Rwandan President, Paul Kagame assumed office in 2000 having previously served as the nation';s Vice President and Minister of Defence from 1994 to 2000. Rwanda was in ruins when President Kagame took power after the genocide. Upon assuming office, he quickly realized the magnitude of the work to be done to steer the country on the part of recovery.
His administration focused on agriculture, infrastructural development and improving power generation which invariably created a conducive environment for businesses to thrive and encouraged investments.
Speaking at the National Dialogue Council earlier in the year President Kagame noted that Rwanda’s agriculture has grown to 8% this year despite the challenges that faced the country. Kagame named some of the challenges to include attack of armyworm and severe drought.
"Agriculture and animal production is the centre of our growth and we shall do everything possible to protect the sector from any attack,” he said.
President Paul Kagame';s government is credited for growing and stabilizing the economy, expanding it by 45.6 per cent from $5.77 billion in 2010 to $8.4 billion in 2016, and significantly reducing poverty levels.
He strived hard to strengthen bonds with neighboring countries by supporting regional integration projects and programmes as it seeks links with East African markets for free movement of capital and labour.
Under Mr Kagame';s rule, Rwanda opened its first maize flour factory, improved its road network, established a national airline, and plans to boost its status as a business hub with a state of the art conference centre.
The country has also invested heavily in cheaper sources of electricity to power industries and push down the tariffs that the government has also continued to subsidize electricity costs to help manufacturers'; products remain competitive. The heavy investments in power generation and imports have seen the country';s installed capacity increase to 210MW by July 26, from 98.77MW in July 2011.
He has been given the task of spearheading efforts to reform the African Union and there are high hopes that his regime will bode well for Africa.
"Without an African Union that delivers, the continent cannot progress, and we face the likelihood of yet another decade of lost opportunity," Mr Kagame said in a report tabled at a meeting of African leaders in January.*
"Tens of thousands of young African bodies have been swallowed by the sea or abandoned in the desert, in pursuit of a decent life for which they are prepared to risk everything, because they believe there is no hope at home.
They testify to the urgent need to act," he added.
These statements reflect a man who knows the scale of the tasks ahead and who is ready to face it head on. He did it with Rwanda, the same is expected with the African Union.