Author: b_igi_adm1n

Rwandan farmers have been encouraged to plant macadamia plants since it performs better in the country’s soils making it a potential source of income for many farmers, hence boosting the economy.

Addressing macadamia farmers in Rwamagana district, Jean-Marie Munyaneza the Horticulture International Market Officer at the National Agricultural Export development Board (NAEB), noted that if macadamia is planted in plenty it would overtake the sales of other cash crops like coffee and tea.

In Rwanda,the planting of macadamia nuts was introduced in the year 2006 and some farmers have started harvesting yet getting market for the nuts seems to have discouraged some.

However, Freshco Rwanda limited a local company is willing to buy the harvested nuts. The company’s country director Peter Karanja encourages farmers to plant more macadamias since there is high demand both local and global.

“More people are interested with this nut partly because due to its health advantages, it doesn’t have cholesterol fats for instance and its proteins has also been proved to be beneficial for our health,” he remarked.

Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, the Chief of Defence Forces of Uganda People’s Defence Forces is on a three day working visit to Rwanda. His visit aims at strengthening the collaboration and cooperation that already exist between the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF).

Gen.Aronda arrived in Rwanda 18 October, 2011 accompanied by Brig Gen Otema, 4 Div Comdr and Col Joseph Musanyufu, Chief of Integrated Resource Management Information Systems and Chairman of Wazalendo Sacco.

On 19 October 2011, Gen. Aronda, inspected a Guard of Honor mounted by Rwanda Defence Forces and held meetings with RDF Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen Charles Kayonga. The CDF later paid a curtsey call on the Minister of Defence, Gen James Kabarebe.

Gen. Aronda and his delegation, accompanied by Lt Gen Ceaser Kayizari, the ACOS and RDF Generals and Senior Officers will visit Gako Military Academy where they will receive briefings and tour RDF Bn preparing for PSO.

The visit follows the 9th Session of Rwanda-Uganda Joint Permanent Commission held in Kigali from 27-28 July 2011, and the state Visit of H.E President Museveni to Rwanda from 29 July to 1 August 2011.

Gen. Aronda will Friday attend the opening of EAC CPX Ushirikiano Imara at Rwanda Military Academy Nyakinama in Musanze.

World Bank Country Manager in Rwanda Omowunmi Mimi Ladipo has just congratulated Rwanda upon another success in doing business.

Ladipo was speaking at the launch of ease of doing business findings compiled in one report titled ‘Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World’ Report which was jointly done by World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC).

In a teleconference and press briefing at World Bank/IFC offices in Kigali this Thursday Ladipo who was accompanied by high profiled Rwandan government officials, announced that Rwanda had emerged 45th country in ease of doing business among 183 countries across the world.

In a middle of applause, Ladipo also said that Rwanda had scooped the 3rd position in Sub-Saharan Africa following South Africa and Mauritius respectively.

Last year, Rwanda had been ranked 58th country in ease of doing business but the new report had indicated that it was on the 50th position which made the Minister of Trade and Industry Francios Kanimba not hold his breath to ask.

Responding to the question from the Minister’s question, World Bank’s official from Washington DC said the new positioning of Rwanda from 58th to 50th was due to new parameters used in this new report which made researcher and analysts fix them in the last year’s survey which consequently put Rwanda in the 50th position.

Despite major reforms Rwanda has earned in doing business, it is still failing largely in delaying contracts(39th) where it has not changed at all, dropping in resolving Insolvency from 163 last year to 165 this year.

Other parameter Rwanda is still failing include protecting investors dropping from 28 last to 29th this year, while registering property falling by 20 positions from 41st last year to 61st this year and fallin by 3 points in dealing with construction permits from 81st position last year to 84th position this year.

However among 10 indices measured, only three of them Rwanda performed very poorly in t5he ranking of Sub-Saharan African countries including dealing with construction permits (13th ), trading across borders (31st ), 36th out of 38 countries in resolving insolvency while the rest of indices performing below 10 indices.

The report has shown that there has been a major progressive reform in doing business for over 43 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In general the report says the pace of regulatory improvements has picked up across Sub-Saharan Africa and for the past six years, a third of the region’s economies made the improvements to the regulatory climate for domestic firms.

Between June 2010 and May 2011 alone, 36 of 46 governments in the region implemented reforms in at least one of the ten indices in the report.

Meanwhile, other countries in East African Community (EAC) bloc fared well as Kenya ranked the 9th in Sub-Saharan Africa hence the 2nd to Rwanda in EAC, then Uganda on 12th and Tanzania 14th positions respectively.

For the last four year, Mauritius has been beating the rest of Sub-Saharan African countries and being on the 23rd position on Global ranking.

Singapore retained its position as the friendliest place to do business in the world, followed by Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Others in the top 10 were USA, Denmark, Norway, UK, South Korea, Iceland and Ireland, respectively.

The report has indicated that governments in 125 economies out of 183 measured implemented a total of 245 business regulatory reforms — 13 percent more reforms than in the previous year.

Unconfirmed reports from a Libyan Television say Muammar Gaddafi has been captured and that is in a critical condition and the head of his armed forces has been killed.

More than 300 officers from the EAC Partner States Defense Forces are in Rwanda to take part in a joint command post exercise due to open Friday 21 October 2011.

The exercise codenamed ‘Ushirikiano Imara’ (loosely translated as Firm Cooperation) will be conducted at the Rwanda Military Academy at Nyakinama, Musanze District from 21-27 October and will involve civilians and military personnel.

It is meant to practice participants from the Partner States’ Defense Forces in the planning and conduct of peace support operations, counter terrorism, counter piracy and disaster management.

Brigadier General Salvator Nahimana, Chair of Defense Liaison Officers at the EAC Secretariat says the purpose of the command post exercise is to improve the capabilities of the Partner States’ Armed Forces to combat complex security challenges.

It will also seek to harmonize the working relationships and improve military interoperability between the EAC Partner States’ Armed Forces, Brig. Gen. Nahimana adds.

Furthermore, Ushirikiano Imara is expected to foster cooperation among the EAC Partner States and to enhance collaboration between the civil authorities in the Community and international organizations.

EAC Partner States’ Defense Forces regularly conduct joint military exercises aimed at deepening cooperation in defense amongst the bloc’s member states, with similar exercises previously held in Kenya, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.

These exercises are underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Defense which lays down four areas of cooperation namely: military training; joint operations; technical assistance; and visits (including sporting exchanges and range competitions as well as visits by the Chiefs of Defense) and exchange of information. The MoU was signed in 1998 and revised in 2001.

Rwanda has been appointed to lead the proliferation of illegal illicit small arms and light weapons in great lakes region for two years.

According to Sheikh Musa Fazil Harelimana, Rwanda was chosen due to her clear political will to address problems posed by the proliferation of illegal small arms.

Other reasons included relentless efforts to destroy illegal arms, peacekeeping role in different countries and Rwanda’s annual financial contribution to Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA).

“We will get on a comprehensive campaign to fight the problem posed by these arms across this region,” Harelimana said.

The idea is that the post-Cold War era, most African or elsewhere war ravaged areas, nations should dump their arsenals and no man should posses Soviet-designed Kalashnikoves, AKM automatic guns commonly known as AK-47s illegally.

In a press conference, Harelimana said Rwanda appointed by ministerial council meeting of the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) from 15 eastern and central African member states.

Harelimana says that since 2006, Rwanda has destroyed more than 32,000 illicit small arms and light weapons.

In 2009 UN member states endorsed a resolution to negotiate ATT, a legally binding instrument on the highest possible common international standards for the transfer of conventional arms.

The Treaty is being negotiated in a series of preparatory committees leading up to a negotiating conference scheduled for 2012.

It is estimated that between 500,000 and one million illegal small arms and light weapons are in circulation in East Africa.

Some 300,000 to half a million people around the world are killed each year by small arms and light weapons. They are the major cause of civil casualties in modern conflicts.

The two years long arguments in the trial of former Rwandan Minister Callixte Nzabonimana will close this Thursday through Friday, according to Arusha based Hirondelle news Agency.

Hirondelle News Agency is based at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania as the only media outlet reporting the Court’s proceedings linked to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda on a regular basis.

Nzabonimana was Youth Minister in the interim government in place during the 1994 genocide and has been on trial since November 2009.

The defendant is charged with conspiracy to commit Genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, extermination and murder.

The prosecution presents him as the main instigator of massacres of Tutsis in his native prefecture Gitarama today’s Muhanga District in 1994.

Nzabonimana has always denied this, and is pleading not-guilty.

The indictment alleges that before the genocide, Nzabonimana actively participated in recruiting, indoctrinating, training and arming Interahamwe extremist Hutu militia, especially in the Muhanga District.

After the massacres started, he allegedly ordered the erection in the prefecture of various roadblocks which he visited and supervised, distributing arms, money, beer and food to the killers who were manning them.

According to the prosecution, Nzabonimana had influence not only over the civilians who manned the roadblocks but also soldiers, gendarmes and local officials in the prefecture, including the prefect and mayors.

He allegedly abused this influence to call for massacres of Tutsis during numerous public meetings in Muhanga District in 1994.

It is alleged that during a meeting in Murambi on April 18, 1994, attended also by other members of the interim government, Nzabonimana ordered the killing of mayors and other officials who had opposed the massacres.

Immediately afterwards, according to the prosecution, the mayor of Mugina, Callixte Ndagijimana, and other local officials were killed.

The former minister has sought to demonstrate that he did not have the influence in the region that the prosecutor alleges.

He stresses he was a member of the former presidential party MRND whereas after the 1991 advent of multiparty politics in Rwanda, Muhanga the then Gitarama was a stronghold of the main opposition party MDR.

The ex-minister was arrested in Tanzania on February 18, 2008, and his trial started on November 9, 2009.

The court trying him is composed of presiding judge Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Judge Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov of Russia and Judge Mparany Rajohnson of Madagascar.