Beautiful Laye. The ideas are seeping higher and higher. There will be an intellectual climax soon. To turn the corner on usustainable development and grafignette for vaue-life. Thanx for sharing again Laye. Haruna.
-----Original Message-----
From: A Jallow <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 25 May 2009 2:06 am
Subject: Fw: Africa’s own road to prosperity
Africa’s own road to prosperity
By Paul Kagame
At recent meetings of the Group of 20 and the International Monetary
und, world leaders have gathered to discuss the global economic
risis.
Unfortunately, it seems that many still believe they can solve the
roblems of the poor with sentimentality and promises of massive
nfusions of aid, which often do not materialise.
We who live in, and lead, the world's poorest nations are convinced
hat the leaders of the rich world and multilateral institutions have
heart for the poor. But they also need to have a mind for the poor.
Dambisa Moyo's controversial book, Dead Aid, has given us an accurate
valuation of the aid culture today. The cycle of aid and poverty is
urable: as long as poor nations are focused on receiving aid they
ill not work to improve their economies.
Some of Moyo's prescriptions, such as ending all aid within five
ears, are aggressive. But I always thought this was the discussion we
hould be having: when to end aid and how best to end it.
Aid has not only often failed to meet its objectives; it has also
arely dealt with the underlying issues of pove
rty and weak societies.
We see this with our neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
here, 17 000 United Nations peacekeepers - the largest and most
xpensive presence of its kind in history - treat the symptoms rather
han addressing the issues of capacity, self-determination and
ignity.
Often, aid has left recipient populations unstable, distracted and
ore dependent; as Ashraf Ghani, the former finance minister of
fghanistan, has pointed out, it can even sever the relationship
etween democratically elected leadership and the populace.
Do not get me wrong. We appreciate support from the outside, but it
hould be support for what we intend to achieve ourselves.
No one should pretend that they care about our nations more than we
o; or assume that they know what is good for us better than we do
urselves. They should, in fact, respect us for wanting to decide our
wn fate.
At the same time, as I tell our people, nobody owes Rwandans anything.
hy should anyone in Rwanda feel comfortable that taxpayers in other
ountries are contributing money for our wellbeing or development?
wanda is a nation with high goals and a sense of purpose.
We are attempting to increase our gross domestic product by seven
imes over a generation, which increases per capita incomes fourfold.
his will create the basis for further innovation and foster trust,
ivic-mindedness and tolerance, strengthening our society.
Entrepreneurship is the surest way for a nation to meet these goals.
ichael Fairbanks' book, In The River They Swim, which uses
Rwanda as
ne of its examples, highlights the need to respect local wisdom,
uild a culture of innovation and create investment opportunities in
roduct development, new distribution systems and innovative branding.
Government activities should focus on supporting entrepreneurship not
ust to meet these new goals, but because it unlocks people's minds,
osters innovation and enables people to exercise their talents. If
eople are shielded from the forces of competition, it is like saying
hey are disabled.
Entrepreneurship gives people the feeling that they are valued and
ave meaning, that they are as capable, as competent and as gifted as
nyone else. Asking our citizens to compete is the same as asking them
o go out into the world on behalf of Rwanda and play their part.
We know this is a tremendous challenge given our status as a
and-locked nation emerging from conflict, with few natural resources,
ittle specialised infrastructure and low historical investment in
ducation.
But, in fact, we have reasons to be optimistic: we have a clear
trategy to export based on sustainable competitive advantages.
We sell coffee now for high prices to the world's most demanding
urchasers; our tourism experience attracts the best customers in the
orld and market research reveals that perceptions of Rwandan tea are
mproving.
This has resulted in wages in key sectors rising at more than 20
ercent on an annual basis. We have cut our aid as a percentage of
otal GDP by half over the past decade, and last year we grew at more
han 11 percent
even as the world entered a recession.
While this is encouraging, we know the road to prosperity is a long
ne. We will travel it with the help of a new school of development
hinkers and entrepreneurs, with those who demonstrate they have not
ust a heart, but also a mind for the poor..
l The writer is President of Rwanda
— Financial Times
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