Rwanda: Development - You Cannot Choose One Without the Other

opinion

What is development? That is the million dollar question. Let me ask you, how many times have you heard this; "Rwanda is developing economically without doing so politically"? I know that my thoughts on this subject will bother some, but bear with me. I believe that you cannot have one without the other. It's actually impossible.

When a person is poor, uneducated, unable to access medical care and take their goods to the market, can they then be participants in the political process? I think it's impossible. Sure they can go to the polls and vote, but do they really even understand what they are voting for? I did my high school in a neighboring Uganda and as a result I saw quite a few school elections. What I learnt was that the fellow with the most money always won the election. At school, the bribes were sweet bananas, buns and alcohol. Almost every single time, the fellow who had the best manifesto but without deepest pocket lost. You know why? Because we were starved for good food. Posho, beans and maize porridge without sugar was our daily meal. What we were really doing was prostituting our votes to cater for our empty bellies. Do I think that we'd have voted a lot differently if we had full stomachs, yes. I'm of the opinion that, if you are poor, then you cannot really vote freely.

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