Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
By Collins Mwai
Rwandan President Paul Kagame
Leadership is showcased in terms of the relationship between leaders and citizens and not just by the traits of the individual at the helm, President Paul Kagame has said.
President Kagame was speaking virtually at the Stern Stewart Institute Summit on transformation and leadership in Africa in a conversation moderated by John Defterios, CNN Business Emerging Markets Editor and Anchor.
Kagame said that leadership ought to be viewed in terms of the relationship between leaders and citizens and not solely about the characteristics of the individual who happens to be a leader.
He added that ideal leadership consistently delivers tangible results for the well-being of citizens and is resilient.
He noted that it is common to come across instances whereby the legitimacy of leaders is evaluated on the basis of their arrival or departure from office as opposed to their work.
“Too often, the legitimacy of the leaders is judged by the process through which they arrived in office or their manner of leaving office. What happens in between is given less attention. And yet, the good or the bad results that leaders actually deliver on the ground are how citizens judge them. So you often find a mismatch between the internal and external perceptions of the performance of various leaders,” he said.
The Head of State noted that leadership also serves to raise the level of ambition of their countries by changing the citizens’ mindset.
“Leaders cannot lead countries alone. They can only set the tempo and raise the level of ambition by involving the public directly,” he said.
Sharing Rwanda’s experience and approach, he said that the country invests in engaging with young people to make them more self-reliant, confident and innovative.
“The goal is to make them more self-reliant, confident and innovative than previous generations. Otherwise, there is no way to secure the gains that our country has made in the past 25 years,” he said.
The Stern Stewart Institute is a think tank and social entrepreneur.
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