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The president of the Republic of Congo Brazzaville Denis Sassou N’Guesso arrived today evening at around 17:30hrs Aboard a Congo based airline ‘Trans Air Congo’ at Kigali International Airport for a 3-day official visit.

President Paul Kagame received his counterpart at the Kigali International airport.

President N’Guesso is expected to hold talks with President Kagame and host him for a state banquet scheduled tomorrow Tuesday after honouring the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi victims at Kigali
Genocide Memorial Center.

Over the past years in 1982 and 1984 the two states had signed Memorandums of Understanding but it had since not been renewed until last year when President Kagame Visited Congo Brazzaville where the two Presidents agreed on terms of strengthening ties.

President N’Guesso is scheduled to tour socio-economic sites in Kigali and the surrounding areas. The two heads of state will then hold a joint press conference on Wednesday at Urugwiro Village.

The growing relationship between Congo and Rwanda has been further facilitated by the recent launch of a twice-weekly flight from Kigali to Brazzaville by the national carrier, Rwandair.

The state visit was preceded by a meeting of the Rwanda-Congo Joint Permanent Commission, which ended today 21 November, by Foreign Affairs’ ministers of the two countries recommending the report covered by the experts during the 2-day meeting.

Igihe.com has reliably learnt that Susan Rice the US Ambassador to the United Nations is expected in Rwanda tomorrow (Tuesday).

Susan Falatko, the Public relations Officer of the US embassy in Kigali confirmed Rice’s visit to Rwanda However said the diplomat will leave on Saturday.

“We will have a press conference very soon but for the meantime I can’t say anything because we’re waiting a confirmation from Washington,’ she said.

A top government official who requested to remain anonymous confirmed to this reporter that indeed Rice is expected in the country.

“I’m aware she will be in Rwanda but I can’t confirm if she will meet the president, hang on a bit I intend to call you later with more details, right now I’m held up with activities of the visiting president of Congo Brazaville .”

Efforts to reach both the Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo and her Permanent Secretary Mary Baine were fruitless as both neither answered their cell phones nor replied the SMS’s to confirm Rice’s visit.

Organisations grouped into ‘one Nile, one family’ under the patronage with Nile Basin Discourse Forum, seek to build capacity of Civil society Organizations on climate change adaptation.

They also sought to provide adequate information by producing and disseminating awareness materials on climate change adaptation, and documenting and disseminate best practices of climate change adaptation and vulnerability reduction are carrying out the findings on the possible ways that can bring about better ways on tree planting and maintenance.

This was announced to the residents of Nyarurama cell, Gatenga sector in Kicukiro district over the last weekend during the planting of approximately 2000 trees by the range of partner associations in environmental conservation sector.

Dancilla Mukakamari, National Coordinator of Association Rwandaise des Ecologistes (ARECO-Rwanda Nziza) and Campaign Organizer of both ARECO-Rwanda Nziza and Rwanda Environment Conservation Organization (RECOR) told igihe.com that, “we are inquiring why the trees planted don’t grow.” “We shall release the study before the end of this week,” she added.

Mukakamari also said that all efforts are being made to implement government’s policy making the forestry industry one of the pillars of national economy while playing a role in supporting africulture, tourism, environmental sustainability, and energy among others.

The government of Rwanda set an objective to achieving 30% of forestry coverage of the national territory by the year 2020.

It’s in this regard that the government through ministry of Natural Resources recently embarked on planting over 67million trees before the end of the year as dedicated to forests.

This year also was dedicated to forests by the United Nations under the theme ‘Forests for people’ which the government of Rwanda translated to ‘forest for sustainability development’.

Yesterday November 20, was the day to mark Africa’s industrialization day that is being commemorated annually.

This year’s theme is “Tackling Energy Poverty in Africa” which is said to highlight energy’s significance for industrial development and persistent efforts have to be made to address energy deficit in Rwanda.

In his message to mark the day, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon noted, “ensuring access to reliable, efficient and affordable energy is a key element in advancing industrial development, creating decent jobs and increasing productive capacity, especially for small and medium enterprises and rural populations.

“Modern sources of energy will decrease dependence on primary commodities, reduce vulnerability to external shocks, and increase economic resilience,” Ban Ki-moon added.

On the National Level, the Africa Industrialization Day is being celebrated today Monday, 21 under the organization of the Ministry of Trade and Commerce (MINICOM) and stakeholders in an event being held at the ministry’s headquarters.

Industrialization Day in Africa is a time when governments and other organizations in many African countries examine ways to stimulate Africa’s industrialization process. It is also an occasion to draw worldwide media attention to the problems and challenges of industrialization in Africa.

Rwanda Military Hospital (RMH) medical team, led by Maj Dr King Kayondo, will undertake a special outreach service to the community in Runda (Gihara Health Center) using the 2 donated mobile clinics, from 21-25 November 2011.

Services to be provided include; surgery, Pediatrics, Dental – Tooth extraction, Health education and Laboratories tests – HIV screening, Hematology tests, Parasitology tests and other pathologies.

The outreach with the mobile clinics will show that Rwanda Military Hospital intends to fully optimise the donation with the aim of soliciting the mobile operating theatre to complement the clinics.

The outreach is undertaken in conjunction with the Korean Non Governmental Organisation (Good Neighbours) operating in the area.

RMH has made arrangements with the local leadership to ensure security and reach to the children in Runda.

At Rusororo Sector, Kabuga a Kigali suburb along the Highway to Eastern Province highway, Police have detained a man(photo above) for brutally cutting to death his wife with a machete due to a dispute over cash equivalent to Frw5000.

According to the police statement, Philbert Bazatoha, a 28 year old resident of Bumbogo sector, Gasabo district, used a machete to hack his wife to death. He also chopped off his mother in law’s arm.

The incidence happened after the father of the seven month old baby wrangled with the wife after she used Frw5000 that he had given her. It is said that the lady was brutally punished and she took refugee to her mother’s house.

In the statement Bazatoha told the police that, he tried on several occasions to talk to his wife to end the dispute but in vain. “I tried to convince her to return back home but she could heed saying that she was still praying about it.

“She could not accept us to get divorced a situation that left me in limbo.”
After a time of misunderstandings, Bazatoha further took his wife’s cloths to her as a way to show his resolve but had also carried a machete.

As they argued over the issue Bazatoha snapped killing his wife and severely injuring the mother-in-law.

“I had planned that if she refused to come with me I would kill her,” Bazatoha confidently confessed before police.

Police Spokesperson Superintendent Theos Badege said that there was no plausible reason or explanation for one to kill the wife noting that domestic crimes were a result of family wrangles and called on Rwandans to share such information very fast to help prevent grave criminal activities that may arise.

“Rwandans should always try to amicably solve any disputes that may arise within their families and where impossible seek outside intervention from courts of law or even arbitration,” Badege appealed.

Badege further urged Rwandans to use machetes in productive ways and avoid using them to take life or injure others.

Last evening (Saturday) at around 5 pm Gratien Nzabakirana slashed a bar owner to death with a machete because of being denied alcohol on credit worth Frw 200.

Eye witnesses at the bar located at Kagano sector that specializes in serving local brew (urwarwa), noted that the incident happened so fast that no one would save the life of Desire Siraguma on time.

But the killer didn’t go away with it since the public immediately attacked him; he could have died too but was saved by the police.

According to Police spokesman Superintendent Theos Badege, “we received an alert from our police in Kagano, and we rescued the suspect then took him to the hospital since he had serious injuries, but for the meantime processes to prosecute him are underway,” he said.

The suspect aged 39 is also undertaking community service punishment also known as TIG, he took away the life of Siraguma aged 27 who had just completed his primary education.

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Following complaints by buyers and owners of the houses at Hill View Estate, the Government of Rwanda is facilitating a solution for all parties involved.

Management of the Rwanda Development Board.

ActionAid Rwanda has urged local non-state actors to contribute towards the development of agriculture in the country.

Josephine Uwamaliya the ActionAid Rwanda country director, noted that the training was in line with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Plan (CAADP) a continental movement of social transformation for agriculture and food security in Africa.

“The plan was endorsed by African Heads of State in 2003 through the Maputo declaration as a vision for restoration of agriculture growth, food security and rural development,” she remarked.

She further pointed out that CAADP objective is to achieve growth rates of agriculture production to 6% per annum by 2015 in each African country, and also increase resources for agriculture programs to at least 10% of government spending, developing dynamic regional markets and integrating farmers into those markets.

“The government can’t do all these alone, our contribution is also essential so we better work hard and understand very well the issue we’re addressing and food security is one challenge we need to tackle,” Uwamaliya advised.

Uwamaliya’s NGO has several initiatives that promote agriculture production in various rural areas,” I was inspired to conduct this training after realizing that our local NGO’s were not doing enough to promote agriculture, secondly they are not fully aware of the CAADP declaration,” she said.

Raphael Rurangwa who represented the ministry of agriculture at the training’s closing ceremony urged the non-state actors to take part in the policy formulation process including contribution of ideas and assisting in the implementation process.

He noted that government was enforcing policies that promote agriculture and among the efforts include distributing high yield seeds to farmers, fertilizer, pesticides and encouraging farmers to merge their lands for bigger produce.

Rurangwa noted that MINAGRI was working closely with cooperatives in order to ensure better management and one of the ways involve using ICT especially in marketing their produce.

Christine Muhongerwa who represented Safer Rwanda which deals with peace building noted that the training has encouraged her to present issues the society face in various policy formulation processes.