Kagame comes down hard on RPF leaders

KIGALI - President Paul Kagame, Saturday, castigated members of his ruling party, the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) who, instead of setting a good example, were instead at the forefront of scandals that were bringing shame and derailing development programmes. Kagame said this during a meeting of the RPF’s Political Bureau which was held in Kigali and attended by over 800 members from all corners of the country. He said that some senior RPF officials in government felt they were above the law and abused their offices to line their own pockets and then fellow party members shield instead of denouncing them. “Why can’t cadres be the source of unearthing these malpractices instead of covering up their colleagues misdeeds?” Kagame asked. He was referring to alleged multibillion Franc construction scandals that have landed several RPF members behind bars, yet some people in government knew something was wrong but kept their arms folded, until he (Kagame) took matters into his own hands. “What prevents leaders to make decisions and point a finger where someone has gone wrong? If you keep quiet, I cannot be convinced that you are innocent,” said the visibly angry Kagame. He told the gathering that despite the commendable 11.2% growth the country registered last year, the figure could have gone higher had some leaders not hampered development through the abuses of some RPF members. Kagame reminded party members that the RPF’s ideology was based on putting the interests of the people first and that its members had the task of making a difference where others had failed. “You must always be ready to defend the interests of the people of Rwanda. The tools and structures are there but they are not utilized”. He pointed out that during the last government retreat in Rubavu District in the Western Province, the subject was to examine how far the government had gone in implementing policies to improve the lives of the population. He said that the major areas in the government policy included saving the people from destructive politics, poverty, dependency and improving their welfare. “Many RPF members have not honoured this creed. They should examine themselves to see whether what they were supposed to was done,” continued the President, urging RPF cadres, the driving force of the government, to “walk the talk”. Ends