By Christopher Kayumba
From the recent AfDB annual meeting to the
Transform Africa ICT summit in October 2013 and the ICT for Agriculture
International Conference that November, barely two months go by without
people who matter converging on Kigali.
And, unlike what many imagined 20 years ago,
Rwanda now has world-class facilities — such as Serena Hotel and the
upcoming Marriott — besides another 370 hotels with a combined capacity
of about 6,700 rooms.
Considering that when the Serena was being built
in early 2000s the government faced much opposition from “development
partners,” who argued that such five-star facilities weren’t appropriate
for a poor nation, this success is a story yet to be written.
Musing about the probable meanings of such
jamboree in a “small” country, a friend from the Western world recently
observed that, as the RPF leaders once dreamed, Rwanda could easily
become a regional home for international organisations — such as the UN
and its agencies. I agree.
But why has the country taken this path and seems
to be succeeding? There are a number of reasons but I will start with
necessity, clearly defined goals, sustained action and the power of
dreams.
I was first introduced to the power of dreams
early in life when our mother brought home a speech by American civil
rights activist Rev Martin Luther King, Jr and required us to listen to
and recite it.
Later, this dream thing, fused with
objective-oriented deeds, was bolstered by reading and listening to
speeches by former US president JF Kennedy and South Africa’s
anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.
Then when I joined high school I met young men and
women who, growing up in humiliating refugee camps in western Uganda,
dreamt of and regularly talked about one day returning to “the land of
milk and honey” as our parents never tired to tell us.
Return they did, and many would serve with
distinction in three national armies with one of them going on to head
the military in two different countries! An uncelebrated world record.
Yet, when we thought we knew the power of dreams,
deeds, focus and resolve, when Vision 2020 was first introduced around
2000 not many gave it a chance.
The pessimism was based on two realities: Ethnic
divisions; and an economy in shambles, insurmountable challenges,
dependence on subsistence agriculture, a rapidly growing population,
nascent industries, poor infrastructure, lack of natural resources and
depleted human resources. But the vision’s leaders were talking building
a “middle income” nation driven by a knowledge economy.
It would be illusory to posit that Rwanda has
reached the destination, But judging from what has been attained, 80 per
cent of the objectives might be achieved. Among the six pillars is to
“promote investment and trade ... facilitate the structural
transformation toward industry and services.”
You can say all you want about our “poor” service
industry but hundreds of high-profile personalities turn up for
conferences and are hosted with remarkable organisation to return home
awed.
So why has Rwanda managed to be so excellent in
hospitality? One can credit this to security, stability and peace. Or
its strategic location. But for me the most critical ingredient is the
clear role of the government.
Apart from its traditional role of ensuring
security and order with distinction, it has been central in ensuring
efficiency at organising international conferences.
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