Kagame calls on Rwandans to be self reliant

President Kagame speaking at The State of Nation Address

President Paul Kagame has called on Rwandans to work hard and be self reliant in 2013. Kagame warned that the freezing of foreign aid should serve as a lesson to lesson to Rwandans to learn how to be self-reliant since aid comes with strings attached to it.

“If we can continue working as hard as we can and have a positive attitude in developing our country, I believe, we will have learnt from this experience of blocking aid to our country,” said President Paul Kagame.

President Kagame said, while he addressed the state of the nation address this December 31, at the parliamentary building located in Kimihurura, in Kigali city.

Kagame said that the general progress and image of the country in 2012 had showed tremendous progress in various aspects in areas of social and economic development, investment, justice, social; welfare; despite the economic crunch and the conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo-which resulted to halting of foreign funding from donor countries.

Kagame also spoke about the DRC issue and foreign Aid freezing; he said the conflict in Congo was poorly handled, though not to his surprise, to the extent that donor countries blocked aid to Rwanda but this was not a set back to Rwanda since the country’s ultimate goal is focused on reducing dependence on foreign aid.

“What is important is not to give up on our goals. The halting of foreign aid may delay our development but we shall do all the best in eliminating poverty among Rwandans- as statistics so far indicate that one million Rwandans have moved out of poverty,” Kagame said.