Igihe

Category: Information Center

  • Kivu Belt Financing Mobilization Sealed

    Rwanda has signed a Financing Agreement with the Saudi Fund For Development to co-finance Lot 6, Rubengera-Gasiza of Kivu Belt Multinational Road.

    The MOU was signed October 12, in Tokyo-Japan as a sideline event to the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings.

    The Government of Rwanda, represented by Honorable John Rwangombwa, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and the Saudi Fund For Development, represented by HE Eng. Yousef Ibn Ibrahim Al-Bassam, the Fund’s Vice Chairman and Managing Director.

    The aforesaid signing ceremony is about the US$ 13,000,000 pledge that Saudi Fund For Development did during the fundraising round table to co-finance Lot 6, Rubengera-Gasiza of Kivu Belt Multinational Road as sidelines of the 9th Government of Rwanda Development Partners Meeting (DPM) November 2010 in Kigali.

    During its meeting in the 2nd quarter of 2012, the Fund’s board of Directors approved the Loan to Rwanda of US$ 13 Million under more good (concessional) terms.

    During the signing ceremony Rwangombwa, on behalf of the Government of Rwanda, and HE Eng. Ibrahim Al-Bassam, expressed their satisfaction on the development partnership between Rwanda and and the Saudi Fund.

    The road will be 23.6 Km long and 7 meters wide at a total cost of US$ 52.7 Million. The other contributors to the funding of the road section are: the Government of Rwanda (USD 4.35 Million), Kuwait Fund For Arab Economic Development (US$ 13 Million), The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID, US$ 10 Million), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA, US$11 Million).

    We have signed with all other 3 Arab co-financiers;

    Design studies were completed in 2008 by Saudi International and Construction Works started in 2010 by Lot 3, Rusizi-Mwityazo, 50 Km, under the funding from the African Development Bank, of US$ 63 Million.

    The African Development Bank and Government of Rwanda have also financed Lot 7, Gasiza-Rubavu (US$ 68 Million) of 47,8 Km.

    The Government of Rwanda contracted a US$ 113 Million China Export Import Bank to construct Lot 4 and Lot 5, 66 Km from Mwityazo (Nyamasheke) to Rubengera (Karongi).

    The total length of the multinational (Burundi-Rwanda) Road is 265.7km, with 185 Km on Rwandan side (Kivu Belt Road) to cost Rwanda on designs, construction and supervision of works US$ 350 Million.

    With the Saudi Fund financing, the mobilization of the funding is concluded.

    When completed, the multinational road will have among other benefits such as promoting regional integration, contribute to trade and provide easy access to these land locked countries to the sea ports.

    It additionally will increase the potential for tourism and fisheries on Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kivu.

    As internal benefits, the road will increase trade, reduce transportation time and costs in the western province, as well as the rest of the country. The Western province produces 70% of the nation’s coffee and 40% of the nation’s tea.

    Ongoing projects of the Fund include “Increased Electricity Access in Some Areas in Rwanda” project: US$ 11 .7 Million, the “Rehabilitation of Kitabi-Congo nil Road” Project : US$ 10 Million and the Rehabilitation and the “Extension of King Faisal Hospital” Project: US$ 12 Million.

  • Zimbabwe Lion Eats Woman

    In Zimbabwe, game scouts on patrol in the Bumi Hills area of Kariba District last week stumbled upon the lower torso of a woman suspected to have been killed by lions.

    Members of the Bumi Hills anti-poaching unit were on patrol near the Katete Bridge along the Siakobvu-Chalala Road when they saw a brown handbag and blood near a bus stop.

    They also discovered a spoor which they followed leading to Nyanguhwe Mountains where they found the lower half of a woman.

    Acting Mashonaland West police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Ian Kohwera confirmed the incident.

    “Investigations are under way to establish the identity of the woman,” he said.

    He said the game scouts found a passport — registration number AN605793 — bearing the name Simbisai Machakwa (37) of Gokwe in the handbag.

    However, the bearer of the passport, Machakwa, advised the police that she was alive.

    “In a puzzling development the woman we thought had been killed by the lions has called the police indicating that she was robbed of her purse with the passport in Gokwe,” he said.

    Asst Insp Kohwera said three men attacked and robbed her of her purse.

    “We have not yet established how that handbag and passport ended up in Chalala and on the scene of a lion attack.

    “We are still to unpack the mystery of the identity of the woman attacked by the lions,” he said.

    The remainder of the body was taken to Bumi Hills Police Post and a Karoi magistrate waived post-mortem.

  • Animal Attack Victims Compensated

    Rwanda Development Board, October 11, compensated animal attack victims in Gatsibo district.

    Over Frw18,657,651 million was used to compensate 110 families, whose crops were destroyed by wild animals from April to June, 2011.

    The compensation was given to families living in Rwimbogo sector near Akagera National Park.

    One of the compensated Mukantabana Venancient commended the activity saying that Government has shown the willingness to pay those crops were destroyed. She received Frw2,531,000 Million.

    Nsanganira Tony, the deputy director general at Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said over Frw2 billion was reserved to compensate those who lost their properties due to damages caused by wild animals.

    Over Frw 450 Million are meant for those nearing Akagera National Park in Eastern Province.

    RDB revealed that since 2005, about 306 claims from damages caused by animals’ country wide were recorded and most of the problems were caused by those of Akagera National Park.

    The government has adopted a policy that aiming to settle wrangles between residents and wild animals in Akagera National Park.

    An electric wall between the park and residential areas is currently under construction to prevent wild animals from crossing over and destroy people’s crops and sometimes taking lives of unfortunate ones.

    The sectors bordering with the Akagera National Park are Nasho, Mpanga, Nyamugari and Mahama.

  • Fertiliser Thieves Arrested

    Police in Ngoma District arrested four people in connection with the theft of over 8 tones of Chemical fertilizers-DAP, which were meant for local agricultural Cooperative “Imbaraga.”

    Four suspects are leaders of Imbaraga cooperative and they were arrested after inspection results which found that over 8 tones were not clear how they were used.

    Recently a man called Ntakirutimana was arrested with 9 sacks of fertilizers which residents said he got through an illegal process.

    However, after investigations, Ntakirutimana was released.

    Fertilizers are meant to help local farmers to increase their farm production and thus improve their standards of living but not to be used for private interests.

    However, Murisi Japhet, the Executive Secretary of Mutendeli sector says the fertilizers are illegally sold in neighboring Burundi.

    Imbaraga Cooperative were meant to receive 25 tones of DAP and 10 Kilos of Maize seedlings and their leaders failed to acknowledge how 8 tones of them have been used.

  • Mai Mai Militia Clash With FLDR

    Reports from Eastern DRC indicate that Rwandan FDLR Rebels engaged in a fierce battle with Mai Mai militia on October 10 resulting into the death of 13 people.

    The clash was reported along the Katwiguru kisharo axis, north-east from Rutshuru town.

    Mai mai Shetani militia lost three combatants and several deaths reported on the FDLR side.

    The security situation was still confused about this axis in the day Thursday.

    Residents in several villages in the area of fighting fled frightened by the violence.

    The fighting is said to have began Wednesday at 5:00 pm and continued until late evening.

    Some residents of the area say that the Mayi-Mayi Shetani have received a reinforcement of men in military uniforms from Nyakakoma sector.

    Frightened civilians said they heard heavy explosions and have crossed the border into Uganda.

  • USA: Joe Biden & Paul Ryan Quarrel in Debate

    US Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan quarreled aggressively on Thursday night over the administration’s handling of foreign affairs and the nation’s economic recovery, using a debate here to highlight the sharp contrasts facing voters in November.

    The two vice presidential candidates not only picked up where President Obama and Mitt Romney left off at their debate last week, they also expanded the arguments into a combative and wide-ranging discussion ranging from Iran’s ability to obtain nuclear weapons to the unemployment rate. They delivered some of the most forceful exchanges of the campaign, with neither man holding back.

    Within a single minute of the debate’s first 25 minutes, Biden worked in three attacks that Democrats were disappointed Obama did not level against Romney, referring to Romney’s opposition to the bailout of the auto industry, his statement that the nation’s foreclosure crisis would have to “run its course” and his comment about the “47%” of Americans who he said were overreliant on government benefits.

    “These guys bet against America all the time,” Biden said.

    But Ryan offered a point-by-point rebuttal, showing fluency in foreign affairs. He said the administration had no “credibility” in its international approach to Iran, because it had sent mixed signals, and that the tough sanctions that are in place came about only because of the fortitude of Congress, as the administration sought to “water down” the sanctions.

    He assailed the administration’s handling of the terrorist strike in Libya that killed the U.S. ambassador, saying: “It took the president two weeks to acknowledge that this was a terrorist attack.” (Obama labeled the incident an “act of terror” during his remarks on Sept. 12, a day after the attack, in the White House Rose Garden.)

    A Romney administration, Ryan said, would send Marines to protect an outpost like the one in Benghazi. “Look, if we are hit by terrorists, we’re going to call it for what it is — a terrorist attack,” he said.

    Ryan chastised Obama, questioning why the United States did not have protection for the diplomatic compound. He declared, “This is becoming more troubling by the day.”

    Important moment in race

    But as Biden reminded Ryan that he and House Republicans cut the budget for the security, he sought to use the question about the attack on Libya to immediately begin the attack on Romney’s positioning. He contrasted Obama’s overall foreign policy record with Romney’s, ranging from Iraq to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

    “The president has led with a steady hand and clear vision: Gov. Romney hasn’t,” Biden said. “The last thing we need is another war.”

    The men repeatedly talked over each other, with Biden growing visibly agitated at Ryan’s remarks, which at one point he called “malarkey.”

    But Biden made it clear from the start that he was not going to repeat the mistakes of Obama. And Martha Raddatz of ABC News, the moderator, made it clear she was not going to repeat what many people in both parties saw as the mistakes of the last moderator, Jim Lehrer, and took control of the debate with tough questions and sharp follow-ups.

    “This is a bunch of stuff,” Biden said at one point, offering a forceful rebuttal of criticism that the administration has not aggressively worked with Israel to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

    “What does that mean, a bunch of stuff?” Raddatz said.

    “It’s Irish,” Ryan jumped in.

    The vice presidential candidates arrived here at an important moment in the race, with Republicans eager to build upon Romney’s strong showing at his first debate with Obama. The performance energized the Romney campaign, created angst among supporters of the president and prompted some voters to take a second look at Romney in the final weeks of the contest.

    Here in Danville, on the campus of Centre College, the only debate of the campaign between Biden and Ryan took on a sense of magnitude that extended beyond a typical vice presidential debate.

    As Democrats demanded a more aggressive posture against the GOP ticket than Obama displayed last week in Denver, Biden faced pressure to reassure the campaign’s nervous supporters, even as he worked not to be too forceful and overplay his hand against Ryan.

    The two men walked on stage in Newlin Hall and took their seats around a table, rather than standing at lecterns as their counterparts did last week.

    The choice facing voters was clear in substance and in style between Biden, 69, and Ryan, 42. But even though their age difference spans more than a generation — Ryan is one year younger than Biden’s oldest son — they are far better acquainted from serving together on Capitol Hill than Obama and Romney, who had not dealt with each other until this race.

    When Raddatz moved to the economy, Biden went back on the attack, bringing up Romney’s comments on 47 percent of Americans being dependent on government. Defending Obama for the auto industry bailout, Biden said Romney had wanted to let Detroit go bankrupt.

    “But it shouldn’t be surprising for a guy who says 47 percent of the American people are unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives,” Biden said. (Romney did not make the comment about Detroit going bankrupt. It was a headline on an op-ed that Romney wrote. Romney repeated the line on television.)

    Ryan responded that the country was going in the wrong direction, reminding Biden that the unemployment rate of the vice president’s own hometown had grown to 10 percent from 8.5 percent since Obama took office. “This is not what a real recovery looks like,” he said.

    On abortion, the contrast between the candidates — both of whom are Catholic — was made stark. “The policy of a Romney administration will be to oppose abortion with the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,” Ryan said.

    Biden countered: “Life begins at conception. That’s the church’s judgment. I accept it in my personal life,” he said. “But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews and — I just refuse to impose that on others.”

    StarTribune

  • Woman Intercepted With Plastic Bags

    A woman identified as Justine Nyiratora 26, was intercepted with 62 bundles of polythene bags at a check point in Muhoza sector, Musanze district.

    Nyiratora was headed for Kigali from Rubavu district when she was arrested by traffic police October 10.

    The suspect is currently held at Muhoza Police Station in Musanze District.
    She carried the illegal plastic bags on her back disguising as a mother carrying a baby on her back.

    Police says she is suspected to have sneaked the bags into the country from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
    The use of polythene bags is illegal in Rwanda.

  • President Kagame Receives Credentials from New Envoys

    President Paul Kagame has received credentials of envoys from Kingdom of Netherlands, the Republic of Germany and the Holy See accredited to the Republic of Rwanda, in a special accreditation ceremony organized at Urugwiro Village.

    The new accredited Ambassador of Netherlands to Rwanda, Leoni Margarita Cuelenaere, has served at Ambassadorial level in Colombo, Sri Lanka (2008-2011).

    Her new posting in Rwanda comes after a brief assignment as Dutch resident Ambassador in Sana’a, Yemen.

    Speaking to the press after presenting their credentials, the envoys expressed their country’s interest in strengthening their relationship with Rwanda in different cooperation areas.

    Ambassador Leoni Margarita Cuelenaere told the press:

    “I am fortunate to be here in Rwanda where we aim to maintain the very good relations with Rwanda and continue on path of good partnerships you have taken.”

    Mgr. Luciano Russo, the designate Apostolic Nuncio in Rwanda has served at various positions in pontifical representations in Papua New Guinea, Honduras, Syria, Brazil, Holland, United States; the latest of his postings being in Bulgaria. He is fluent in Italian, English, French and Spanish.

    Ambassador Peter Fahrenholtz, the new German Ambassador to Rwanda, is a career diplomat who joined the German Federal Foreign Office in 1988 and has since served mostly in Eastern Europe and Asia.

    He was the recent Head of Division of West and Central Africa at the German Federal Foreign Office headquarters.

    Ambassador Peter Fahrenholtz expressed his country’s interest in increased private sector partnerships between German and Rwandan businesses.

    “We want to encourage private business from Germany to invest, to trade, create employment in Rwanda and ensure win win propositions,” he noted.

    When asked about his stance in the Eastern DRC, Ambassador Peter Fahrenholtz asserted Germany’s support for regional solutions to regional problems. “Germany believes African problems can only be solved by African initiatives,” he added.

    The envoys praised Rwanda for its progress and expressed their commitment to ensuring mutually beneficial partnerships.
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  • Farmers Get Low-cost Crop Insurance Scheme

    Smallholder farmers in Rwanda stand to gain from crop farming following the launch of a low-cost insurance that covers weather vagaries and yield shortfalls.

    This was preceded by signing of a memorandum of understanding October 11, between Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (Minagri) and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA), a Swiss non-profit organization.

    The new scheme dubbed ‘Hinga Urishingiwe’ the version of Kenya’s ‘Kilimo Salama’ currently targets smallholder farmers who currently growing maize and beans on plots ranging from 0.10-1 acres but with plans to include more crops in the near future.

    Currently, focus is the districts of Huye, Nyanza, Nyaruguru, Gisagara and Karongi.

    The insurance covers loans provided to farmers by the agriculture service provider One Acre Fund/Tubura.

    Minagri Minister Dr Agnes Kalibata while launching the scheme emphasised its value to the smallholder farmers, stating that it will change the way they have been doing business as they produce for home consumption and the market.

    She added that Government and other stakeholders are ready to work with farmers who will take up the scheme but added that more sensitization was needed on the same.

    The average loan to size insured is for USD 15 (Rwf 9,600) and goes at 15% per interest per annum.

    Through the farmers will pay the premium as part of their loan repayments for fertilizer and other improved inputs offered by Minagri and One Acre Fund.

    “With this insurance our farmers can now protect their families against risk of losing their investments due to erratic weather, said Cor Oudes of One Acre Fund.

    And SFSA’s Executive Director, Dr Marco Ferroni, says that when farmers make losses they may fear to put in more investments in the next season, leading to low farm output, adding that is where Hinga Urishingiwe’ insurance comes in.

    Hinga Urishingiwe, also supported by Swiss Re Corporate Solutions as a partner, is based on the lessons learned from the project’s operations in Kenya where it has been offering agricultural insurance for the last three years.

    To date 73,000 farmers have been insured in Kenya and Rwanda under the scheme. In Kenya, 10,000 farmers have received payouts from the scheme.

    Dr Benjamin Mbundu, Managing Director of SORAS Insurance, also a partner in the scheme says that the scheme avoids expensive and lengthy claims procedures.

    The product has the potential to make agricultural micro-insurance affordable and attractive for small-holder farmers and economically viable for insurance companies in the country that had previously ignored the agricultural sector.

  • Local gov’t Leaders Undergo Management Training

    The Minister of Local Government, James Musoni on October 8, 2012 launched the ‘Management for results’ training for local government leaders at La Palisse Hotel in Gashora.

    The week-long training will see officials in local governments upgrade their management skills to deliver results.

    The training conducted by Korean experts particularly targeted mayors, directors of planning and Vice mayors in charge of Finance and Economic Development and Vice Mayors in charge of Social Affairs as well as Provincial, City of Kigali and District Executive Secretaries.

    The training is a continuation of the leadership development training that was also attended by Local Government Leaders in May and September 2011.

    Other similar trainings are taking place at lower levels of local governments such as the sectors and cells for Executive Secretaries in the context of implementing the local government capacity building plan.

    Through the trainings leaders will be empowered with skills and capacities to improve their performance and expedite realization of the country’s socio-economic transformation.

    “The Government is building capacities for local government officials purposely to promote efficiency, effectiveness and to develop in them self-confidence, patriotism, sacrifice so as to have dignified Society and Nation,” minister Musoni said.

    Such trainings, minister Musoni said, are designed to provide technical skills and develop values such as integrity and clarity of purpose among Local government leaders.

    He added it was important for leaders to exhibit professionalism by providing people-centered services with urgency and responsibility, echoing that one cannot achieve results without such values.

    The training provided chance for participants to inter-relate management for results skills with leadership development skills.

    The Government says the trainings will help Local Government officials understand their crucial roles and responsibilities in Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation and more especially managing for results, which should provide answers to different challenges facing local government leaders, specifically in planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.