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Dear President Paul Kagame, Practice What You Preach Sir!
August 23, 2011 Posted by: Herman
Dear Mr President, I never thought of writing you a letter Sir. I am compelled to do so after listening to your speech yesterday on Wednesday 22 August 2011 to over 400 local leaders from Rwandan districts.
The main message you kept driving home, your Excellency, was that Rwandan leaders must work closely with the populace, avoid corruption and desist from using national resources for individual own benefit.
Indeed, your definition of good leadership, as you kept repeating, is “people-based” and involves the citizens – the latter must be able to criticize their leaders where things don’t go right. As you emphasized, leaders in turn take criticism positively and use it as an opportunity to improve their performance. Citizen is king, according to your Excellency.
Your Excellency, this was a brilliant speech. In fact translating it in English robs its strength, especially where you emphasized that a government that serves the interests of the people is anchored on an unshakeable foundation. Excellent stuff!
Mr President, I thought that the Highmark of your extraordinary speech was when you warned against greed, reminding all Rwandans and their leaders, presumably including yourself that “there is no value in greed” and that “greed may benefit an individual in the short term, but such individual has no peace whatsoever, nor will he or she ever be at ease with such an enormous burden.
You repeated these themes over and over again Sir, reminding the over 400 local government leaders that their job is to protect the resources of the citizens and ensure value for their money. Rwandans you said expect services equivalent to their resources – there is simply no room or excuse for failure to deliver to the people.
Mr President, these are all fine words, but do you live by the wisdom and standards you have prescribed?
Here are my problems Your Excellency:
The Jets
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From where did you get the money to buy these two jets that cost over US$100,000,000.00 pictured here? - Where do you put the money that comes from the charter of these jets when you are not using them?
- How much money do you take from Rwandan taxpayers’ Treasury to finance the many trips you make abroad, including visits made by your wife and children?
- Are you not bothered by the fact that the Secretary to the Treasury, Kampeta Sayinzoga is your nephew’s wife Sir – you never heard of the sins of “conflict of interest”?
The farm
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Look at your 45-acre Lake Muhazi farm of yours – it stretches on both sides of the lake beyond behind you where you and President Yoweri Museveni are standing. - Why so much land when the average population density among the Rwandans is over 400 people per square kilometre?
- Remember that you forced your thieving RPA generals to return the land they had grabbed? Why did you keep yours?
The cars
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You have a pair of Range Rover Mr President. - Are they yours personally or they belong to the state?
- Does this kind of vehicle give Rwandans dignity when you drive past them in rugs?
The companies:
- You are the one who runs Crystal Investments – that is how you made Prof Mannasseh Nshuti who failed in every post in Rwanda, the Group Chairman.
- What have you done with the dividends from, for example, Crystal’s most successful Company, MTN Rwanda, since it was established more than 10 years?
- Show the Rwandan public, especially RPF members that supposedly own Crystal, a single Annual Report please!
The properties:
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Admit it Mr President – you, your nephew Byusa and Katari Sekoko own Kigali City Towers. Where did you get the cash?
The London Building
- You, nephew Byusa and Hatari also own “Rwanda House, the building that houses the Rwandan High Commission.
The Luxury Hotels:
- Apparently Your Excellency you stay only in top hotels in your many trips which not even the President of France or Prime Minister of Great Britain would not dare set foot in because of accountability issues in their countries.
- With your huge entourage that numbers over ten people, hotel presidential suites must cost Rwandan taxpayers a fortune Sir.
Something does not add up Mr President. On your small salary as Head of State of a low-income country whose gross domestic product stands at a mere US$5.6 bn (even poorer than Haiti at US$6.6bn, Uganda US$17bn, TZ US$22bn and Kenya US$32bn), how have you acquired this enormous wealth? What have we here then Mr President? Greed, you said, may benefit an individual in the short term, but such individual will never have peace – nor would he or she ever be at ease with such an enormous burden. So how do you live with yourself Sir?
Aren’t you greedy or perhaps corrupt Sir? But here is your chance – please explain yourself. Otherwise Rwandans, especially those 400 leaders you spoke to so eloquently might become disillusioned by what appears to be a double-standard Sir.
Worried Citizen
Kigali, Rwanda, Tuesday, August 23, 2011
***UPDATE***
Dear KaraMbizi, as per your request to contrast Kagame’s kingly life style and Rwanda’s rural poverty, here you are. These are pictures of brutal destruction of the rural poor’s homes by Government before alternatives were provided under the so-called “Bye Bye Nyakatsi.” Compare this rural Rwanda versus King Paul’s world of $1000,000,000.00 jets, 45 acre farm, five star hotels, Range Rovers and properties such as Kigali City Towers or Rwanda House in London! Thanks for your suggestion indeed. AD