Author: b_igi_adm1n

At a special meeting held at UN Headquarters in New York, Rwanda has been ranked the first country in Africa for its commitments to establish clear programs aiming at fighting against HIV/AIDS.

The meeting discussed issues relevant to closer collaboration among African countries to fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The meeting was attended by US Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton, Benin President Boni Yayi, Senegal President Macky Sall, The former head of AU Commission Jean Ping and former Britain Minister Gordon Brown.

Rwanda was represented by Health Minister Agnes Binagwaho.

Minister Binagwaho explains that Rwanda has made significant progress in establishing clear health reforms, ensuring local community to participate in health issues, mutual understandings, acting based on facts and decentralization of health programs country wide.

Earlier this week, the former US President Bill Clinton pointed out that Rwanda is a country which has made significant progress in health education where about 13 US Universities agreed to deploy about 100 health specialist to Rwanda to help improving health sector.
Rwanda pays 7% of their salaries.

Following the recent request for support, the National commission working together with UNESCO has donated Frw12Million and computers to 15 schools with UNESCO clubs.

Bahizi Eliphaz, The General Secretary of the National commission says that the clubs contribute in widespreading UNESCO views country wide, human rights education, peace and patriotism and sensitizing people to contribute to National development.

Eliphaz urged beneficiaries of the support to use it effectively.
Head Master of Collège du Christ–Roi de Nyanza, Lambert Karinijabo appreciated the support adding that computers received will help schools to speed up the course delivery.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is today expected to chair a summit on the Great Lakes Region, with a special focus on security and humanitarian situation in eastern DRC.

The summit, to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, will be attended by the region’s leaders, including Presidents Paul Kagame and Joseph Kabila of DRC.

DRC is faced with a new rebellion in the country’s east, which was launched in April by mutinous soldiers who accuse Kinshasa of reneging on a 2009 peace deal under which they had been integrated in the army.

The Congo government and a UN Group of Experts accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebelS but Kigali has strongly denied the allegations.

The New York meeting aims to support regional efforts and renew political mobilisation at the international level to help chart a way forward for addressing the crisis. It will also push for the immediate secession of military and other violent activities and help find a lasting solution of the conflict.

In line with restoring peace in the Eastern DRC, an expanded Joint Verification Mechanism was recently launched in Goma, DRC.

The mechanism is made up of 24 senior military officers drawn from all the member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), a regional bloc of 11 countries, including Rwanda.

One of the tasks of the verification team is to ensure that hostilities come to a complete halt.

If peaceful means to end the conflict fail, the region intends to resort to force by deploying a proposed neutral force to disarm all the negative forces operating in eastern Congo, also home to the FDLR militia composed of elements responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s former lover has said she is bitter over being dumped through a text message.

Nosipho Shilubane launched an unsuccessful court application to stop Mr Tsvangirai’s wedding on September 15 to Elizabeth Macheka claiming he had also promised to marry her.

Although her appeal was dismissed for lack of merit, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader’s marriage license was cancelled after another woman Locardia Karimatsenga Tembo convinced the court that he was customarily married to her.

Mr Tsvangirai, aged 60, opted for a customary union with Ms Macheka (35) amid calls for him to be arrested for allegedly lying under oath.

Ms Shulubane (35) told a South African television station eNews Chanel Africa (NCA) the Zimbabwean politician should have had the decency to inform her of the reasons he wanted to end the relationship.

“I deserved for him to sit down with me and say Nosi this is what is happening,” she said.

“That decency I think he owed it to me. He is supposed to be an example to other people, young kids.

“At an age of 60, you dump women through SMS then what do the young ones do?”

Ms Shulubane said she felt used and abused by Mr Tsvangirai whom she met in 2009.

The two enjoyed whirlwind romantic trips to Seychelles, Singapore and Botswana before the relationship ended.

“I received a message from an unknown number that said the relationship was terminated because of distance,” she said.

The woman said the politician ignored her calls and this forced her to resort to the court action to stop the wedding.

Ms Shilubane claims she met the Zimbabwean premier in September 2009, six months after the death of his wife Susan and he told her that he was a widower looking to settle.

She said Mr Tsvangirai was due to pay her bride price in January, but the Prime Minister claimed he was held up by government business and would only do so in December.

The magistrate ruled that her claims had no merit after the premier admitted that she was once his girlfriend but had never promised to marry her.

Environmentalists and Natural resources sector working groups have questioned the concept of ” sustainable development” and environment protection in general.

This was during the meeting September 26, at Lemigo Hotel.

The debate ensued during the session of the back word-looking Joint Sector Review for the Environment and natural resources sector which encompasses the Environment, Lands, Water Resources Management, Forestry and mines sub-sectors.

Dr. Emmanuel Nkurunziza of Rwanda Natural Resources Authority has urged participants to count on support and partnerships ensuring that the environment provides its due contribution towards sustainable national development.

However,Dr. Rose Mukankomeje of Rwanda Environment Management Authority has said until now the concept of sustainability of development is not clearly understood.

“….when we are talking about sustainable mining for example, we think in increasing productivity,….however, we are undermining land, agriculture sector,…. so the point is how we understand sustainability and how we implement sustainable development for future generations” Explains Mukankomeje.

She noted,“Natural resources are part of Environment. Guidelines have been developed but between developing and implementing there is another step. the challenge is mostly behaviour change”

“It is simple, we have degraded Gishwati and then we are putting money in rehabilitating it.”

Dr. Nkurunziza of RNRA, the concept of sustainable development is not the only challenge in this sector, but also there are other challenges including inadequate monitoring and evaluation of sector priorities and programs undermining financing of the sector and overall effectiveness of the sector to influence sustainable performance of productive and social sectors.

It is expected that the meeting will come up with solutions to issues affecting the sector’s progress.

Joachim Molander, Head of development cooperation in embassy of Sweden commended the progress in Land reform and and how Rwanda’s environment is managed though the country is mostly populated.