Aisa Kirabo Kacyira Quotes

You can never give love when you have never been loved.

We are here to serve and to make a difference in the lives of our people that our two governments are very much committed to.

That singular act is now etched in history and it is a permanent reminder of the bonds of friendship which frame our long-standing relations.

If we proactively plan and lead cities to get us where we want, [urbanization] will be probably the most affordable tool to get us there.

So however tough that man might be, he’s actually working to make me better. I see a lot of opportunity in that. On the other hand, there are so many other men around me who are out to help me, whom I may not see if I’m defensive. Ultimately, it’s about my attitude.

I always pray to God that I never, ever think I’m indispensable, because that will be the beginning of my failing. I’m part of a team. Sure, important, but not indispensable.

In the case of that man, I need to make him comfortable, to let him realize it’s not about his manhood but about an issue. Often when there’s a dispute, it’s about the person feeling challenged by a woman. Or maybe how we’re discussing it. I may need to go a bit lower, so that he has space to come up. Then I must make sure that when he’s starting to come up, I don’t let others pull him back down. If I make it a specific issue and the rest get on board, we all come up.

I’ve had situations where I had to choose between my pride and my coun­try.

If I have a problem with a man I’m working with, I don’t say, ‘Oh, men.’ If I say that I’m lumping together the whole constituency of men. I try to identify the specific problem with that particular person and address him as one man, so that the others who maybe don’t share that prob­lem will not be brought on board unnecessarily. Then the rest of the team will actually help us out of it. That builds trust.

As we know, Africa is urbanizing at an extraordinary rate – with tens of thousands moving to cities every day. Half of the continent is expected to be living in cities by 2030 bringing the familiar challenges – unplanned urbanization, informal settlements, poverty, inequality, unemployment humanitarian crises, conflict.

This report takes us in a new, exciting direction as its subtitle The Geography of African Investment makes clear. Instead of focusing on urban planning, this 2018 State of African cities report explores how Africa can plan to finance its development through attracting foreign direct investment (or FDI) to its cities and guides us through the complex subject of global investment in Africa.

As beautiful and as sustainable.

This will not be achieved unless we transform from a subsistence agriculture economy to a knowledge-based society.

Kigali is one of the fastest-growing cities in Africa and we are committed to ensuring future growth is based on very good planning.

As a High Commission, which was established last year in the middle of this pandemic, we have been able to make these strides, not only by our effort, but largely by this spirit and teamwork, and I want to reassure you that we are here to stay and fully committed to continue serving and facilitating this cause unreservedly.