Kigali is surely one of prettiest and cleanest cities in Africa whose cleanliness standards can easily compete with the best in Europe. Local residents and admirers claim rest of the country to be as clean as the capital of this landlocked nation.
Nowhere along the beautifully laid out streets and pavements are there signs of trash or garbage lying around. People of the country are mandated to come out in numbers on the last Saturday of every month to participate in the “Umuganda”—the Rwandan version of community service to keep the country clean.
From 7.30 am in the morning, shops and business establishments down their shutters until mid-day as scores of people join their local community teams in cleaning up the city. Maybe Indians can learn a lesson or two from Rwanda on how to keep the country clean.
Much of this, however, has been achieved by the country’s President Paul Kagame who had been ruling the country for the past 17 years with an iron hand.
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Detractors describe the country as a "police state" since Kagame got the country’s Constitution amended last year with an overwhelming 94 per cent support to run a third term in elections due later this year. But for many Rwandans and outsiders, Kagame is the best thing that has happened to country.
A little away from the city centre is the Kigali Genocide Museum that stands as a stark reminder of the country’s recent past when over a million people perished in the Hutu-Tutsi ethnic war of 1994. Over 70 per cent of the population had witnessed the brutal killing of their parents or other loved ones and 80 per cent have lost one or more members of their family.
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Despite criticism from his detractors, Kagame has managed to bridge that ethnic divided and brought peace and stability to the country for past two decades. Today, no Rwandan openly claims his ethnic lineage as a Hutu or Tutsi before a visitor and insists they are proud to be recognized as people of the same country.
The Rwandan President is now not only the ‘poster boy’ for the Americans and the British, but large number of leaders from across the globe too, acknowledge his statesmanship for putting back the country on track to normalcy and development. India too, acknowledges his contribution keeping the country together and peaceful and wants to add more muscle to its growing ties with Rwanda.
The ongoing visit of vice President Hamid Ansari is part of that initiative between the two sides to strengthen and deepen Delhi-Kigali ties. Ansari is the first Indian leader at his level to have ever visited Rwanda. On Sunday, he was accorded a warm welcome by representatives of the 3000-strong Indian community at a reception in the evening amidst singing of the national anthem, ‘sare jahan se accha’ and chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai.’
The vice President informed the Indian diaspora of a soon to begin flight between Kigali and Mumbai and opening of up of an Indian mission in the Rwandan capital, in a bid to convey the seriousness with which India has begun to look at its engagement with Africa and Rwanda in particular.
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On Monday, he held a series of meetings with President Kagame and other senior members of the Rwandan government as well as addressing business leaders of the two countries to encourage their ties and cooperation on trade and investment.
