President Paul Kagame has called for greater accountability among African leaders, arguing that national sovereignty should not shield governments from scrutiny when they fail to deliver for their people.
Kagame made the remarks on Tuesday, August 25, during a presidential panel at the Africa Mindset Reset Forum in Kigali, where he emphasized that Africa’s development challenge is increasingly about transforming its existing resources, policies, and ideas into tangible results.
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He noted that while the continent has made progress over the years, it continues to fall short despite possessing many of the ingredients needed for success.
“Africa seems to have everything in place to succeed. It has people, it has resources. But the question is how do we change from a position where we have everything we need and are clear about what we want to be, to actually having the Africa we want?” Kagame said.
He observed that the continent has spent years discussing its challenges through institutions such as the African Union and other platforms, but that discussions alone have not been sufficient to produce meaningful change.
“We cannot stay in one place where we are discussing our problems, evidently convincing ourselves that we have more or less what we need to be where we want to be, but we are not getting there,” he said.
According to Kagame, the gap between Africa’s ambitions and actual outcomes should compel leaders and institutions to identify recurring failures and confront them directly.
“If we have everything in place, it means there is something we have to identify that keeps failing us, and therefore take the bull by its horns and deal with what we have to deal with,” he said.
He emphasized that accountability must also extend to leaders whose decisions negatively impact their citizens, arguing that national sovereignty should not become a pretext for silence when governments fail to serve their populations.
Kagame added that legitimacy at both national and continental levels should be accompanied by responsible leadership and measurable outcomes.
“If there are leaders who are not doing the right things, people should point it out. You cannot just mess up a country that has sovereignty and then we keep quiet,” he said.
“Sovereignty and legitimacy should indicate that people are doing the right things for the people,” Kagame stated.
He argued that governance should be viewed alongside other development priorities, including infrastructure and food security, because the quality of leadership and institutions ultimately determines whether such investments yield the intended results.
“The governance aspect of it is vital. Infrastructure and food security are key, but depending on the governance structure, these are going to happen and give the results you expect or not,” he said.
Kagame also criticized a recurring pattern in which governments formulate policies and agree on necessary actions, only for implementation to stall due to delays, excuses, and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
“African countries must instead cultivate a culture where what leaders say, plan, and want is matched by what they actually do. We can’t continue saying things about what we have to do and then start doing different things. We have to align what we say, want, and do to achieve the desired results,” he said.
He further cautioned that excessive caution can itself become an obstacle to progress.
“Even if you are afraid to do something, you are already making a mistake,” he said.
He warned that Africa risks remaining stuck in a cycle of discussions and commitments without measurable progress unless leaders and institutions fundamentally change how they implement decisions.
“We can’t keep running in circles, sometimes congratulating each other, hugging each other, but after a year, three, or five, we look back and find ourselves in the same place or even moving backwards,” Kagame said.
The Africa Mindset Reset Forum, hosted by the African School of Governance, brought together African political leaders, former heads of state, business leaders, academics, and emerging leaders to discuss governance, institutions, and the culture of execution needed to accelerate the continent’s development.
