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On Thursday 17th May, Huye district gave to genocide vulnerable survivors 64 cows in order to continue helping them overcome consequences of the 1994 genocide and emphasize Girinka Program launched by President Paul Kagame.

Those cows were donated in partnership with FARG and it is the last step for those who were selected to be given cows. Stakeholders of this program were happy with it saying that it will improve their living conditions.

Those genocide survivors said that now all the problems that they faced are going to be handled and even their lives will be better.

At least seven people in each sector were helped, 110 cows were donated and all of them are from the District of Huye.

They were promised to be helped to look after them and were also given drugs to protect the cows from diseases.

Karongi district delegation composed of district councilors and staff have completed, a two day study tour in various government institutions aimed at developing an integrated client charter for their district.

The visit followed a Council’s decision to set up an ad hoc commission to look into customer care, in a bid to improve service delivery in their district.

The delegation was led by Twagirayezu Emmanuel. He heads the ad hoc commission whose mandate is to develop an appropriate client charter for the District.

During a press conference that was held at the Local Government Ministry in Kacyiru –Kigali- today, the officials said that, during their study tour, they visited the Ministry of Local Government and that of Public
Service and Labor, among others.

Also visited are Gasabo District One Stop Centre, in the City of Kigali; and some of the respected public institutions including the General Directorate of Immigration and Emigration as well as Rwanda Governance and Rwanda Development Boards.

The Migration Department is known in service delivery for having scooped various international cups of excellence in service delivery, especially for their customer care and online services.

Other visited institutions are mainly regulators and mentors, and the visit aimed at buying advice, ideas and learning best practices from others.

“We are delighted that our visit was successful, and we learned a lot that we are going to share with others. As councilors, we want our district to be among the best in service delivery through a comprehensive and exhaustive client charter, which will be followed thereafter”,Twagirayezu said.

The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Cyrille Turatsinze, commended Karongi district Council for its good step towards enhancing service delivery, adding that this initiative was the first ever he experienced in local governments, since he joined the Ministry, one year ago.

Police in Kicukiro district is holding a medical doctor and a nurse for unethical behaviour.

Police Sources have reported that Dr. Bonaventure Hishamunda, a medical doctor in Byumba is charged with leaving surgical material in the womb of Zawadi Murekatete, a Congolese refugee from Gihembe refugee camp in 2008.

The story first broke in media after doctors at Kigali Central Hospital removed surgical materials from Murekatete following a medical transfer from Byumba hospital.

According to police investigations, Dr. Hishamunda left three pairs of surgical gloves, a syringe and cotton in Murekatete’s womb after operating on her while giving birth.

Since then Murekatete, a 17 year old then, started developing stomach complications. For three years Dr. Hishamunda operated on Murekatete on three separate occasion but each time failed to diagnose the cause of the stomach pains. During one of Hishamunda operations Murekatete spent two months in a coma.

However Dr. Hishamunda refutes the allegation saying that it was practically impossible for a doctor to leave a lot of material in a patient’s body.

“I regard the accusations as a smear campaign aimed at tarnishing my reputation. To say that I left all that material that was displayed on TV in her body is impossible because she could not have survived,” Dr. Hishamunda said.

Despite Hishamunda claims, Police investigations further unearthed a string of his past operations where he had also left surgical materials in their bodies.

Investigations indicate that Dr. Hishamunda had operated on five women from 2004 to 2007 all of whom developed stomach complications where one of them died and the rest disabled.

As for Perpetue Mbabazi, the head nurse at the Kigali Central Hospital, she is charged with destroying evidence after she ordered the surgical items retrieved from Murekatete womb to be destroyed.

She claimed to have done nothing out of the line because all surgical materials are disposed off after the surgery.

Asked whether it didn’t seem odd to her that surgical materials were being removed from a human body, she conceded that she might have committed a mistake by not realizing that it could later become a problem.

Police spokesperson superintendent Theos Badege pointed out that the two were charged with attempted bodily harm.

“The issue here is that why were the surgical material from Murekatete’s womb quickly disposed while the incident should have created curiosity? That is why the case took long and become complicated,” Superintendent Badege noted.

Badege wondered why as professionals they didn’t realize that the material was evidence that could have aided investigations.

He noted that the revelations will make people become more careful especially the medical fraternity.

The case is set to be transferred to Prosecution.

MTN Foundation has today inaugurated another ‘ICT School Connect Project’ in Gihundwe, Rusizi district, Western Province.

Gihundwe high school was facilitated today with a fully connected ICT laboratory of 36 computers under the MTN Rwanda ‘ICT School Connect Project’ a brainchild of MTN Foundation, the company’s corporate social responsibility program.

The ‘ICT School Connect Project’ has already facilitated seven Rwandan schools across the country. So far over 200 computers have been given out under this projects.

A delegation of MTN Foundation officials including Alphonse Byusa, the Chairman of the board and Zulfat Mukarubega, a board member of the foundation visited GS Gigundwe, a high school where they officially opened the lab.

Alphonse Byusa, the Chairman of MTN Foundation said the inauguration is a continued process intended to support education and ICT as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.

“Within education this project termed as ‘ICT Schools Connect Project’, is designed to enable teachers and pupils in secondary schools gain practical skills on the usage and understanding of ICT and how it can add value to their lives,” Byusa said.

“This project was inaugurated in 2010. With it students can have access to Internet in their own locality and premises. This is a way of MTN Rwanda empowering young people so that in the future they can become of economic relevance to the country,” he added.

Already 6 high schools from different provinces have benefited from the project. They include Essa High School in Musanze, Ste Bernadette in Huye, Kabarondo High School, Kanombe High School, Rusumo High School and ESG Rubavu.

Overall MTN Foundation has donated over 200 computers in these schools, across the country with more 5,500 students and 300 teachers benefiting from the project to leverage ICT in education in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).

During the year 2010/11 about Rwf150 million has been spent on ‘ICT Connect School’ projects. In 2012 two more schools are scheduled to benefit from the same project.

Rwanda Peace Academy in collaboration with the United Nations Integrated Training Service and the Government of Australia will conduct a United Nations Senior Mission Leaders Course at the Lemigo Hotel, Kigali City from 21 May to 1 June 2012.

The Senior Mission Leaders (SML) course is the highest UN course and aims at developing candidates for UN mission leadership.

The aim of the SML course is to prepare participants for Senior Leadership assignments in multidimensional peacekeeping operations.

Forty five participants are expected to attend the course from across the world. Some United Nations senior staff members have also been selected to attend the course.

The course will be officially opened on 21 May 2012 at Lemigo Hotel and the Media is invited during the opening and closing ceremonies.

Between April 27 and May 16, more than 8000 refugees fled from North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, across Rwanda’s northwest border, fleeing fighting in Eastern Congo.

To assist with immediate refugee relief efforts, the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda has provided a $50,000 donation from USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) to UNICEF/Rwanda.

These funds will be used to finance improvements in the sanitary conditions of the Nkamira Transit Center through the construction of additional drainage ditches, garbage disposal pits, latrines, and showers.

The funds were handed over to UNICEF/Rwanda’s Country Director Noala Skinner today by U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda Donald Koran.

In addition, on Friday, May 11, the U.S. Embassy donated medical supplies and
blankets to UNHCR.

Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and the Certified Accounting Technicians of Rwanda (CAT) have been for the first time in history officially launched in Rwanda.

They have been introduced by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda (ICPAR) and launch was held late last week by the Rwanda Local Government Minister, James Musoni.

Speaking at the launch, Peter Rutaremara, ICPAR president; “It is a great day as the ICPAR Rwanda president to see that both CPA and CAT exams will be organized and done in Rwanda.”

“Our country will now have the capacity to produce accounting professionals that will compete with international standards,” he added.

Rutaremara added that CPA students in Rwanda have been doing exams set from abroad. This made it expensive through examination and registration fees. Now the exams will be cost effective as students will pay in Rwandan currency.

CPA and CAT syllabuses were benchmarked and given credits by regional and international professionals in the field as they match with other related programs in other countries.

These have been prepared working alongside twinning partners from a well established Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPAI), formed in 1943, a founding member of IFAC in 1977 and a body with over 5,000 members and students.

Minister Musoni, in his remarks said that earlier government wanted to launch the program but there were delays. He applauded ICPAR to take up the developmental initiative.

CAT where the institution targets to put much emphasis will be done by students who finished high school but with at least 13 points. CPA on the other side; students will be required to have finished high school with at least 32 points up to the Bachelors degree level.

The number of qualified accountants is expected to increase and also enhance proper financial reporting standards among Small and Medium Enterprises.

According to ICPAR, there are currently 214 registered professional accountants in the country, of whom only 55 are Rwandans. But during the inception of the institution, they were targeting to have reached up to 500 professionals by this year.

Security between Rwanda and Uganda will remain excellent to maintain crossborder trade between the two countries. This was emphasised by Maj. Gen. Alexis Kagame the head of RDF 2nd Division based in the Northern Province.

The comments followed a meeting of military officials in the Northern Province together with their Ugandan counterparts. The meeting held at Byumba Town in Gicumbi District was aimed at assessing the security situation at the border between the two countries.

The Ugandan delegation was led by Brig.Gen Patrick Kankiriho accompanied by Col. Bitumbika and Maj. Bernard Tugume.

The Rwandan side was led by Maj. Gen. Alexis Kagame accompanied by Col. John Gashayija, Col. Evariste Murenzi, Col. Karegeya and Lt.Col. James Burabyo.

Maj. Gen. Kagame noted that the meeting was aimed at finding ways that would further strengthen the crossborder secutiry to enable trade between the two sides. “we have foundout that some citizens on both sides still use illegal ways to cross the border. We intend to work together to solve this problem”.

Brig. Gen. Kankiriho said that the cooperation between Uganda and Rwanda is very excellent compared to other East African Neighbours.

The Military officials later visited a Genocide memorial site at Gisozi to pay tribute to victims of the 1994 genocide against ethnic Tutsi.