The Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Forests and Natural Resources (MINIRENA), targets to plant 67 million trees in the country.
Its Against this this background that Rwanda Defence Forces- Reserve Forces have contributed to this campaign in Rukara in the Eastern Province.
Electricity generation business can be a highly capital-intensive enterprise, very risky, and the returns may not be felt for a long while. African entrepreneurs tend to avoid this venture.
However,Rwanda’s 60 year old Gregory Tayi (above) saw this as a great opportunity. Tayi holding a master’s degree in chemistry set up the first private mini hydro-electric power station at Mirunda in Rwanda with a generation capacity of 96 kW which is supplied to the national grid.
It is estimated that his company, Repro generates around $10,000 per month.
Having supplied medical equipment, vegetable products and chemicals for many years, he decided it was about time to start providing electricity.
In his Interview with the BBC-African Dream series Tayi says due to the countrys energy demands like in most African nations,he realised that he could make a difference – and a profit – by putting up mini hydro-electric stations in some of its numerous rivers.
“We went to the government. The government had a fund that would subsidise the people who do go into this business. So all these factors helped us to enter into energy”.
“There was this subsidy but the bank also gave me the credit. They looked back at my history of business, at what I was doing before,” added Mr Tayi, now the proud general director of Renewable Energy Promotion (Repro).
Starting from zero
According to him, for even the smallest hydro-electric station in Rwanda, one would need an initial investment of around $500,000 (£312,000).
But he says that having the capital is not the main point. He believes that it is much more important to be clear about where one wants to go.
“When you start from zero, you learn what you wouldn’t have learned in school. And I think that’s the most important capital that one can get.”
He said he did not have an easy start. When he was a student, his family could not even afford to help him with his school fees.
He remembers that when he finished university, with a master’s degree in chemistry, he was “as broke as anybody”.
“I couldn’t count on anybody. As I didn’t get a job, I couldn’t even sustain myself,” he said.
Forced into business
Mr Tayi pointed out that for him becoming a businessman was not a choice.
“I was forced into it but, luckily, I was forced into business because I struggled for the first years but other years, you know, things came much much easier.”
Repro opened in 2007 and its main power site, at Murunda, in Rwanda’s Western Province, started three years later. It currently generates around $10,000 per month.
And how would he describe a good business person?
“When people look at businessmen, they look at money, but I think money is not what makes the person,” he said.
“A business, it’s working with the people. It’s making life easier for others. A good businessman is the one who looks at his neighbours, at his countrymen, at the world,” he explained.
“It would be meaningless if I were rich and I’m surrounded by poor people. A good businessman is one who looks first on others before he looks after himself.”
A major report released today on Rwanda’s post-conflict sustainable development urges the country to build on its rehabilitation efforts and seed more opportunities for a transition to a green economy.
The 380-page UNEP report, Rwanda: From Post-Conflict to Environmentally Sustainable Development, was unveiled in Kigali by the Minister of Natural Resources, Stanislas Kamanzi, at the start of a regional meeting with East African senior policy makers exploring how to leverage support for a shift towards an environmentally sustainable, climate resilient, low-carbon, resource-efficient future.
The report provides a critical analysis of the most pressing environmental issues facing the country and proposes an integrated package of almost 90 projects and interventions, totaling US$147 million, that would help the country accelerate its sustainable development agenda.
It recommends the Rwandan government reinforces its policies and investments in key areas, including large-scale ecosystem rehabilitation; renewable energies, sustainable agriculture and agroforestry, environmental management capacity building and regional environmental cooperation, including participation in natural resource trade initiatives.
With over 10 million people in an area of 26,000 square kilometers, Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries striving to unlock a downward-cycle of natural resource over-exploitation.
However, it has made remarkable progress following the aftermath of the 1994 genocide and is now considered an inspiration for African development.
UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said the shared lessons from implementing the report’s recommendations would help reverse declining environmental trends and showcase a real-life pathway to a green economy.
“Rwanda provides an exceptional case of a country’s willpower to overcome a traumatic conflict legacy, restore degraded ecosystems and lift people out of poverty and there is growing interest from development partners and other countries in Rwanda’s pioneering model,”Steiner said.
“The ongoing metamorphosis of Rwanda’s economy offers a unique opportunity to catalyse green investments, to enhance sustainability, create green jobs and promote environmentally efficient technologies,” the UNEP Executive Director said.
Speaking at the launch event, Minister Kamanzi welcomed the scientific assessment which he said underlines the intrinsic relationship between ecosystem services and the achievement of national development goals as outlined in Rwanda’s Vision 2020.
“We see the environment as the heart of our economy and need to ensure that it can sustain the economic growth achieved in recent years,”Kamanzi said.
“The damage to the Congo-Nile and Byumba highland ecosystems is highlighted not only as a threat to biodiversity but to livelihoods and Rwanda’s economic future because it must sustain hydropower, agriculture and drinking water supplies, as well as providing climate regulation and carbon sequestration services.
“For Rwanda and other countries in the region, the time has come to capitalize on green economy thinking and translate our policy targets into on-the-ground action to create jobs, combat poverty and accelerate sustainable development across the region,” the Minister said.
More than 40 legal and technical experts from Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as Rwanda, are attending the workshop which is aiming to enhance capacity in East African countries to use the green economy as a driver for sustainable development and poverty reduction, and to identify actions, opportunities and challenges for integrating green economy in policies and legislations at national and regional levels.
One of the enabling frameworks needed for the green economy is having effective laws and related governance structures to support it.
Strengthening the regulatory and governance frameworks will complement measures already being taken by governments and the private sector.
To further support Rwanda in its efforts to accelerate a sustainable growth path, UNEP used the workshop to release another new report, Mainstreaming Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production in Policies and Strategies of Rwanda.
This report was prepared by UNEP in collaboration with Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Natural Resources and REMA.
The report reviews existing policy and strategy frameworks of resource efficient and cleaner production (RECP) and identifies areas for mainstreaming RECP into the country’s national policies and strategies.
In particular, the report identifies strategic entry points for mainstreaming under the following four components of intervention: institutional and policy integration; economic and fiscal incentives; capacity building and support to small and medium-sized enterprises; and, information and public education.
The two-day workshop, organized by UNEP and REMA, is expected to take these findings on board as they examine how regulatory instruments can contribute to reducing poverty and promoting the transition to a green economy in East Africa.
Earlier this year at the UN Forest Forum, Rwanda launched a landmark Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative aimed to reverse by 2035 the degradation of the entire country’s soil, water, land and forest resources.
Next week, an intensification of Rwanda’s tree planting programme is due to begin with the target of planting 68 million trees over the next 12 months to reach the government’s goal of raising forest cover to at least 30 percent of its land area by 2020.
As part of the One UN presence, UNEP stands ready to assist the Government of Rwanda in mobilizing resources to implement the post-conflict assessment’s recommendations and with broader ongoing environmental initiatives.
The Directorate General of Immigration informs the public that the new dark-green coloured Laissez-passer (MRLP) will be issued both at its Head Office in Kigali and at their offices in all districts.
The new Laissez-passer can be read by Machines especially those normally used at Rwanda’s border entry points thus this travel document is now refered to as MRLP (Machine readable Lassez-Passer)
The Laissez-passer will be valid for the following countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda South Sudan.
The Machine Readable Laissez-passer will have security features and other relevant requirements in accordance to the standards and quality of International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO).
The fee of the MRLP will be 10.000frw for adults and 5000Frw for children under 16 years.
The new Laissez-passer has been introduced as part of DGIE’s priority of continuously improving its services.
This MRLP will be introduced in addition to the existing ones such as a Passport, Collective Laissez-Passer issued to people travelling as a group mainly for social activities, Emergency travel documents issued to both Rwandans and Foreigners in emergency situations and Border pass issued to border communities in order to facilitate cross border activities.
Others travel documents issued by the DGI&E is the CEPGL issued to Rwandans and foreigners residing in Rwanda while travelling within CEPGL member states and the Refugee travel document issued to refugees.
The old Laissez-passer shall continue to be used until their expiry dates, but effectively from January 2012, old Laissez-passer shall not be issued.
For more Information, contact ;
the Author is,
Public Relations and Communication Officer
Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration
Cell phone: +250 7 88 84 72 43
E mail: [email protected]
Following recent emerged complaints that millions of Egyptians in the Diaspora were in a blackout on how to participate in their parliamentary elections, Egypt has now given directives to all her diplomatic offices around the world on how to vote.
Not only has it given directive but also logistics to assist in their first ever parliamentary elections of its kind.
Egyptians will hold their first ever parliamentary elections November 28, 2011 following an uprising that occurred early this year.
Last week Egyptian ambassador to Rwanda Khaled Abdel Rahman had to calm Egyptians in the country given that they had not received any information on how they will participate in the election.
“I would like to urge Egyptians in Rwanda to calm down since it’s not only them who are affected rather everyone in the Diaspora,” Rahman said.
“We are waiting for a directive and logistics from the electoral commission.” He added.
Igihe.com has learnt that Last Friday, Ahmed Shouaib the Egyptian diplomatic attaché, met Egyptians living in Rwanda at Egyptian Embassy, Kigali to avail possibilities of voting.
“All Egyptians should apply an online application on this official web site http://www.elections2011.eg/ voting is duty that we must all value. This is the time for the Egyptians all over the world to help in building their country.” Shouaib said.
“There are fewer than 100 Egyptians in Rwanda,” Shouaib said, adding “This will help us to manage the parliamentary election process much easier than other countries which have a bigger population of Egyptians.”
The Egyptian parliament consists of 498 seats and 10 members nominated by the president. In the past the Egyptian people used to vote for individual candidates or the political parties’ candidates.
In each constituency, farmers and workers would each have one representative in parliament.
In the 2011 elections, Egypt has restructured to form a new parliament. One third of the seats will be for the independent candidates and the two thirds will be for the listed candidates that represent the political parties or a coalition of parties.
There must be at least one woman in each list and voters can choose a list he or she supports and two other individual candidates- as long as one at least is a worker or farmer.
Mohamed Kamel Heshmat, an Egyptian activist, said in a Skype call, “I like this way, it limits the corruption and increases the chances of the new parties to take place in the parliament.”
Eslam Karam, an Egyptian lawyer and political activist, said on Facebook, “I think this will apply more democracy and give more opportunities for the new ideologies and new political parties to take place in the new parliament.”
Meanwhile some Egyptians argue that this parliamentary election involves a big number of youth due to their participation in the uprising which they say they are immature in politics.
Ends
The French ambassador to Rwanda, Laurent Contini, has been reportedly recalled back to his country and may be replaced by Hélène Le Gal by the end of the year.
It is said his recalling back to his country was due to persistent demand by Alain Juppé the French foreign Minister and later president Nicolas Sarkozy endorsed the request.
According to a French popular magazine, Contini’s recalling back to his country seemed to have been pushed by Juppe who is said to be against Bernard Kouchner that had appointed Contini who is also said to be a strong supporter of closer ties between France and Rwanda.
Laurent Contini has been never in the good graces of Juppé whose dispute with the Rwandan authorities is publicly known.
When Juppe was reappointed as the Foreign Affairs Minister, Rwandan government did not like it calling it a bad surprise.
Juppe held the same position from 1993-1995, and it has been reported that findings of the Mucyo Commission which investigated French government in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi – that he strongly supported the forces that committed the Genocide.
Aged 44 years, Helen Le Gal is a career diplomat who is familiar with Africa.
She held his first job at the embassy in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso in the late 1990s and in the office of African Affairs.
After passages in Tel Aviv and Madrid, she joined the Office of the Minister for Development Cooperation from 2000 to 2002.
More recently, she headed the Central and Eastern Africa Department in the French Foreign Affairs Ministry from 2005 to 2009.
Ends
Rwanda is targeting the generation of 1,000 megawatts of electric energy by 2017. According to the Ministry of infrastructure, the country is generating only 100 megawatts serving 6% of the total population.
However, the Belgian Development Agency (BTC) plans to fund the new electricity generation project to a tune of Euros 55Million for a period of three years.
Erik Van Malderen, a BTC expert working with the ministry of infrastructure on the project disclosed that even though Rwanda’s 1,000-megawatt goal is unrealistic and may be less than what it needs.
There’s need to develop hydroelectricity, methane gas and peat, since they may be able to generate 300 megawatts to 600 megawatts in the same time period.
Other sources of energy can be obtained from the Rusumo Falls project which may generate as much as 30 megawatts.
Van Malderen noted that the construction is scheduled to begin in early 2012, of which 40% of the project will be funded by the Africa Development Bank with bilateral organizations funding 15%.
So far the government is seeking financing for the remaining 55%.
Meanwhile, The Brussels-based agency hopes to attract investors in the country by conducting drilling to prove that about 300 megawatts of energy can be extracted from Rwanda’s part of the East African Rift, a geothermal hot-spot that spans 11 African countries.
“They are a little bit reluctant to invest until it has been proven that there is a resource,” Van Malderen remarked. “But there are some interests from companies,” he said.
The government hopes energy projects will cut the price of electricity by 50% and reduce Rwanda’s dependence on oil imports. “If we don’t invest in renewable energy, we will just witness increase in prices,” Van Malderen warned.
He said that the project was essential to economic growth, and that other countries in the region are working on similar projects. “Both Tanzania and Burundi are building a $360 million hydropower plant that could generate 90 megawatts,” Van Malderen concluded.
Members of the press have met for the third national dialogue on media development with a strong call from experts recommending the need for capacity building through in-house training.
Dr. Christopher Kayumba a media expert and Publisher of Chronicles newspaper noted that a lot of time and finances are wasted in trainings normally held in hotels.
Kayumba noted that majority that are trained don’t take the lessons seriously since they lack passion for journalism and are rather in the media for survival.
“Most journalists are just there for the purposes of bread and butter a fact that makes it hard for them to abide by professional ethics,” he remarked.
In this respect he recommended in house training since its cost effective and targets those that are interested.
However, Louis Kamanzi proprietor of Radio Flash noted that in-house trainings are more costly and urged the regulator-Media High Council to assist in capacity building.
“Even though the regulator has been conducting trainings that’s not enough we need more and more if we are to instill professionalism among local journalists,” he remarked.
Commenting on independence of media in the country, Protais Musoni ,the minister in charge of cabinet affairs and media matters, insisted that more is required in strengthening the media self regulatory body.
“Though the body isn’t active yet I want this two day meeting to recommend ways of enhancing the regulatory team and among the crucial points is where the funds would come from, is it from the government, membership fees or from development partners,” he inquired.
The director general in the office of the Prime Minister Ignatius Kabagambe advised members of the press not to limit themselves on options of getting funds since the most independent institutions in the world like the judiciary and legislature are highly funded by the government.
“We should not base our independence on who is funding even those in the private sector can still influence the media, the way forward is abiding by media ethics,” he pointed out.
Mr Ignace Gatare said that there is opportunity in integrating ICT technology in the media, he cited among the examples as websites, both internet radio and TV.
“I urge all of you to have an entrepreneurship spirit ,innovation and competitiveness if you really want to make it in this business,” he remarked.
East African Partner states Ministers responsible for Transport, Communications and Meteorology have called for the speedy creation of frameworks enabling achievement of the planned analog-to-digital migration in the region.
At their 9th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Transport, Communications and Meteorology (TCM), held Friday last week in Arusha, Tanzania, the Ministers reviewed implementation progress of projects and programmes; roads, railways, civil aviation, maritime transport and meteorology sub-sectors.
Also discussed were developments in the communications sub-sector, where the Ministers directed member states to expedite the process of putting in place legislation for the implementation digital TV broadcasting, and to monitor technology developments for digital broadcast receivers, with a view to developing receiver specifications that minimize the cost of digital broadcast migration.
The Sectoral Council urged Partner States to consider zero-rating duty on Set Top Boxes as a means of accelerating digital broadcast migration programmes, and directed the Secretariat to submit this recommendation to the Ministers of Finance for consideration.
The Ministers were also of the view that Partner States limit the number of signal distributors, provided that a public signal distributor is fully funded by the state, or open the signal distribution market segment to full competition, where the government is unable to fund a public signal distributor.
EAC Partner States were further called upon to develop human and institutional capacities for conformance testing and certification of ICT equipment.
At its 8th Meeting, the Sectoral Council on TCM considered and approved the EAC Roadmap for Analog-to-Digital Broadcast Transition, and following the approval, directed Partner States to align their national programmes on analog-to-digital broadcast transition to the Roadmap, while the Secretariat was directed to monitor and report on the implementation of the Roadmap.
The Rwanda Air Force has started a three weeks training aimed at preparing pilots, technicians and maintenance officers, Air logistics Staffs and Air Medical Services to the peacekeeping mission in Sudan.
The training for 140 officers and men from Air Force is jointly organized by Rwanda Defence Force helped by the US Army under ACOTA program (Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance).
The training will take place at Rwanda Military Academy Gako.
Rwanda will deploy early next year 5 helicopters in Sudan for peacekeeping operations.
When officially inaugurating the training this morning, Lt. Gen Charles Kayonga, the Chief of Defence Staff advised the Air Force officers and men to undergo it in disciplinary manner focusing on Rwanda Defence Force doctrine.
He said that Rwanda Defence Force is mandated by the Constitution of Rwanda to give contribution to global peace and security.
RDF has 3514 peacekeepers deployed in Sudan
