Monday, 17 February 2020 - President Kagame this Sunday opened the 17th annual National Leadership Retreat, commonly known as Umwiherero, at the RDF Combat Training Centre in Gabiro, in Gatsibo District.

The four-day retreat has attracted about 400 senior leaders from central and local government, parastatals and the private sector to discuss lessons learnt from the Vision 2020 and devise sound strategies to achieve the ambitious goals of the Vision 2050.

In his opening remarks, President Kagame challenged leaders to always learn lessons from the challenges the country has been facing and avoid carelessness to accelerate the pace of the country’s progress.

"We have been repeating ourselves for 17 years, at some point, we have to look back on these years and ask if we have learned from repeating ourselves. Everything that we have not done right in the last 17 years, where we have fallen short, it is not because those who were given those responsibilities did not know what they are doing. The reason for not doing the right thing is having the wrong values. You have the knowledge and you know what you are doing but you have the wrong values." President Kagame said.

President Kagame also challenged the youth to be responsible and avoid wrong values.“As you take responsibility, do not learn the wrong values of those who came before you, there are some that look that they have benefits but they do not last long, they turn into a burden. It’s never too early to be responsible and mature, to understand the strategic imperatives of our country, this Rwanda can only survive if we do things differently.” President Kagame told the youth.

The first day of Umwiherero 2020 saw a presentation by Prime Minister Dr. Edouard Ngirente on the implementation status of the 16th Umwiherero.The 16 resolutions adopted during the last year’s Umwiherero and were translated into 57 action points. 43 of these action points are at an advanced level of implementation – over 75.5%.17th National Leadership Retreat discusses the following topics:

• Next 30 years: Moving away from “Business-as-usual”
• Filling the gaps in our healthcare system: Paving the way to specialized care
• Education and Skills: The journey to universal access with world-class quality
• Economy of the Future: Private sector at the forefront of achieving Vision 2050
• Strategies for winning the fight against corruption in Rwanda
• A Shifting Global Political Climate: How prepared are we?

The National Leadership Retreat commonly known as Umwiherero, meaning retreat, refers to a tradition in Rwandan culture whereby leaders would convene to reflect on issues affecting their communities.  The objective of these meetings was to identify solutions and commit to achieving them.

Today, Umwiherero has become a unique governance tool that allows Rwanda’s leaders to hold themselves accountable. It provides them an opportunity to reflect on the country’s progress and identify strategies to accelerate the delivery of national priorities while solving ongoing challenges.

Watch the opening address by President Kagame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm5z6Uy260Y
You can also view and download photos here: https://flickr.com/photos/paulkagame/albums/72157713127417161