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Senior officials from EAC Partner States’ Ministries responsible for Energy are in Mombasa, Kenya for the 7th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Energy that takes place from 17 to 21 October 2011.

The meeting follows a Council of Ministers directive to the EAC Secretariat to convene the Sectoral Council to urgently devise ways of addressing the persistent power shortages and fast track the implementation of the projects and activities stipulated in the Regional Power Master Plan.

The meeting will also review progress made in the sector in implementing Council decisions and consider other issues of regional importance in the areas of New and Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation and Efficiency, Fossil Fuels and Power sub-sectors.

The five-day meeting includes sessions of senior officials (technocrats), which will be followed by the Permanent Secretaries’ session before concluding with a ministerial session on Friday.

The Sectoral Council is expected to approve a $ 1.89 million budget for the 6th East African Petroleum Conference & Exhibition 2013 (EAPCE’13) and to adopt the Final Report for the Feasibility Study for a natural gas pipeline from Dar es Salaam to Tanga and Mombasa.

The EAC has identified the transfer of natural gas and oil products through pipelines as key to building energy security in the Community and the Dar es Salaam-Tanga-Mombasa natural gas pipeline project is one of the initiatives being promoted in order to link energy systems in the region.

EAC Energy Ministers are also expected to adopt the Inter-Government Memorandum of Understanding (IGMOU) and the Inter-Utility Memorandum of Understanding (IUMOU) for the establishment of the East African Community Power Pool (EACPP) at the Mombasa meeting.

President Paul kagame also the Commander-In-Chief of Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) held his annual meeting with RDF Generals and Senior Officers at the Ministry of Defence and RDF Headquarters on 15 October 2011.

President kagame inspected a Guard of Honour mounted by the RDF and thereafter addressed RDF Generals and Senior Officers.

One of the key themes addressed by Kagame was the central role of RDF in promoting, preserving and defending the nation’s identity.

Kagame emphasized that the individual identity of each member of RDF, refers to identifying themselves to the values, ideals and objectives that have characterized the institution from its inception, and have been the source of RDF strength through the many challenges faced over the years.

The President further urged the RDF members to put national interests before personal interests.

“He stressed that the knowledge acquired by RDF servicemen in various courses abroad should be used to strengthen the forces achievements, building on its identity and character.”

“The ultimate aim should always remain to be the best every RDF member can be rather than risk losing the sense of direction and identity, which typically happens with those who seek to blindly endorse, other people’s choices, agendas and priorities.”

The meeting was part of a routine program of interactions between the President and senior military leaders of RDF in his capacity as the Commander-In-Chief.

Present at the meeting was the Minister of Defence, Chief of General Staff and all the Service Chiefs.

Some members of public have come out to strongly criticize Parliament’s decision to reduce sentence entailed to suspects who will carry out abortion.

On Friday October 14, 2011 the amended Rwanda’s penal code which affected a number of articles amended with reduction of many sentences on specific crimes.

One of the crimes that had its sentence affected was abolition reducing its penalty from 15years to 1year.

This followed civil societies plea that sentences against abortion be removed or be reduced.

Amended penal code has been approved by the parliament and is now waiting for president’s signature to enact it.

Saraphine Mukasekuru a tigo freelancer, mother of one child at Rubangura house in the City Center expressed her dissatisfaction to the parliamentarians for adopting the reduction of sentence on abortion.

“How can they reduce the penalty against abortion like that? They should have increased it to 25years instead because based on what we hear on radios, girls in the country have resorted to abortion. Reducing the penalty is going to stimulate girls to abort like no bodies business,” Mukasekuru said.

Phillip Nahayo Manager at Nyabihu Tea Factory said; “I don’t support those amendments at all. Imagine the number of not yet born babies who are going to die because the law has been softened! I don’t support it totally. The president and other vigilant leaders should not support it too since Rwanda abolished death penalty”.

“Reducing the abortion penalty is supporting abortion indirectly. I don’t support the bill and wish that the 15year penalty stands as the maximum punishment. Tell them (government) not to change because many children will die.” Annie Uwamaliya found at Muhirwa pharmacy in Rubangura house added.

“Taking culture in consideration I don’t support this amendment on abortion. When they say that they are going to reduce the abortion penalty to 1year, they are encouraging girls to involve in sexual behaviors more. This is unfair to un-born babies.” A Nurse at Muhirwa pharmacy in Rubangura house also added.

Eric Munezero a nurse at Sun Beam Pharmacy said it would be unfair imprisoning someone who aborted having pregnanted after rape, defilement or taken advantage by men in some situation.

“My position as a born again is that the law should remain as it is. Once the government reduces the penalty, people are going to take it for granted and abort in large numbers. It is unholy to abort because it is similar to killing and God commands us not to kill. To me reducing the penalty is like stimulating girls to engage in sexual intercourse after all they know that once convicted they will spend less time in jail,” Motor-taxi rider who declined to publish his name said.

“I don’t support the idea. If I met president Kagame today, I would ask him to kindly reconsider before signing the bill and save us from the evil,” He added.

Executive Secretary of Rwanda Union of the Blind Donatille Kanimba is calling upon government to support them with While Cane.

Kanimba’s call was made during the event to mark the international White Cane Day celebrated October 15, annually of which Rwanda has celebrated for 3rd time.

White Cane Day is an international day of observance recognizing the blind and visually impaired along with honoring their dignity.

Another aim of the event is to highlight the issues of blind people.

In Rwanda, Scores of people with impaired vision took part in peaceful match from Kimihurura to Sports View Hotel, Remera where different discussions took place.

Kanimba says that white cane is a very important instrument in the lives of the blind which enables him/her to walk audibly adding that it replaces the eyes.

Blind union chief says that government support is highly needed for them to buy white canes which cost US $ 35 equivalent to Rwf 20,685 which she decried that most of their members cannot afford.

Jean de Dieu Ngirabega an official from Ministry of Health donated 15 white canes to the blind Union as a donation from the ministry.

The International White Cane Day is a global event held falling on October 15. It is marked to promote public awareness and remind people about the rights of people with disability, especially the blind people.

The High Court president Johnstone Busingye has called upon lawyers to adopt e-filing system which he says can benefit both the court and complainants.

e-filing is a new system of submitting one’s case or legally expressed complaints that started with Supreme Court recently and has been extended to High Court, Intermediate court and to the Commercial courts.

“This system will lead to proper case flow management method to improve service delivery,” Busingye said.

Busingye who trained over 200 lawyers says e-filing will save time and expenses for all parties involved in the case and aiming at improving the administrative justice.

Also High Court President says e-filing responds to the different needs of legal fraternity and the public.

Courts in Rwanda are also expected to digitalise all cases from 2004 to date.
Athanase Rutabingwa, president of the Kigali Bar Association, the new system will streamline the judicial processes of work.

The Health Minister from Rhineland-Palatinate Malu Dreyer has said that her government may begin sending qualified and experienced Doctors to train their counterparts in the country.

Dreyer’s confession followed her visit to Muhanga District where she led a delegation to witness different projects funded by Rhineland Province in Germany now the strong economy in the staggering European Union.

“In a good cooperation we have, we can work together in many ways, for example these old Hospitals can be advocated for to get rehabilitated and also expand it,” Dreye said.

Fortunee Mukagatana the vice mayor in charge of social affairs Muhanga District, says the cooperation between them was growing giving example of funded developmental projects including building health facilities like Nyabinoni and Tyazo health facilities.

Dr Osée Sebatunzi the Director of Kabgayi hospital among health facilities visited, said that major challenges the hospital had was rehabilitation of the hospital and an overwhelming number of patients going to the hospital for treatment.

Kabgayi hospital is one of the oldest hospital having built in 1937 with capacity of only 50 patients but now has grown to over 400 patients with 9 departments and five very active sub-departments.

In related development, the delegation from the Rhineland have discussed the way forward at the new Prime Minister’s office and how best the bilateral relationship of 30 years can be celebrated.

Rhineland-Palatinate, the German Federal State furthest west in the country offers an extraordinarily rich and diversified vacation.

It is the Rhine river which gives this region its special character. Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of 19,846 square kilometres (7,663 sq mi) and about four million inhabitants.

The Director of Communication at lower chamber of Parliament Augustine Habimana has said that the amended penal code aims at rehabilitating convicts.

Habimana was reacting to reports that reducing length of the sentences would create complacence among convicts.

“Some have singled out one item in the whole penal code that has over 700 articles, highlighting them unnecessarily but the whole idea of amending the penal code was to generally how sentences can more helpful,” Habimana has said by cell phone a few minutes ago.

Habimana said that their some sentences that took to over ten or twenty years and a person comes out of the prison not changed as expected yet he/she could be in prison for a relatively smaller period with hope to get out soon and be changed in fear to be brought in imprison again.

He also said that reducing length of sentences would save government from enormous expenditure on individuals for longer time one spends in prison.

The amended 30 years old penal code that has many changes started in 2009 as various discussions made towards the way forward of the amendment to be done.

The Mo Ibrahim foundation that assesses African governance has ranked Rwanda 25th country among 53 assessed African nations.

Rwanda which scored 52 points emerged 4th country in this region of Great lakes as Tanzania scoops the first position but 13th country in the overall Ibrahim index released this week.

Tanzania which scored 58, is followed by Uganda with 55 points and Kenya with 53 points putting them on 20th and 23rd positions respectively.

Mauritius has been ranked number one in the Index for the past five years and the same countries in five top positions have consistently performed highly in all major indicators of safety and rule of law, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development.

The top five countries included Mauritius, Cape Verde, Botswana, Seychelles and South Africa in their descending order.

Ibrahim index also indicated that Somalia is the last country that is weighed with instabilities in many sectors with 8 points followed by Chad on 52nd position scoring 31 points and then Zimbabwe which managed to score 31 points while placed on 51st position.

Others include DR Congo on 50th, Central African Republic on 49th, Sudan 48, Eritrea 47 and Cote d’Ivoire on 46th positions.

Two countries Liberia and Sierra Leone have shown the most striking statistical significant improvements over the past five years emerging from lengthy civil conflicts.

Rwanda’s major success is in Gender sub-category that falls in Participation and Human Rights category where Rwanda was on fourth position scoring 74 points.

The index also indicated that in sustainable economic opportunities pushed Rwanda to the 13th position as another major score for her success.

Rwanda is the 8th country with 65 points in public management, the 7th with 69 in business environment, 6th with 70 points in Rural sector development.

Others include human development category emerging 17th and scoring highly in its sub-category like becoming 10th with 66 points in welfare.

Having performed relatively better in the overall mo Ibrahim index, Rwanda’s performance in national security as a sub-category of safety and rule of law main category was poor.

Rwanda is listed on the 30th position in safety and rule of law category but ranked 49th country in the sub-category of national security hence ranked among the last five countries.

It is followed by DR Congo, Sudan, Central African Republic and then the last country being Somalia as expected.

Established in 2007, the Ibrahim Index is said to be the most comprehensive collection of quantitative data that provides an annual assessment of governance performance in every African country.

According to the report the Ibrahim Index of African Governance is a composite index, constructed by combining underlying indicators in a standardized way to provide a statistical measure of governance performance in all African countries.

It compiles 86 indicators grouped into 14 sub-categories; the four scope including Safety and Rule of Law, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity, and Human Development to measure the effective delivery of public goods and services to African citizens.

The data used in the 2011 Ibrahim Index contains data from 2000 to 2010come and collected from 23 separate institutions, made up of over 40,000 raw data points.

The high profiled conference on the abolition of death penalty held in Kigali, concluded with participants adopting useful recommendations that will enhance countries towards the penalty.

Some of the adopted recommendations were the recognition to put in place legal instruments that will support the values of African culture.

This has a connection to limit the use of the execution of mankind putting them on a death row so as to reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed.

Participants also agreed human rights should be highly respected to ban the penalty like second optional protocol to the International Convention to Civil and Political Rights and align national legislation accordingly.

Countries were further urged to establish a standstill on executions with a view to abolishing the penalty adhering to principles of healing justice.
Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama said that death should only be understood as a natural concept.

Karugarama added that there are many other alternatives than the application of a death penalty.

“Death is an enemy of mankind. Why should we let it to be closer to us? Why don’t we leave it to come as a thief instead of us bringing it ourselves? If you kill someone, you have not punished him or her. In fact you have assisted him to go innocently. It’s the family he leaves behind that will suffer,” Said Karugarama.

According to Karugarama Rwanda’s decision to abolish death penalty was due to the negative outcomes from the penalty.

Several countries including Rwandans have been in the favour of the abolition death penalty while 16 countries are still in favour of death penalty.