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  • RDB: Leading from the front through reforms

    It is difficult to change the patterns of performance that have dominated society for ages, even more so when legal and institutional frameworks reinforce popular perceptions and the status quo. By reforming policies on paper, however, societies take one of the first steps in self-transformation. So it is with Rwanda.

    The act of reforming the business culture for several years now has helped break down one of the legal barriers to Rwanda’s fast economic growth. Before the reforms, the country had limited ways of representing its economic interests after the pungent 1994 genocide. 17 years after the genocide which defined modern world view of Rwanda, the citizens seem eager to paint a different picture in people’s minds – especially those of potential investors.

    Since the Doing Business reforms were enacted, Rwanda is on an upward trajectory. The country has gained recognition for being one of the safest and most transparent countries in Africa and a President who does all he can to court business leaders. The economic potential of the country is gaining attention. In fact, Rwanda was ranked in the top 20 global reformers in the Doing Business 2009 Report published by the World Bank.

    There are numerous sectors showing growth and promise – notably construction, agriculture, tourism, ICT and retail.

    Reforming business regulation takes leadership—more than many other reforms. Committed leaders as President Paul Kagame has often proved provide vision, energy and direction to improve business climates, often in the face of daunting challenges.

    As a follow up to the wide-ranging reforms introduced in May 2010, four fundamental reforms making it easier to start a business, deal with construction permits, register property, and trade across borders were put in place this year to enhance doing business in the country.
    In a media briefing in May 2011, the Chief Operations Officer of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Claire Akamanzi welcomed the reforms.

    “The 2011 Doing Business results are a statement of our consistent efforts to empower our local and foreign entrepreneurs. We are determined to work alongside investors to make sure we do all we can to make Rwanda a great place to do business and unleash the country’s full potential, therefore we are relentless in ensuring continuous reforms like these ones”

    “The new reforms will be reason for improving Rwanda’s position in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking.”

    Starting a business
    On starting a business, free online registration was introduced. Those who register in person, the registration fees have been reduced from Rwf 25,000 to Rwf 15,000.

    “The reason we reduced it is because we want more in the informal sector to become formalised,” she said during a press briefing to announce the reforms.

    “More than 30 percent of our companies are SMEs and we want to encourage them to move away from informal businesses. We are making it easy for them”.

    Registering property
    On registering property, several requirements were eliminated and are now optional.

    Notarisation of a sale agreement is eliminated. Instead, the signature of a sale agreement can be done at the registry upon submission.
    Dr. Emmanuel Nkurunziza, the director general of the National Land Centre says: “What we are trying to do is make this requirement optional, particularly for commercial and industrial developers.”

    “We can exempt them from that but we make sure they sign their agreements before the registrar or deputy registrar when they submit their application for transfer of property.”

    A tax clearance certificate is also no longer required from a client. Instead, Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) will coordinate with the National Land Centre to provide information on clients’ tax status.

    Construction permits
    When it comes to dealing with construction permits, several application procedures were merged from 14 to only six, relieving clients of interaction with utility providers.

    In a single application, a client can now apply for a construction permit, water connection, electricity and telephone. Inspections and invoices will also be issued simultaneously.

    Cross-border trade
    On trade across borders, only three out of eight documents necessary for customs declaration are needed. The three documents are the commercial invoice, the parking list, and the bill of landing or airway bill.

    Those rendered optional include a certificate of origin, health certificate, transit cargo document, terminal handling receipt, and import license.
    Peter Gapira, the Operations Manager of the Gorilla 1000 clearing agency that operates from Kigali International Airport and Gikondo expresses his gratitude about reforms in the cross-border trade.

    “There has been a long process in import and export declaration, where goods would spend a long time in the warehouse and this drew complaints from investors and other business stakeholders,” Gapira said.

    He highlights additional trade facilitating mechanisms pioneered by the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), “like Blue Channel, where an importer is allowed to offload goods from his premises instead of offloading from the warehouse which involves other charges and processes.”

    “There is another called pre-clearance, where taxes are paid when goods have not yet entered the country’s borders, and when they come, they directly go to the importer’s premises.

    This also reduces the processes and other charges,” Gapira observes. He further commends the 24-hour border operations and use of scanners in warehouses and at border posts.

    The Business Manager of a private equity company Fusion Capital Ltd says of the reforms: “As a financier, the reforms announced by RDB will greatly improve business.”

    “Reduced procedures and documentation required for construction permits and import /export requirements will encourage more small and medium scale players,” Kageenu said.

    “Improvements in the foreclosure process is also highly welcome.
    In addition to helping financial institutions to fast liquidate securities held for non performing facilities, it will help build a more disciplined repayment culture with borrowers,” she adds.

    According to RDB, the latest reforms underline the importance of cooperation between government institutions and agencies to overcome the constraints facing Rwanda’s private sector. For four years in a row, Rwanda has consistently registered impressive performance and this has helped it maintain its position as one of the easiest places to do business in Africa.

    The Rwanda Development Board says it shall continue to foster existing partnerships, and build new ones among different doing business stakeholders and agencies ensure that business is at the heart of our development.

    Gross domestic product expanded by an average of six percent a year during the last decade. With an expanding private sector and a new stock exchange since February 2008, the need for an efficient commercial dispute resolution will only grow.

    The ancient Roman quote from Marcus Tullius Cicero still holds true: “To those who are engaged in commercial dealings, justice is indispensable to the conduct of business.”

    Admittedly, reforming laws and regulations on paper does not automatically entail shifts in public opinion. However, when the Rwandan public and foreigners have the space to represent and advocate their entrepreneurial interests, they can show their economic potential. The reforms have since given investors this space.

    Karim Tushabe, a legal consultant at the doing business unit of RDB says that since 1934, the Rwandan law had not yet been changed and since many of the Rwandan business are now competing on an internationally modernised level the laws too must be modernised in order to work in harmony.

    Tushabe talks of the insolvency law and its importance. “For example, Rwandatel is now using this insolvency law to rebuild its business, how so? This law allows a business the opportunity to either reorganise or shut down their companies if they are unable to meet their debt.

    Whereas before, they were no checking of poorly performing companies that were previously operating without clear rules and procedures”
    “The new secured transaction law enables the transactions of loans to be broader than traditional loans whereby a house or land would have been considered security, but now even inventories, agricultural produce, even cars can be considered by law as collateral”

    Mr. Charles Kaliwabo, the spokesperson of the Supreme Court says. “Laws have to change and our judges must be prepared to be able to carry out these laws in accordance with those we may do business with one day.”

    Kaliwabo says there is an ongoing project to update the amategeko.net website around July to exhibit all new commercial laws.
    Deputy Chief Justice Prof. Sam Rugege says that Rwanda has carried out major reforms in business laws for the last six years in a bid to make them up-to-date.

    “The reform of business laws has been ongoing for six years now, producing around new 20 laws published between 2008 and 2010,”
    “They form a large volume of legal text to go through, later on master. Since they are new and in many cases involve new concepts which were not part of the existing legal system, it has not been easy to get to grips with them,” Rugege says.

    “The Judiciary must participate fully and play its role efficiently in the national effort to create an environment conducive to investment, both local and external, so that Rwanda can reach its Vision 2020 targets and improve the quality of life among our citizens,” he points out.

    According to Lucy Mamganga Fye, the Senior Private Sector Development Specialist at the World Bank, the major reforms Rwanda has embarked on especially in the legal area of doing business have put the country on course to build a private sector which will become the main pillar of the economy.

    She says that the reforms which have been implemented have for two consecutive years put Rwanda among the top business reformers under the World Bank Doing Business Report.

    In 2011’s index, Rwanda was the most improved country in Africa – the second most improved country overall. It came in 58th in the world on the overall list, up from 70th last year.

    Rwanda is also the fourth easiest place to business in Africa after Mauritius, South Africa, and Botswana. In the East African region, Rwanda ranks the easiest place to do business according to the World Bank report.

    Over the last years Rwanda has won praise for its vision and lack of corruption.

  • Iwawa: rehabilitating street urchins against all odds

    Welcome to Iwawa, an island on the methane rich Lake Kivu that has been in the news lately. Its new found reputation is not because of tourism based activities, but rather its life shaping activities among former street children.

    Wednesday, May 18, 2011, will forever be etched in the nation’s almanac. Before the centre came to fruition, the government drew a lot of international criticism, for forcibly rounding up hundreds of street children in Kigali.

    Police had launched a wave of round-ups aimed at getting the children off the streets. Hundreds were detained in a transit centre outside the capital.

    Critics claimed the ‘forced institutionalisation’ of street children was an attempt to hide the problem, instead of tackling its causes. The western media dubbed the island as the ‘Alcatraz of Rwanda’ or the ‘Island of no return” where the government detained people it deemed unfit to live on the ‘clean streets’ of Kigali. New York Times Journalist Jeffrey Gettleman once depicted the dire conditions in which live hundreds of minors and young adults arrested for petty crimes ranging from being homeless to not having an identification card. They are secretly sent and kept isolated on the island without the knowledge of their parents and relatives and without trial.

    While the government claims that the island is a rehabilitation facility, many see it as nothing more than a prison camp where the country’s street kids, whom the government feels have tarnished the appearance of the country, are kept contained.

    However, several years later, the critics have been forced to swallow the bullet. The Iwawa Rehabilitation and Vocational Development Centre rolled out its first graduates since its establishment in February last year in a ceremony presided over by Prime Minister, Bernard Makuza, and attended by the diplomatic corps led by the European Union Representative Michel Arrion and French Ambassador to Rwanda, Laurent Contini, as well as parents and guardians.

    During the colourful ceremony, a total of 752 youth would forever remain grateful to government for the life-changing experience. The once destitute children were forever handed a new lease of life as they also play a part in national development courtesy of their newly gained skills.

    According to media reports, a total of those that graduated, with 253 completing courses in construction, 157 in bee keeping, 156 in commercial farming, 108 in carpentry and 101 in tailoring, on top of language skills in English and Kiswahili as well as mathematics.
    The youngsters were also provided with guidance and counseling besides receiving psychological support needed to renounce their former street lifestyles in exchange for discipline, society values, patriotism lessons and religious values.

    As we all know, street children face numerous hardships and danger in their daily lives. In addition to the hazards of living on the street, these children face harassment and abuse and within the juvenile justice system for no reason other than the fact that they are street children. Living outside the protection of responsible adults, street children are easy and silent targets for abuse and society at large. On the streets, they are subject to frequent beatings as well as monetary extortion and sexual abuse.

    Sadly enough, it is the harassment and negative adult reactions, not their hunger that troubles street children the most. Isolation and distrust cause them the greatest pain.

    The majority of the children would not wish to continue with street life if given an alternative.

    Various reasons were given to justify why the majority of them would wish to discontinue with street life. They included the fact that street life is bad and tiring, the desire for a better life and the desire to go to school and to enjoy other conveniences elsewhere. If government had failed to act promptly to save these kids, there will follow serious results ranging from HIV infections to other perilous circumstances
    Children do not deserve the right to be abandoned on the street. The street is void of parental care, protection, love warmth and safety and cannot be a home.

    These children did not desire to leave their homes and live on the streets where their lives are constantly in danger. The Iwawa youth’s desire was that, they also have that right to complete with equals of the schools but not to compete with equals of similar fate on the streets.

    Hence, the government’s efforts to rein in a then mounting tide of street children were not only judicious but rational too. Many African governments lack mechanisms to take care of street children. And nipping the bud to arrest the situation brings about not just street children but street families.

    Thus, Rwanda’s efforts through Iwawa were well-read. The onus now lies on all child-workers, the government, NGO’s and other stakeholders and opinion leaders to consolidate these gains and ensure that factors that bring about street children are identified and all loopholes sealed.

  • Korean consumer electronics giant opens shop in Rwanda

    Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s consumer electronics manufacturer has opened shop in Rwanda to ease access to its genuine products in the country.

    The shop, which is opposite Union Trade Centre (UTC); a commercial
    complex in the heart of the capital Kigali will ease access to the
    firm’s genuine products, an official has said.

    Samsung Electronics Africa Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mr. George
    Ferreira said in an interview in Kenya’s capital Nairobi recently that
    the shop would improve distribution of Samsung products in Rwanda.

    By opening in Kigali, Samsung hopes to see more of its original
    products capture the market thus kicking out fake products branded
    Samsung.

    This is expected to increase customer satisfaction, an ingredient that
    Samsung uses to retain its customers.

    The shop showcases a range of Samsung products including the most
    popular ones—refrigerators, mobile handsets, computers, and television
    screens.

    The opening of Samsung in Kigali follows entry of rivals LG
    Electronics, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Nokia. LG is also a South Korean based
    firm.

    The LG shop is situated on airport Avenue in Giporoso, Remera in Kigali
    City but the firm’s products can mostly be found in most Indian-owned
    electronics shops in the country.

    Like Samsung, LG is also selling electronics products including mobile
    phones, home appliances like refrigerators, television screens and
    computers.

    HP and Nokia use local distributors to supply their products.

    The two Asian firms—LG and Samsung are strong competitors back in
    Korea but Samsung is three times bigger than LG, according to Mr.
    Ferreira.

    LG has been operating in Africa for more than a decade while Samsung
    has only been in the continent at least one year.

    Although the two firms are aggressively penetrating the Rwandan mobile market, they are facing tough competition from Finnish firm Nokia.

    Nokia has a bigger market share in Rwanda especially in the mobile phone segment.

    In the computer and its accessories market, HP dominates the Rwandan market. On TV sets and other home appliances, Samsung and LG are targeting new markets in Africa, but Samsung says it wants to grow Africa market and beat all the other Consumer Electronics makers by 2015.

    The firm says it will invest around USD140 million in five years and
    increase sales revenue from USD1.2 billion last year to $10
    billion by 2015 in Africa only.

    Samsung is currently operating in more than 30 African countries
    including Rwanda’s neighbors Burundi, Uganda, and
    Tanzania. It has East Africa regional offices in Kenya, Nairobi.

    Last month, the firm held a forum for its Africa partners in an event
    that took place in Nairobi. At the same time, Samsung displayed its latest products ranging from Google’s Android (operating system) powered mobile phones and touch screen computers.

  • Female hawkers to form co-ops to boost incomes

    Women hawkers in the streets of Kigali will soon boost their income levels after authorities advised them to join cooperatives to access financial services.

    The president of the national women council, Tengera Francesca, is buoyant that the effort to organise women street vendors into cooperatives and empower them is one way to enhance the business
    sector.

    “I know you are not poor as you always run up down and think that your hopes ends from there and that is why today we are here to implement knowledge which is missing.”
    Tengera also noted that the cooperatives will help women to shun illicit business and target bigger businesses.

    “We want to organise women who are in petty business to come together into cooperatives,” she said,
    She also noted that hundreds of street vendors, mainly women usually flock in Kigali streets during evening hours.

    This workshop organised by the national women council in partnership with Rwanda Cooperative Alliance is sensitising almost 321 women from Kigali on how they come together in cooperatives to expand their
    business.

    Audace Bimenyimana, the officer in charge curriculum development in the capacity building unit at RCA said that women are able to earn a lot from their meagre capital if they come together in cooperatives.

    “By working together, these women have the advantage of earning a lot from their savings and build bigger businesses and they will be able to employ other people,” he said.

    Genevieve Mukeshimana a mother of 4 who is a street vendor dealing in vegetables says she is optimistic that this effort will improve their business perceptions thus better incomes.

    “I am always up and down fighting with the local security, but when the officials from our nyarugenge district called us to come for training I did not refuse because I believed after this workshop I am
    going to through away (agataro).”

    The mayor Nyarugenge Solange Mukasonga said that the government has already prepared minimarkets where female hawkers will be allocated to carry out their businesses on an expansive basis.

    “We have started construction of two more selling points in Mageragere and Kanyinya. This will help many of these women to get a place,” she said, noting that the markets will help women to expand businesses after acquiring credit.

  • RSE market highlights as of June 1 2011

    The Rwanda Stock Exchange today registered low volumes of transactions compared to yesterdays’ trading and a total turnover of 2’921’000 Rfw was recorded from the sale of 12’700 shares of Bralirwa traded in 4 transactions.

    The price of Bralirwa shares closed at Rfw 230, which has been constant over the past one week. At the close of trading session, there was an outstanding offer of 30’000 Bralirwa shares at 240 Rfw. There were was no bid.

    The KCB and NMG counters did not record any activity. The KCB and NMG share prices remained unchanged from the yesterday’s closing prices of Rwf 175 and Rwf 1200 respectively.

    Bralirwa shares go ex- dividend on 13th of June 2011 and NMG shares are trading ex -dividend effective today 1st of June 2011.

  • Health ministry wants more private sector involvement

    The ministry of health and the private sector are working on a framework to enhance collaboration from both parties with the aim of facilitating better healthcare.

    Though the private sector has contributed to improvement in health activities, the Health Minister Agnes Binagwaho argues more needs to be done to provide health services especially in rural areas.

    She further assured support to the private sector adding that if they for instance put up hospitals, the government would provide them healthcare personnel. “We have to ensure that there is quality healthcare provision within the public as well as the private sector.”

    Jean Nyirinkwaya, the president of the private medical association highlighted that they too have the will do more towards extending better health services to Rwandans. “We’re meeting to find ways of enhancing a relationship between the Ministry Of Health and us and we hope to come with a framework that would confront challenges such as
    manpower and equipment,” he remarked.

  • Expo to underline agric sector’s performance indicators

    This year’s Kigali National Agricultural show is set to highlight among other things the performance strides the agricultural sector has taken.

    The annual show slated to take place from 6-12 June, 2011 at Mulindi Agricultural Show ground in Gasabo, Kigali will bring together farmers and traders countrywide.

    Speaking to journalists Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Agnes Kalibata noted that the show would also showcase the current innovations the government has invested in recently.

    “We have recently been investing heavily in irrigation and mechanization, said Kalibata, adding; “What we plan to do in this agricultural show is to exhibit some of these innovations.”

    “The amount of work that would usually take a whole day could be done in two hours. This is why it is vital for those involved in agricultural practices to be equipped with machinery because it allows them to be more productive while at the same time allowing them to invest their time in other productive activities that go beyond agriculture.”

    The permanent secretary in the ministry Ernest Ruzindaza reiterated that government is targeting to promote the use of new machinery by offering subsidies to the agriculturalists and making these easily available.

    “Machinery that will be used include various tractors and (combine) harvesters and they will be imported tax free” he said, adding that; “we are trying to make these more affordable and accessible to agricultural practitioners that’s why they will be able to purchase them at a lower cost of 25 percent through corporations such as the rural investment facility”.

    The minister observed that the drive towards agricultural modernisation was not only allowing and promoting investment opportunities but “also creating awareness between practitioners of the availability of new and advanced methods of farming and encouraging their use.”

  • Real estate firm risks closure over workers’ salaries

    Gasabo district authorities have given troubled real estate firm DN international has a Friday ultimatum to remunerate all its workers or be shut down.

    The company has about 30 to 40 employees contracted to work on its Green Park Villas project in Rusororo, Gasabo District, Kigali.
    The project, which closed for over nine months since last year resumed operations recently.

    The district mayor Gasabo , Willy Ndizeye, told this reporter that the agreement was reached when the firm’s employees stormed his office this Monday lamenting about nonpayment of their dues.

    “I am following up the matter and in case it persists, we might even stop the construction on their site; the only option is to close them (down) until they pay all the workers,” he said.

    “The challenge we have been having are the sub-contractors who did not pay their workers; so we are now not making payments to sub-contractors without the workers; any payment is going to be paid in their presence,” the Chief Executive Officer of DN international Nathan Lloyd said.

    Lloyd insists that 90 percent of the workers have been cleared and the remaining ones are to be settled soon. But this to the workers is another gambit by the company.

    “We have been patient since last year, we have families and children. They need to eat and go to school and we don’t have money,” complained one of the at the construction site in Rusororo.

    The Executive Secretary of Rusororo sector, Jack Uwimana, said that when Lloyd was contacted yesterday, he told them that there were delays by KCB, the company’s banker who promised to clear the remaining lot of workers this Friday.

    The Managing Director KCB Rwanda, Maurice K Toroitich said he was oblivious of delays by the bank to extend cash to the company but declined to reveal further information to the media.

    “I am not allowed by regulations to discuss issues of my customers,” he said, adding that the bank directly deals with the customer issue on any issue.

    The mayor noted that he is yet to establish whether all the complainants are genuine workers or have been influenced by one Mugabo, a sub-contractor, who was sued by DN International for executing substandard work.

    Mugabo claims that he properly executed his duties as agreed but the company is yet to settle his payment to enable him to remunerate his workers.

    “We are yet to find out the truth whether this sub-contractor is speaking the truth and is not using ghost workers to riot, but we have asked the company to pay workers and take the sub-contractor to court,” the mayor added.

    Lloyd said that the company has lost almost Rwf15m in renumerating all the workers whose wages were defrauded by the sub-contractors, adding that: “The Rwf15m (paid) was out of sheer remorse of the workers and we want to maintain our reputation.”

  • Up, close and personal with Rwanda’s mountain gorillas

    Rwanda’s tourism sector has continued to register phenomenon growth. And one particular spectacle that has become a must-see for any tourist visiting the country is the now revered Rwandan trademark; the mountain gorilla. The forthcoming Kwita Izina ceremony is just but one of RDB-Tourism’s strategies to draw more tourists into the country. IGIHe.com sampled the adventures and experiences of a New Zealand tourist LOUISE HEALY. The article was first published by the Dominion Post.

    “Crouch down and don’t move a muscle,” the guide said with steady unease as the silverback charged towards us, beating his mighty fists against his chest.

    Squatting down in the thick vegetation of the Karisimbi forest in northwest Rwanda with nowhere to run and absolutely nowhere to hide I began to question why I had come here, and paid to come here at that.

    Thankfully, our guide Francis, knowledgeable in the ways of gorillas and particularly the famous Susa family that reside in this massive forest bordering Uganda, made some awkward howling and grunting sounds and averted disaster.

    When we finally got the courage to raise our heads and breathe easy we saw a family of eight gorillas chomping on the greenery ahead of us.

    The sheer size of them was an awesome sight. The 160-kilograms blackback (mother) was nursing her five-year-old twins (Byishimo and Impano – one of only five sets of twins to survive in the history of the Susa family, totalling 41) while their brothers and sisters played on the mounds of leaves and wood as their (now pacified) father glanced between them and us.

    It really was like a throwback to Gorillas in the Mist, the famous film about the life of gorilla conservationist Dian Fossey who went to Rwanda over 40 years ago to work with and protect endangered gorillas from poachers and elements of a corrupt government on a macho killing spree.

    And while the poaching of gorillas has been somewhat curbed, it is just a small part in a bitter past that Rwanda is still trying to recover from.
    Genocide on an unfathomable level hit the country in the early 90s and resulted in the massacre of more than 900,000 people. The core of it was civil, between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes, and stemmed from class warfare, with the Tutsis perceived to have greater wealth and social status (as well as favouring cattle ranching over what is seen as the lower-class farming of the Hutus).

    But when things got complicated and the government backed the Hutus (with the collaboration of the French, in part), thousands of people were butchered in massacres that plagued the whole country. This climaxed in 1994 and, 17 years on, the country is still getting back on its feet.
    Rwanda has an image problem. Say its name and people instinctively think of two things: genocide and Hotel Rwanda, the graphic Hollywood movie about the events of 1994. Contrary to what people may think, however, Rwanda today is an extremely safe country to visit. Tourism is still being developed, and as a result the Rwandese people still see travellers as a relative novelty, and in turn will give their time and help and impart advice to visitors, expecting nothing in return.

    As part of political efforts to overcome divisions that led to the genocide, the Rwandan Government does not collect data on ubwoko (ethnic groups) and banned its inclusion on identity cards. From the locals I spoke to, it is clear that the effects of the horrendous events that took place almost two decades ago are still at the forefront of most peoples minds, but despite this most Rwandese are trying to put the past behind them. Travelling around the country felt safe and there were definitely no overt signs of ethnic or civil tensions.

    Kigali, the capital, is a hub of activity and is slowly but surely regaining its reputation as Rwanda’s party town. Its main attraction, however, is Rwanda’s genocide museum, the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, which is a must for any tourist as it outlines in detail the events that unfolded to result in one of the most vicious genocides in history.

    The museum is especially worthwhile for those intending to go south to visit memorials at Ntarama, Nyamata or Murambi (the site of one of the biggest massacres – 80,000 people were killed there over two days in April 1994).

    A ride to the museum, which is on the outskirts of town, on a boda-boda (a motorcycle taxi and a tourist attraction in itself) costs about 30 cents. Apart from that there are no other real sights and activities as such to see in Kigali, which makes it an excellent place to soak up the atmosphere and relax before embarking on any trip around rural Rwanda.
    It’s rural Rwanda where the real essence and beauty of the country lies. Known as Les Pays des Milles Collines (Land of a Thousand Hills), Rwanda is a country full of tumbling hills where almost every unprotected piece of land is cultivated; even the sheer mountainsides are edged with countless terraces full of beans, potatoes and millet.
    From a distance, the landscape resembles a large patchwork quilt of deep browns and greens, making it look like something straight out of a Tolkien novel.

    And nowhere are the mountains more vast and stunning than the magnificent Virunga volcanoes in the northwest, where hidden in the dense forests are some of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas.
    The Parc National des Volcans – a chain of seven volcanoes that border with Congo and Uganda and the definitive place in Rwanda to track these endangered animals – was closed for a time in the 90s due to rebel activity; as a result many travellers chose to see the gorillas at the Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks in Uganda.

    It re-opened, however, in 1999 and in the last 12 years the number of visitors coming to see some of the world’s 780 rare mountain gorillas has steadily increased.

    Rwanda is a relatively cheap country to visit, but tracking the rare mountain gorillas is not. The cost of a day trip to see the gorillas in Rwanda is US$500. And while that may sound like a high price to pay, the chance of encountering one of these gorillas in all their glory is a once in a lifetime opportunity which no tourist visiting Rwanda should miss. The bonus of visiting the gorillas in Rwanda rather than neighbouring Uganda is that tours in Uganda have to be booked a couple of months in advance, whereas in Rwanda a gorilla tracking tour can be booked just a day ahead through the local ORTPN, Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks. And that was exactly what I did.
    OUR GROUP managed to catch a glimpse of the Susa family within an hour of trekking into the Karisimbi forest (some tours can take up to seven hours to find the gorillas). After the short but gruelling hike through mucky undergrowth with rain spilling from the heavens, we came across the creatures that became Dian Fossey’s obsession.

    And it was clear to see why. It was a wet day but when the early morning sun finally broke through the clouds and suffused the sky with gold that shimmered against the surrounding landscape, these creatures looked invincible.

    They playfully bounded over the broken trees and thick vegetation, all the time hollering to each other in ambiguous howls and squeals. Gorillas from the pack encircled us from the sides and behind, but mostly just out of curiosity.

    And the silverback that had been so territorial ended up sitting down and covering up his face from the prying eyes and camera lenses in an act of defiance -obviously put out by tourists invading his homestead.
    As we made our way back down the mountain there was a still silence all around as we contemplated the beautiful sight we had just encountered.

    Even sitting at the beachside resort of Lake Kivu at Kibuye, Rwanda’s new Mediterranean, it was hard to get the image of some of the world’s last remaining gorillas out of my head.

    Rwanda may still be recovering from a bitter past but a visit there will make you feel, at times, privileged to be one of the few tourists exploring the country for the first time.

    It’s the hidden gem in east Africa that hasn’t yet been exploited by mass tourism.

    Get there quickly.

    This article was first published by the Dominion Post

  • US jury skeptical Kobagaya lied about genocide

    A US jury deadlocked Tuesday on whether an elderly Rwandan immigrant committed genocide 17 years ago, convicting him only on a charge that he lied to US immigration officials.

    The verdict, coming at the end of a lengthy, expensive immigration trial, leaves uncertain the future of 84-year-old Lazare Kobagaya.
    US District Judge Monti Belot allowed Kobagaya to remain free on bail while a pre-sentencing report is prepared and defense attorneys file an expected appeal.

    Prosecution witnesses brought from Rwanda had testified that Kobagaya ordered people killed and beaten and their homes burned during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

    One of two counts against Kobagaya alleged that he lied to US immigration officials when he denied participating in genocide.
    The eight-man, four-woman jury couldn’t reach an agreement on that count.

    Instead, they convicted Kobagaya of lying to immigration officials when he claimed to live in Burundi, not Rwanda, from 1993 to 1995.

    “As I understand it, they didn’t convict him on anything violent at all,” defense attorney Kurt Kerns said as he left the courthouse with Kobagaya and the defendant’s family.

    Kerns said he couldn’t comment further because of instructions from Judge Belot.

    US prosecutors declined comment about whether they intend to re-try Kobagaya on the deadlocked charged or attempt to deport him based on the conviction they obtained.

    According to most sources, 500,000 to 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda during a three-month period, most of them ethnic Tutsis slain by the majority Hutu group.

    Prosecutors claim that Kobagaya, a Hutu, contributed to the deaths of thousands of Tutsi, including personally ordering the murders of at least nine people.