President Kagame has asked the Prime Minister to put an end to frequent foreign trips by government leaders, saying such travel causes them to neglect citizens’ problems, which should be their top priority.
The Head of State made these remarks while opening the 17th National Congress of the FPR–Inkotanyi, held on December 19, 2025, at Intare Arena in Rusororo.
The meeting was attended by more than two thousand members of the FPR–Inkotanyi.
President Kagame questioned why residents of Kayonza District were facing hunger despite having leaders, while in Rusizi District a road has been damaged for a long time without any action taken.
When he asked leaders what had happened, they told him there had been negligence and delays in addressing the problems. He said this was not the first time he had heard such explanations, noting that the root cause is leaders failing to follow up on those they lead because they are often traveling.
He said, “If you count how many trips they make, attending meetings abroad, using Rwanda’s achievements to present the country as a success story, you find five to ten ministers all signing up and leaving […] I ask, where are they going? They say they were invited and that it is important, that they are going to give lessons. But what benefit have those lessons you are going to give brought you?”
President Kagame said no minister will travel again without first clearly explaining in detail how that trip benefits the country more than the service they provide to citizens.
He said, “This traveling has tired me, understand me. I am tired of their traveling. You must first explain clearly and in advance.”
“Let us first agree on what we lose if a leader does not go, if they decline the invitation. I want to know that, but at the same time it should remind you what we lose if they do go, so we compare the two.”
He added that sometimes two ministers are appointed in one ministry, yet both travel at the same time—across not just one ministry but two or three—meaning many leaders leave at once, and that this must be known and accounted for.
He said that when these leaders travel, they often go offline, making themselves unreachable even when they are needed.
He said, “You ask yourself, where did you go that there is no phone network? For them, traveling means disconnecting completely from where they come from. Prime Minister, this will stop, without question.”
He said leaders must understand their responsibilities and prioritize urgent issues in the interest of citizens instead of continuing to delay them. He added that no more lessons are needed, because this mindset is what the FPR–Inkotanyi has taught for many years.
He said, “What do you want to learn that you don’t already know? What schools are you looking for? Cadre schools? Are schools factories that manufacture people? Even now, you hear what you are told, and it should result in learning.”
He said that given the hardships Rwanda has gone through in past years, people should no longer be characterized by poor performance or act confused, as if they do not know what needs to be done.
He said, “I don’t think it’s about not knowing. Why do you repeat the same mistake, get reminded, and then repeat it again? What do they call that? It becomes a culture of doing things that way something you choose, even if others may not notice.”
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