President Paul Kagame on Foreign Aid and Development

The International Reporting Project (IRP) and 12 senior U.S. editors and producers traveled to Rwanda from November 6-19, 2011, to learn more about this tiny but complex Central African country.

The Gatekeepers concluded their trip by meeting with Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda. In this audio slideshow, the president discusses foreign aid and development in Rwanda.

"There will always be strings attached to aid," Kagame explained. He continued, "These strings tie people a lot and deny them their freedom" to be "who we are rather than who we are dictated to be. This a very serious issue."

"We have benefited a lot from aid, and we still get aid," the president said. "But the ambition is for us in the future to need less or no aid. . . . In time, we will be able to provide for ourselves and stand on our own, and also be free to be who we should be, other than who we are dictated to be, because that will always come with aid."

Audio excerpt by Rebecca Davis and Melody Wilson. Photos by Tom Paulson, Nicholas Aster, Sue Horton, Amy Hollyfield, Ed Robbins, and Rebecca Davis.

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News & Politics

Tags:

• President
• Paul Kagame
• Rwanda
• Africa
• foreign aid
• development
• interview