Rwandan President Paul Kagame has urged African countries to stop depending on foreign aid and instead focus on building their own capacities, following recent aid cuts by the United States government spearheaded by President Donald Trump.
Mr. Kagame, was speaking on a high-level panel discussion on policies, practices, and personalities fit for a new world order at the opening of the Africa CEO Forum, on May 12, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
The Rwandan president, said that with the context of how Africa has been doing things for decades, the continent shouldn't wake up one morning to react to what somebody has said or done that affects it, whether it is Trump or anyone else.
"We should have been building momentum in terms of what we need to do to make Africa self-dependent and resilient, and how Africa works with other continents and countries," said Kagame, who was on a panel with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania.
"It is as well that President Trump decided to do what he did; if that was only to add to many other reminders that should wake us up as Africans to be able to do what we ought to do," he added.
Kagame noted that leaders often talk about the continent's potential, but the question should be how to realize it.
"The people of this continent need to take the bull by its horns and deal with the problem," said the President.
"We need to be working with each other and other countries on the global stage that offer what we need and offer [them] what they need."
He pointed out a pain point that Africa seems to always wake Africans up to the reality when foreign aids are cut and start scrambling, yet it has happened so many times before
"There is a mentality out there on our continent that somebody is going to foot the bill of our development, and that has undermined our efforts to contribute as much as we can for our own development," he said.
Having been the champion of African Union reforms, Kagame said there was a sense of frustration that what leaders have agreed on at the AU and how regional communities should work together to drive economic development has yet to be implemented.
"The systems are so bureaucratic that you would imagine they live in another world, not this one," he said. "That is so harsh to us that we need to do certain things certain ways without expecting that somebody will always be kind to us, and that's what we will depend on forever."
With the knowledge, vision, resources, and organization Africa has, Kagame said that the continent should be far ahead of where it is now, adding that Africans shouldn't take any comfort that some progress has been made in some respects.
This is not the first time the Rwandan president hss made such remarks'. Last month, Kagame expressed support for President Donald Trump’s push to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), despite Rwanda being a significant beneficiary of its aid programs.
“President Trump has an unconventional way of doing things. I completely agree with him on many things.” he said in an interview. When asked about the potential negative impact on Rwanda, which relies on USAID funding for healthcare and development initiatives, Kagame noted, “I think from being hurt, we might learn some lessons.”
Kagame emphasized his skepticism towards foreign aid: “It’s an aid thing which I’ve never been a friend of it, much as I’ve been a beneficiary of it.” He echoed sentiments shared by many across Africa that much foreign assistance is lost to corruption or administrative costs rather than reaching those in need.
“African countries need to learn to be self-sufficient,” Kagame stressed. “They can’t rely on the generosity of others forever.” This stance aligns with broader discussions about reducing dependency on external funding and fostering domestic economic resilience.
