Governors' Summit - Day One

Rwandan President Paul Kagame fielding questions at the Governors' Summit 2014 at the Great Rift Valley Lodge in Naivasha on January 20, 2014. Other panellists are (from left) Philip Kinisu, Chairman PwC Africa Governance Board, Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor Olive Mugenda, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and Nation Media Group Chief Operating Officer Tom Mshindi. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Summit theme: Governance and Leadership
• Topics: Leadership, Making Devolution Work and Positioning your County in the Regional Community
•  

• 4:47pm: Mr Kinisu: "You are either born a leader or become one. You have emerged as leaders from the electoral process. Bear in mind that leading is not a one-man issue. Capacity building in the counties is essential."
  
  
• 4:33pm: NMG COO Tom Mshindi, who is moderating the panel, now invites Dr Evans Kidero to speak on leadership. Philip Kinisu, chairman of the Board of Governors at PricewaterhouseCoopers Africa delivers his remarks soon after.
• 4:26pm: The summit resumes. Prof Olive Mugenda, the Vice Chancellor of Kenyatta University, currently speaking. "What can you do in your county to create wealth there?" she asks.
•  

• 3:12pm: President Kagame is escorted out as the summit breaks for lunch.
• 3:06pm: "Never in the trenches did I aspire to become President of Rwanda. After signing the peace agreement, it was expected that I would be president. I said I would rather it be someone else, I told them I could play another role. The party then selected another person to serve as president from 1994 to 2000," says President Kagame, adding that when that term ended the party came to him and said once again he should become president.
  
  
  Rwandan President Paul Kagame fielding questions at the Governors' Summit 2014 at the Great Rift Valley Lodge in Naivasha on January 20, 2014. Other panellists are (from left) Philip Kinisu, Chairman PwC Africa Governance Board, Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor Olive Mugenda, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and Nation Media Group Chief Operating Officer Tom Mshindi. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH

  NATION MEDIA GROUP
   
   
• 2:41pm: Answering a question on land, President Kagame says that Rwanda also had big problems with land. "The government had distributed the land of those who fled the conflict. When those people returned there were many claims over ownership of land. Someone returning may find their piece of land now has 10 families living on it. People then sought compensation from the government. The disputed land was divided. You may not have the whole of your original land - maybe a small piece of that land. As much as everyone seems to be losing, everyone is winning. There was also a game park; a very big part of it had animals and rich people would come pay money and shoot the animals there and then fly off. We said we would use this area to settle people. We had a lot of problems. Animals were moved and people were settled."
  
  
• 2:35pm: On leadership, President Kagame says: "It starts with promoting accountability; horizontal accountability and vertical accountability. We started putting structures in place to ensure this happened. Leadership should not mean the President, it is the structures and institutions in place."
  
  
• 1:43pm: President Kagame on national healing in Rwanda: "We have been very liberal in our system; our country remains secular. In Rwanda, Muslims were terribly marginalised under the previous regime. We changed that."
  
  
• 1:32pm: On the now famous cleanliness in Kigali, President Kagame says: "Look at your city as your homestead. Do we need donors to give us money to clean our homesteads? We decided 'Let us have a day every month to remind us to clean our homes and streets.' Every month, on a Saturday, we have a conversation as a nation."
  
  
  Rwandan President Paul Kagame speaks at the Governors' Summit 2014 held at the Great Rift Valley Lodge in Naivasha on January 20, 2014. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH

  NATION MEDIA GROUP
   
   
• 1:14pm: President Kagame: "There is no magic or miracle that will get us where we want to be. Africa will succeed when we understand what has held us back." Concluding his address, President Kagame says that he is "happy to join the discussion after these short remarks".