B) and at the lowest end of the yield and yet trading at par as a sign that the deal was “priced to perfection”. When the first private sector IPO, Crystal Telecom, was issued, the markets once again expressed their satisfaction and investment confidence in the brand; Rwanda. Recently, we were part of a team that managed the process of issuing the Crystal Telecom IPO. As expected we met several investors, some of the key issues raised were on continuity of the governance of Rwanda. Investors were keenly interested in investing in Rwanda and, in their own words, they said “Rwanda is the place to invest, Kagame has branded Rwanda’, it is a reliable, profitable, predictable, sustainable good brand to the extent that, for most of the time we were there, our focus veered-off to briefing them on Rwanda and much less on the company metrics. As expected, the continuity question was asked with some questioning the timing of the IPO; suspecting that we had privileged information that President Kagame was leaving office and hence the uncertainty which would erode company value, especially given the performance of MTN which cannot be viewed in isolation of the Digital President (Kagame). Others advised that listing in 2018 especially if President Kagame is re-elected would significantly raise the value of the company gaining a premium from the market view of the opportunities presented by Kagame’s leadership. IPO’s success Whereas there are several reasons why IPOs fail, when Crystal Telecom issued its IPO for MTN shares, a similar transaction was on the market from another African country a week before. When both companies released the results, Crystal Telecom was allocating shares and the other was painfully returning investors their money and declaring it a failed IPO. Our IPO’s success is yet another testimony of the market confidence of the Rwanda that has been built by President Kagame and to whom we are indebted. The key lesson learnt: “Rwanda is now at the table and not on the menu,” and we owe it to President Kagame’s visionary and determined leadership. And yes, Kagame has made and is making Rwanda. Even the critics, for obvious reasons, remain admirers of the achievements of President Kagame; none will say Rwanda made Kagame. And yet when this debate on continuity is tabled, through their blogs and other channels they are quick to say President Kagame is just like other African Presidents, he wants to be a life President. They are wrong! It’s we Rwandans exercising our constitutional right and contextualising our circumstances that are pleading with him to continue the progress we enjoy and secure our prosperity. This is an appreciation of the excellent performance across all governance metrics, he is a true statesman who sacrifices for his people and is willing to pay the ultimate price for his country. And with this revelation, our inherent fears are consistently and continuously being overcome and we owe this to the warranty that the leadership of President Kagame continues to provide. Others have raised the issue of “Kagame’s legacy”, one questions what his legacy is. As much as it is not for me to answer, but given his history and what he stands for, primarily driven by diligently serving his people, changing their lives sustainably, having a unified Rwandan voice, fighting injustices of all kinds with neither fear nor favour, one would actually say that if he stepped down and Rwanda (a fragile state) returns to a failed state, this shouldn’t be his legacy. The fact that he is keenly listening but non committal on the continuity debate means that he is encouraging a wider debate especially among the electorate and our friends to ensure that he is convinced this is about Rwanda and the people’s choice. Without a doubt, should he yield to the people’s will, we will continue to celebrate his leadership. Let me conclude with a plea to our President, Paul Kagame: some of us were born in different parts of the world, we were denied our rights of being Rwandan, those who were in Rwanda were denied their civic rights, were polarised, beaten, a hurt and divided nation! You gave us reason to live and we trust you; together we built our devastated country into one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Because of you Mr. President, we are proud to be Rwandans, we stand tall amongst our peers, and we speak and command authority! Time will come when you will take your rest from the mantle of leadership, but that time is not now. We still thirst for your leadership and wisdom; like the millions that have spoken, we once again plead with you to stay on and lead from the front. The author is a corporate strategist based in Kigali.

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2017: Putting into context the debate on Rwanda's future