Mohammed Hersi . A hotelier passionate about Tourism & Governance in Africa

What makes Rwanda tick , a personal testimony >>>>
Sometimes back in 2010 we made a trip to Rwanda to see the various hotel opportunities in this tiny African nation that was trying to rebuild. 

We made an appointment with a minister then infrastructure & Tourism .

We were at his office at the scheduled time 10am having taken the early morning flight out of Nbi. He kept us waiting for close to 30 minutes and finally we were told sorry folks the minister is busy on a long phone call. We should go back to our hotel and we will be called back . 

I had so much hope , we were deflated , well the thoughts of This Is Africa TIA started to creep in . We went back to our hotel at least grab some coffee as we contemplated what next , since that was our major appointment .

Well after an hour or so , the concierge came to alert us that we had a visitor . We said to ourselves , well the good minister has sent someone to come and fetch us . We asked the porters to tell the guest to come over. 

A young man in his 30’s , with an athletes physique came to where we were seated . He apologised profusely that we were kept waiting .We were trying to hurry up so that we could accompany him to go and meet the minister little did we know that he was indeed the minister. He finally introduced himself .

Wow a minister coming to look for us . We had a meeting there and then. He had No PA , No bodyguard etc etc and he was taking his own notes. 

We had a great meeting and he promised to give us a handler to show us around promising to have an exit meeting before we left Kigali. We had an equally productive exit meeting after our 2 days sojourn.

Well it was time to see him off and we walked him to the reception expecting to see a chauffeur driven limo, nothing of sorts . He walked across the car park , we followed him only to see him fetch his car and off he drove away. We couldn’t believe it .

Wow wow so so refreshing . What an amazing experience .

Well in many parts of the civilised world what I have just narrated is normal . In Kenya even an MCA wants to sit back left with retinue of handlers while many many other officials will even drive on the wrong side of the road with blaring sirens . 

Well it takes a culture shift to adopt what I have just narrated right next door in Rwanda . The minister in Rwanda told us they lost many years so they know they have a lot of catch up to do hence the sense of ownership and sense of urgency. 

Folks I wish you all a frugal week ahead . In civilised world to lead a minimalist life is normal and it is considered healthy.

Mohammed Hersi Twitter :@mohammedhersi