Author: b_igi_adm1n

EAC Director of Productive Sectors, Dr. Nyamajeje Weggoro, today called for better coordination and prudence in management of mineral resources in the region.

He said at the opening of a two-day expert group consultative workshop on Development and Promotion of Extractive Industries and Mineral Value Addition in the EAC region at the Arusha Hotel.

“The East African region is endowed with immense natural resources in various forms. However, these resources which indeed have high potential to generate wealth and contribute to social-economic transformation of EAC economies, remain largely underutilized, while in some cases are over exploited without commensurate gains accruing to the people of region,” stated Dr. Weggoro.

Dr. Weggoro made note of the EAC Industrialization Strategy which sets to facilitate structural transformation of EAC economies through diversification and value addition.

In this regard, the strategy identifies strategic sectors namely, extractive and mineral processing; petro-chemicals and gas processing; fertilizers and agro-chemicals among others.

“In order to ensure efficient development of downstream and upstream strategic industries that rely on the mining sector, it is crucial to put in place appropriate regulatory and policy frameworks.

Such frameworks should aim at enabling the region to maximize on the resource rents from mineral extraction but at the same time facilitate the creation of new employment opportunities through investment in value addition and mineral processing industries”, he stressed.

The development of strategic regional industries/value chains, particularly, extractive and mineral value addition industries are anticipated to spur the growth of downstream industries, create backward and forward linkages across the region, generate multiplier effects and position the region on the path of sustainable long-term growth.

Notwithstanding, there are a number of barriers and challenges standing in the way of the regions efforts to secure maximum benefits from its minerals resources and associated linkage industries.

The three key barriers worth highlighting are: lack of comprehensive and well-designed mineral resources information to support sound policy-making by government and business decision-making by prospective investors;

Inadequate enabling investment framework for the development of extractive and mineral value addition industries; and weak capacity, including human and institutional, for proper and effective management of the respective industries.

The expert group consultative workshop has been convened to facilitate, review and obtain feedback on draft analytical reports on the laws, regulatory and institutional frameworks for the development of extractive industries and mineral value addition in the region.

Specifically, the workshop aims at reviewing the draft reports with a view to: Examine and identify the mineral resource potential and opportunities for mineral value addition within the EAC region; Identify the existing legal, regulatory, and institutional policy frameworks in the extractive and mineral processing industries in the EAC and examine areas in which alignment of frameworks within the Community is (a) most attainable or

(b) would be most effective; explore and discuss the opportunities, challenges, constraints and linkages associated with development of strategic mineral resources for value addition investment promotion at the Partner State level and EAC regional level; and make appropriate recommendations on measures and instruments for effective development of extractive industries and mineral value addition in EAC region.

The workshop organized with technical support from the Commonwealth Secretariat has brought together experts on mining and mineral development policies; industrial development and mineral value addition; investment policies and fiscal incentives as well as legal experts on minerals laws and regulations.

Since September 24th – 27th 2012 a host of international health information professionals participated in Kigali’s first ever Open Health Information Exchange (OpenHIE) symposium.

The symposium brought key open source health software communities together to collaboratively create and deploy an integrated eHealth system for the Rwandan Ministry of Health.

The summit was sponsored by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and hosted by the Rwandan Ministry of Health and Jembi Health Systems, the symposium brought together officers from each of five major free and open source health systems to contribute to the refinement and extension of the OpenHIE system initially being deployed in the Rwamagana district, Eastern Province, Rwanda.

The Rwandan OpenHIE, created by the Rwandan Ministry of Health and partners under the auspices of the PEPFAR funded Rwanda Health Enterprise Architecture (RHEA) Project, is being instantiated to initially support a shared electronic medical record for expectant mothers visiting antenatal clinics in the Rwamagana district and later to support all the other areas of primary and secondary care.

The project is intended to improve maternal care in the district by increasing health workers’ access to high quality medical records.

The symposium continues the cutting-edge work begun in Rwanda’s Rwamagana district by the Ministry’s eHealth unit, under the direction of Dr. Richard Gakuba, Director of eHealth for Rwanda’s Ministry of Health, to include medical facilities in all regions of the country as well as extend to support additional clinical and public health areas.

This implementation demonstrates how Rwanda’s health care delivery system will be enhanced by OpenHIE using effective open source health tools and collaboration.

The use of OpenHIE is anticipated to improve clinical outcomes, optimize the effectiveness of health care delivery, and provide patients with better, more cost effective health services.

“An integrated eHealth system is a new and innovative way of thinking. Using open source approaches to develop a national healthcare information infrastructure has proven successful for organizations like OpenMRS which has been adopted as the national electronic health record system solution in Rwanda”, said Dr. Paul Biondich, Research Scientist and Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Informatics at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Dr. Biondich is one of the principal architects providing leadership for this initiative.

This initiative will greatly strengthen Rwanda’s health system supported by a robust health information system infrastructure.

By being developed collaboratively and made freely available, OpenHIE will enable Africa to mitigate the traditional challenges associated with re-engineering proprietary and stand-alone systems to create an effective shared electronic health record.

Implementing OpenHIE is an achievement on par with the introduction of mobile telephony, an innovation which has permitted many Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) to communicate without stringing together millions of miles of copper cable.

The Rwanda Education Board (REB)’s Dr. Joyce Musabe and the Literacy, Language, and Learning (L3) Initiative’s Norma Evans and Caroline Dusabe represented Rwanda at International Literacy Day in Washington, DC.

The event marking the occasion took place on September 7 and was co-hosted by USAID, the Global Partnership for Education, and the Brookings Institute.

Dr. Musabe’s presentation focused on the Rwanda Reads initiative launched by REB and its partners this past July. The umbrella initiative, which brings together education stakeholders in both the public and private sectors, is promoting the development of literacy skills and a culture of reading for enjoyment through numerous projects.

Among these initiatives, Musabe highlighted the establishment of new national reading standards for primary 3 and 5. These standards will inform the revision of curricula and the tracking of students’ reading progress throughout primary school.

REB, with partner L3, will support the achievement of these goals through the development of new instructional materials, a professional development program for teachers, and efforts to increase students’ access to quality reading materials.

Dr. Musabe emphasized that all levels of government, from the first lady to sector education officers, are well informed and engaged in the project. “Everybody’s watching,” she said. “The Prime Minister knows about the mobile libraries, that writer’s workshops must be done. These things are very well known.”

Such support is instrumental for Rwanda Read’s success.

In DC, the Rwanda delegation also visited Oyster Adams Bilingual School, which uses English and Spanish as languages of instruction.

Oyster Adams’ literacy program emphasizes the use of story and guided, leveled reading in the classroom. Children write or draw responses to stories and answer questions about what they have read or heard.

These elements, among others, are included in the work of the L3 initiative. “We’re going in the right direction,” said L3’s Dusabe.

The delegation also participated in the Mobile Education Alliance International Symposium on September 5-6 in DC. The event aimed to highlight the innovative use of technology for supporting literacy education.

The delegation was particularly interested in mobile technologies which distribute children’s stories through mobile phones and which allow teachers to search for words and stories containing the language sound they are teaching at that time.

Dr. Musabe said the team is already in contact with some organizations to inquire about these tools. “If those tools are being used in other countries, especially in Africa, why not in Rwanda?”

Police in Huye district have arrested 29 individuals suspected of dealing and consuming drugs and other illicit beverages.

According to a police source, the operation was carried out in the areas of Matyazo and Kaburemera, on the outskirts of Huye town.

The areas are known for being a den of drug dealers and consumers, with many involved in the making, selling and consumption of the illicit liquor Kanyanga and Nyirantare.

Nyirantare is produced using several ingredients, including water, sugar, sorghum and yeast, but sources allege that brewers use other crude materials as ingredients.

By press time, all the suspects were being detained at Ngoma Police Station as they waited to be aligned before courts of law.

Drug consumption is regarded as the major cause of crimes in the district.

Speaking from their detention, the suspects acknowledged their role in drug dealing and consumption, but requested for mercy.

Last week, Police said it arrested 81 people and seized 185kg of marijuana and over 806 litres of illicit liquor (kanyanga) during an operation carried out across the country.

After his speech Tuesday, September 25th to the 67th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, gave an exclusive interview with Jean-Pierre Amisi Ramazani Maha Fayek and the UN Radio.

Kabila spoke of the security crisis in the Kivus, the summit planned for this September 27th in New York and the current state of relations between the DRC and Rwanda.

UN Radio: Concerning the problems of security in the DRC, there was first the RCD, then today is the M23. What do you think is the solution to settle the security crisis in eastern Congo?

Joseph Kabila: I have already said. The solution can be military, the solution can be political, diplomatic solution can be either or a combination of these three solutions.

We are actually working on three possible solutions. Whether it here at the United Nations, it is also in the region of the African continent.

What did you get from these conferences held in two phases in Kampala. Has there been any results?

It’s too early to talk about results. But I think we’re on the right track. It is anticipated a summit here in New York, a summit of the Great Lakes region that added to the top of the member countries of SADC.

The goal is a lasting peace because we are all in search of peace. But the ultimate goal is not only peace, peace for what to do for the development of our country mainly the Democratic Republic of Congo, but in turn the countries of the region as well.

With Hillary Clinton you met President Kagame, what is the current status of the relationship between the DRC and Rwanda, especially after this meeting with Hillary Clinton especially on the eve of the conference [scheduled for 27 in New York on the DRC? ]

Listen truth is stubborn. The truth is that it does not have good relations with our neighbouring Rwanda. The idea is to start working for us to have good neighbourly relations between the two countries.

But for now, this is not the case.

Are you optimistic about the conference on the Great Lakes region?
I do not know. We’ll see.

What would be acceptable to you Mr. Kabila?

What would be acceptable not just for me but for the Congolese people, it is a just peace between the countries in the region not only Rwanda but all the countries of the region.

I’m happy because the Democratic Republic of Congo has very good relations with almost all countries of the region. It has nine neighbors except one country.

So what would be acceptable to me and the Congolese people is a lasting peace for all of us.

On another note, there is talk of revolution of modernity in the DRC. Is that the five projects are included in the revolution of modernity? What is it?

The revolution of modernity is the extension in the logical continuation of the so-called five yards of the republic.

Interview by radio UN in New York