President Paul Kagame has said that various forums bringing Rwandans together to collectively seek solutions to their challenges should produce tangible results.
He delivered this message on Friday as he closed the 20th National Dialogue Council (Umushyikirano), which took place at the Kigali Convention Centre from February 5–6, 2026.
“I would like to request and remind you that discussions like these have also taken place in previous meetings. They should not become repetitive exercises with no outcomes, turning into mere routines where we come, talk about problems, suggest solutions, discuss many issues, but a year later we return and find things exactly the same,” President Kagame said.
He noted that many issues could have already been resolved and that it serves no purpose when people delay action on matters they already understand.
“That is why these are general issues, and if you look closely, they are issues affecting Africa as a whole. What explains our country’s lack of progress in Africa, when we have good ideas that should translate into effective action?” he asked.
President Kagame said that many people present are capable, but something often emerges that suppresses that capacity, causing individuals to lose sight of their potential.
He emphasized that politics is also a matter of culture, explaining that when someone has values, knowledge, and all necessary resources but fails to show visible progress from where they were yesterday to where they are today then there is clearly a problem.
“Sometimes we blame historical forces that have troubled us, saying that whenever they see someone capable trying to move forward, they come and undermine them in many ways, often without the person even realizing it,” he said.
President Kagame stated that former colonizers of Africa still pursue agendas aimed at keeping the continent down, and that Africans must do everything possible to free themselves from that grip.
“You are expected to remain in a place that is unsafe and unhealthy. Occasionally, they show you mercy, lift you slightly so that you do not die, but you do not heal either you remain in hospital indefinitely. That is Africa’s situation. Look around and you will see it,” he said.
He stressed that people should not continue to face the same problems repeatedly when solutions exist and when there are institutions responsible for addressing them.
“When you look at problems that have persisted for years, we keep explaining but people do not listen. Later, you find that even those who did not listen end up facing the same problems. This is happening worldwide. The world has problems, even those we sometimes idolize have them. It should not please anyone, but it helps to remind us that when you create problems for others, they eventually come back to affect you as well,” he noted.
President Kagame urged Rwandans to invest energy in their work, to coexist and cooperate with other countries where possible, but to focus on their own responsibilities where cooperation fails.
“Let us do what is possible everything that can be done should be done. Then we find ways to live with others, whether neighbors or those far away. If cooperation works, we work together; if it does not, we redirect our efforts inward and work. That is the only way we will develop. These should not just be words. What is said here must translate into visible actions that show progress,” he said.
President Kagame thanked participants of the National Dialogue Council and urged them to implement the resolutions adopted, working with clear goals to advance Rwanda’s development.
