Senator Tito: Liberation focus now on development

Nineteen years down the road, Rwanda’s liberation struggle is still on, with the focus now on accelerating socio-economic development, Senator Tito Rutaremara has said.Rutaremara made the remarks while addressing residents of Beninka Village, Kanombe Sector in Kicikuro District, during celebrations to mark the 19th Liberation Day yesterday. “Liberation is a process and it happens in phases. Those phases also have smaller segments; we are now at the phase of building our economy. In doing so, we can’t afford to move at the same pace as the already developed countries, we need to move faster,” said Rutaremara. Rutaremara, who is also a commissioner in Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), the movement that championed the liberation struggle that ended in on July 4, 1994, with the defeat of the genocidal regime. Rutaremara said total liberation is a struggle that should be fought by all citizens irrespective of age or social status. “Each and every Rwandan has to contribute to the development of the country to enable us prepare a better country for the generations to come. I am sure Rwandans will achieve complete liberation if we all work hard and collectively,” he said. “As long as we are dependent on charity, we can never say we are a liberated people. We have come a long way but we still have a long journey ahead of us, let us stay the momentum.” The RPF commissioner said celebrating the Liberation Day is helps review the past, revisit the cause of the liberation struggle, its course, the current situation, and drawing lessons for better strategies to attain the ultimate goal of liberation – a free society.South Sudan experienceMeanwhile, at the same event, the celebrants in Beninka were joined by a delegation of South Sudanese parliamentarians. The delegation, led by MP Gabriel Gout Gout, is in the country on a study tour. Gout gave a detailed lecture on South Sudan’s liberation struggle and pointed out that although his country and Rwanda share’s a similar history; his county still had a lot to learn from Rwanda. “Rwanda has made major steps towards liberation and the task at hand now is to work closely with other African countries to ensure that African people are all liberated. We have also made some steps but we still have a long way to go to get where Rwanda is, which is why we have to draw some lessons from this country,” said Gout. South Sudan will next week celebrate its second anniversary after it seceded from Sudan, making it the youngest member of the African Union and the United Nations. Rwanda’s liberation is celebrated every July 4. This year’s Liberation Day was celebrated under the theme, “Celebrating African Renaissance-Working towards Self-reliance.”

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Senator Tito: Liberation focus now on development