In just two days, 2014 will come to an end and a new year begins. As usual the New Year will be ushered in with a lot of merry-making and a great deal of expectations – usually good ones.

But before we get there, as Rwandans, we still have time to look back on the one just ending and count our blessings and even name them. I think overall, we can be satisfied. We have met most of our targets, missed others, maybe not by much.

Things are certainly looking up and the statistics show it – not just our own, but also of outside observers. Many of these observers are not known for giving credit even where it is clearly due.

In fact, they are famous for negating what is obvious and evident to any right-thinking person
About two weeks ago CNN and the Mail and Guardian reported that life expectancy of Rwandans had increased from 49 years to 66 in the last 23 years, the best performance in sub-Saharan Africa.

A little over ten days ago FIFA, football’s world governing body, released its latest rankings. Rwanda is at number 68 – its highest position ever.

Now, our football has not been particularly impressive lately. One can imagine what position we would have if we were performing as we should.

According to other reports, it turns out that Rwanda is now the world’s largest exporter of coltan. And it is not simply exporting raw minerals, but also adding value to them.

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