This week’s recognition of Bank of Kigali CEO, James Gatera, as the East African Business Leader of the Year, is bound to encourage other business leaders to aspire for excellence and innovation. Recognising achievements is not just about awarding medals; it’s an incentive to achieve even more and encourages healthy competition among peers. Imbuto Foundation is at the forefront of giving value to achievements, especially among the youth, the Private Sector Federation (PSF) also does its bit among businesses but at a lower scale, but curiously, the media fraternity and stakeholders are sound asleep. While the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) last year made an effort to reward journalists, it did not resonate as it should have, maybe because it was the first time. But even then, why should the task be left to a government body when the country has countless media associations and NGOs? The last truly independent and all inclusive media gala, the Golden Pen Awards, folded more than five years ago, and sadly, no one picked up the mantle. The money used in organising the unending seminars and training workshops by government agencies, NGOs and foreign missions could be put to better use if part of it was channelled towards honouring outstanding journalism. In countries where the media is firmly entrenched, the private sector scrambles to get the honour of being associated with the event because of the exposure, so what is missing here? This should be food for thought.
