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  • MTN Rwanda to augment mobile cash service

    MTN Rwanda plans to develop more applications on its mobile money transfer service to allow more transactions and tap into the booming demand for the facility.

    The firm announced it had transferred over Rwf12 billion ($201 million) since its launch last year with an estimated 6,000 transactions carried out daily. It has so far attracted 261,000 users and 310 agents across the country.

    “We are expanding usage of the service beyond money remittance to allow clients from financial institutions such as MFIs to pay off loans and make deposits and transfer money from their savings account to their Mobile Money account,” MTN Rwanda’s head of mobile money Albert Kinuma said.

    Millicom International Cellular’s Tigo Rwanda and Rwandatel are in the process of launching mobile money transfer services too.

    Remittance charges

    Sending money through the MTN service attracts a fee of Rwf250 ($0.42) for any transaction between Rwf1,500 ($2.6) and Rwf300,000 ($504) for those registered while the transaction cost varies between Rwf600 ($0.90) and Rwf4,000 ($6) for the unregistered.

    However, users can only send between Rwf1,500 ($2.6) and Rwf 500,000($804) — the limit set by the National Bank of Rwanda for funds transfer through the service.

    Currently, the product, in which MTN Rwanda invested over $2 million, also allows users to buy airtime and pay for electricity upon registration.

    “The Mobile Money arena is still in its infancy,” said Mr Kinuma adding that MTN Rwanda is exploring possibilities of extending the service to enable transactions across the border.

    According to BNR director of payment systems John Bosco Sebabi, while MTN’s Mobile Money has registered tremendous progress, services offered on MTN’s Mobile Money need to be brought onto the national electronic payment platform.

    “If the value stored in the telephone can actually be used to pay for goods and services without necessarily picking up cash at the agent or, if it is transferable onto accounts at the bank, the unbanked can stop using cash,” Mr Sebabi said.

    Mr Sesabi added that the bank’s strategy of modernising payments systems in the country is to change Rwanda from a cash-based to a cashless society.

    Earlier last month, the central bank licensed the country’s second mobile operator Tigo Rwanda to provide a mobile payment service (Tigo Cash). The company is set to launch the service by end of this year.

    As part of modernising the national payment system, the central bank has begun implementing the Rwanda Integrated Payments Processing System, which is geared towards making payment systems in the country efficient and reliable.

    According to Mr Sebabi, the system will support new and innovative payment instruments and systems such as mobile money.

    “A mobile phone is owned by many people, thus the growth of cellular phones supersedes the growth of usual bank accounts. The growth of mobile money is thus promising and it is a good channel for electronic payments.”

    In addition to money remittances, MTN is working with other companies such as microfinance institutions (MFIs) to allow users the option to pay loans and make savings deposits, transfer money from their savings account to their mobile money account, and so on.

    MTN Mobile Money was officially launched in February 2010. The carrier invested over $2 million in the service developmen

    Currently, Rwanda’s mobile phone penetration stands at 35 per cent, the second lowest in the region after Burundi.

  • Minister underscores the importance of ceramic stoves to protect environment

    The state minister of infrastructure Hon. Eng. Coletha Ruhamya has stressed the importance of promoting the usage of clay and ceramic stoves as a way of protecting the environment.

    She made the remarks when she joined other top government officials, members of the private companies and development partners, top military officials and police officers to do their share of community service before assessing the Nyarugati Imbere energy sector project in Nyamata District of the Eastern Province last Saturday.

     “The cutting down of trees is not only affecting the environment of Bugesera but also by using stones and firewood, people are more prone to illness due to the smoke they breath in everyday,” the minister said in his address.

    “We want every Rwandan to have the opportunity to take care of our environment but this does not mean that by the stopping the cutting of trees, the people should not be able to find a way to sustain their daily needs. By working together, we can not only keep our country beautiful but we can help each other in finding affordable and safer ways in which we can prosper in great health,” she observed.

    The Nyarugati Imbere project involves a bio mass and energy sector project, which will train and promote an environmentally, cost effective, safe and reliable service to all sectors and households across Rwanda. The project began in Nyamata, which was the first district to produce a clay stove, proving that they are not only cost and environmentally friendly but are also reliable and durable.

    An exhibition held in the area underlined how cooking with firewood, which has until now been the only method of cooking in most rural areas, is not only affecting the environment but is also harmful to their health.

    Francince Mukaruberwa, a rural supervisor in Nyamata District told IGIHE.com that the project was a success.

    “Before this program was put in place, there was a four hour difference between how long it would take to cook a simple meal using firewood and the stove. ”

    From students, to the mayor of Bugesera, the minister of state herself, all took a lesson on how to build a stove for oneself.

    The training program’s team consists of two consultants from Kenya and fifteen students from the rural districts. The students would be trained for free to make clay and ceramic stoves. At the end of their training, each student from each district would be able to teach those in their home districts on how to build the cost effective stoves. According to the trainees, one stove could last up to ten years.

  • Did Green party leader deserve democracy award?

    The Swedish Parliament must have be misled when they recently awarded Frank Habineza, the leader of Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR) won a democracy award which is unmerited for the leader, despite his so-called conservation ideas that have never yield tangible results in the country.

    The leader, who is believed to have played his cards well, is the first individual in the region to receive the award, which risks loosing its credibility if dished out to individuals who do not deserve it.

    Habineza whose party has not yet full filled requirements to be legally registered as a political party in the country, bald-facedly said that he was proud of the award, adding that he would continue to advocate for democracy through peaceful means.

    The Green Party representative in Sweden insisted that members would not give up in persuading the Rwandan political forum to approve their party to operate in the country. Such remarks are deemed as duplicitous since the political forum has on several occasions advised the greens on the requirements.

    On 28 December last year, the Green party leader mae a key decision when he distanced his party from an opposition forum known as (Permanent Consultative Council of Opposition Parties in Rwanda) PCC.

    It is believed that Habineza’s decision was influenced by Dr. Papa Meisa Dieng, the head of political parties under the African Green Federation, who might have advised him to distance himself from two other opposition leaders whose political manifestos were full of ethnic incitements.

    Among the leaders Habineza departed from were Victoire Ingabire, who leads FDU-Inkingi and PS Imberakuri’s Bernard Ntaganda. The two are currently detained at a Kigali prison on political violations and public incitement charges especially based on genocide ideology.

  • Up, close and personal with former minister Joe Habineza

    Dressed in casual clothes, already enjoying a comfortable evening after a long session of tennis, he gets up with a calm but still eager manner ready to reveal his story.

    A tale of his life, an account that has defined him and consequently made him who he is, a story that has now led him to a new chapter awaiting to be unraveled. An avid sportsman , Joe Habineza, strikes is a loving father, with a unique personality, not just as a politician but one of the most influential figures in our society. He is also a man whose passion, drive and live-wire personality has made a difference and whose success made him an easy target of outrageous controversy. In his own view, he is the perfect bull’s eye towards tarnishing the image of the state through a spiteful political motive.

    Born in Kayenzi now known as Kamonyi District, his mother always used to tell him as a young boy that he would grow up to be a leader. “I was always calling the shots, from being the school head-boy to being the captain of the sports team,” the former minister of Sports and culture nostalgically recalls. Such was his remarkable display of leadership since he was very young, a characteristic that would continue to mark his long and successful career path.

    After graduating with an information Communication Technology degree in Rwanda , he continued to embark on that particular career course, for the next 15 years, working as the ICT manager of the alcoholic beverages manufacturer, Heineken. It was a long journey full of twists and turns that eventually led him to work in other African states. When I ask him if he initially planned to pursue a career in politics, he mentions that he never envisioned that career path but was still influenced by it especially during the liberation of the country through his support and admiration of the Rwanda Patriotic Front ideology and cause.

    He is a man whose experience transcends the geographical bounds of our nation. When asked about Rwanda’s development relative to those other countries, he says, “We possess the work ethic and dedication that is superior to that displayed in some of the other nations, for instance, in the DR Congo, where I once worked. Nevertheless, we still have to take it one step further with more entrepreneurship and risk taking as we are still lagging behind in those. ”

    His extensive and thriving career in the private sector eventually led him to venture into the world of politics. Appointed to the post of Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture in 2004, he admits to have been first surprised, but embraced his new role with the gusto and vigour that have always been the hallmark of his character. Such are the traits that have undoubtedly wrought the underpinning to his incredible passion and exuberance that he ceaselessly implements in his line of duty.

    “I embraced my new found role and undertook it with a lot of passion,” says Joe.

    “I always strive to do things at 120 percent ; it is always that passion that will take you that extra mile. ”

    About the key to success and ability to reaching out to so many and bringing about a positive influence, he says. “It is all about teamwork, knowing those you are accountable to and respecting them while at the same time, being an example to your subordinates and reaching out to them as opposed to being ruthless. ”

    “But most importantly, it is integrating that strong spirit of never giving up, which is essential to attaining success or establishing a successful institution and sustaining it,” Habineza reveals.

    Despite his eventful reign as a cabinet minister, he was recently subject to a scandal through malicious publications on the Internet. He maintains that was an event initiated with malevolent purposes that go beyond blemishing the reputation of one man.

    “Those publications had very negative and dangerous intentions. They were all about negation, aimed at tarnishing the image of the government with the purpose of inciting the people to be pulled in by all the false information and rubbish that was published,” he observes, adding that it was a plot that was set up, with much bigger and far more dangerous implications.

    “I was at the centre of it all and as a responsible person at the service of my country, I had to resign in order not to associate the government with such kind of things,” he laments. 

    On his vision and future plans, he says that he still plans on servicing his nation at whatever level, be it the private or the public sector.

    He certainly depicts the image of a resolute person with a strong and powerful vision for himself and his country as well.

  • The collapse of Rwandatel: What went wrong?

    The Rwandan Commercial Court recently announced the appointment of a special administrator, Richard Mugisha, a prominent Kigali Attorney, to manage the beleaguered Libyan owned telecom, Rwandatel. At the request of MTN Rwanda, Judge Bwasisi Mugabo Germain, ordered Mugisha to assess Rwandatel’s financial status, ensure the safety of assets and report back to the court on May 31, 2011 on whether to liquidate the company or try to sustain it.

    The Rwandan Utility and Regulatory Agency (RURA) announced earlier this month [April 5th] that it had permanently revoked the Rwandatel’s mobile voice & data license. The Registrar General followed the license revocation by applying for a court order to declare the firm insolvent and appoint the temporary administrator to oversee the firm’s continued fixed line operations and the likely liquidation of assets. Rwandatel’s major creditors include Huawei, a China based telecommunications equipment provider and MTN Rwanda to whom Rwandatel has racked up a millions of dollars in debt from interconnection fees for calls made across networks.

    “The company was mismanaged and their liabilities far outweigh their assets. Their books are negative RWF 38 Billion” Rwandan Registrar General Louise Kanyonga said Wednesday, “This has been a real learning experience for our government. We need to ask how this happened.” Kanyonga said that she did not feel that the action taken by the Rwandan Government would worry other investors. “Many parties have already expressed interest in the license”, she added but was not able to be specific. Others familiar with the Rwandatel story feel the handling of the telecom is part of worrisome trend for the region’s ICT landscape.

    In 2004, Greg Wyler, a young American IT entrepreneur came to Rwanda and invested millions in his firm, Terracom, which attempted to establish a fiber-optic network in mountainous, landlocked country, previously dependent on expensive and unreliable satellite based internet connections. He traversed the countryside in shorts and sandals and was famous for his ambitious attempt to retrofit an aging radio tower atop Mount Karisimbi, a 14,787 foot volcanic peak, to create an elevated telecom station bringing voice and broadband internet to the rural masses.

    In 2006, Wyler’s group was asked to take control of Rwandatel, Rwanda’s sole PTT (Public Telephone & Telegraph) company and— according to a former Terracom-Rwandatel finance executive, who asked not to be named ; Terracom bought the asset on very agreeable terms and eventual price of $20 million. It is unclear how much of that price was ever actually paid.

    In 2006, Chris Lundh, an American telecom executive with more than 15 years of experience working with African technology companies, was named CEO of the new firm but says that Rwandatel was overstaffed and in a financial mess. “We tried to clean up the place. Much of the technology was quite outdated. We decided to bring in a mobile technology called CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) which is something that in the States, Verizon and Sprint have used. We built a state of the art CDMA network—both voice and data—and at the time the data services were arguably the best in Africa in terms of internet speed,” Lundh said Tuesday.

    Lundh told IGIHE.com that after their group retrenched redundant employees, repaired Rwandatel’s tattered balance sheet and invested heavily in the latest technology, the Rwandan Government wanted the asset back.

    According to the Rwandan News Agency, the new owners had not held to their agreed investment and payment schedule and had fallen short of fiber-optic networking goals.

    In June of 2007, the investors held negotiations with government representatives and accountants to establish the value of the company and agree on a buy-back price. The Americans asked for $40 million. The Government of Rwanda insisted it was worth just $12 million.

    “I remember very well the chairman of RURA at the time, Colonel Mudenge, approached us. Mudenge turned to me on the last day of our negotiation and said : you take this offer or tomorrow I’ll send in the troops. I just laughed. But he repeated himself and the second time around I took him quite seriously.” Last July, Col. Mudenge—still head of RURA at the time— was arrested after allegedly pulling a gun on a farmer over financial dispute.

    By September 2007 the Libyan investment firm, LAP (Libyan Investment Portfolio) Green, acquired the telecom from Rwanda for several times the price the government had paid just 60 days prior. An initial investment of $100 million and a promise to invest another $177 million over the following 5 years as well as an agreement to meet wireless voice and data roll-out goals gave LAP Green 80% of Rwandatel, the remaining 20% stake went the Social Security Fund of Rwanda.

    The wireless voice—or cell-phone—component of Rwandatel never quite took off and was easily overwhelmed by competition when, in 2009, the country’s third telecom, Tigo Rwanda, began operations behind Rwandatel and the wireless voice leader, MTN Rwanda. But the wireless data offered by Rwandatel— with its advanced equipment—continued to dominate the market and the other carriers found it difficult to compete. The most recent report from RURA on market share shows that Rwandatel held 69% of the wireless data market through 2010.

    When asked about the accusations of the former CEO and the discrepancy between the $12 million acquisition and the $100 million dollar sale less than two months later, Rwandan Government officials have been quiet. Regis Gatarayiha, the Acting Director of RURA says he was not involved with the previous transaction and knows little of it. Loiuse Kanyonga is also unaware of details surrounding prior transfer. The Ministry in the Office of the President in charge of ICT has not yet responded to inquiries regarding Rwandatel.

  • Rwanda Investment Projects Decline 30%, Development Board Says

    The total value of investments in Rwanda declined 30 percent in the first quarter, the Rwanda Development Board said.

    Investments declined to 52 billion Rwandan francs ($86.6 million) in the three months through March, from 75 billion francs a year earlier, John Gara, the chief executive officer of the Kigali-based board, told reporters yesterday in the city. The number of projects more than doubled to 30, he said.

    The total doesn’t include a $65 million pharmaceutical- manufacturing facility planned by CSM GlobalPharma, a partnership between India’s Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and the U.S.-based Holtzman Group, Gara said.

  • Umubano Hotel operations normal-Caretaker

    After the enforcement of the UN resolution which declared a freeze of funds, financial assets and economic resources owned and controlled by the Libyan authorities, the government has taken full control of Hotel LAICO-UMUBANO and rebranded it to UMUBANO HOTEL.

    In an interview with Igihe, the caretaker of the hotel, Rosemary Mbabazi, noted that operations at the hotel remained normal as the government seeks a professional firm to run the establishment.

    “We want to tell the public that the hotel is running well as usual and will remain operational, and in any case, we aim to offer better services,” Mbabazi, who is also the chairperson of the Board said.

    Sources privy to the ongoing saga affecting the Libyan investments in the country indicate that even before the UN move, the Libya Africa Investment Company commonly known as LAICO had failed to honour its pledge to raise US $25million to renovate the hotel and increase room capacity from 100 to 166.

    The sources further indicated that LAICO had been financially crippled even before the UN resolution, as the government of Rwanda sought for another investor to take over the operations of the hotel.

    Laico Hotel Entrance View

    LAICO took over the running of the hotel through SOPROTEL SARL, a joint shareholding with the government of Rwanda. The Libyan government held 60 percent of shares while the Rwandan government held the remaining 40 percent.

    As the majority shareholder, LAICO took over the management of the Hotel with Mr. Hussein Omrani appointed as SOPROTEL’s Managing Director while Mr. S.Hameeuw, was appointed as the Managing Director of the LAICO management Company. The two people have since been relieved of their duties since the government effected the the UN resolution.

  • Prosecution recommends ten year jail term for exiled Rwandan journalist

    Prosecution in a Kigali court has recommended a ten year jail term in absentia to Rwandan journalist Jean Bosco Gasasira.

    The Umuvugizi chief editor, who is currently exiling in Europe, is accused of the offences, which include incitement aimed at destabilising national security, publication of articles that disrespect the President and violation of several media laws.

     This latest development was a result of an appeal by the prosecutors after an intermediary court in Kigali proved him innocent late September last year. The prosecution argues that the court had not fully scrutinised evidence associated with the cases.

    In this respect, the prosecution gave evidence, which was not given much consideration. Quoting article 69, for instance, the prosecution argued that the local tabloid compared the ruling party Rwanda Patriotic Front to Mugabe’s Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe. The latter has reportedly been accused of oppressing the country’s opposition, which is not case in the Rwandan context.

    Usually, the Umugizi chief editor uses international media like BBC to react to court rulings against him but in this particular occasion, Gasasira has yet to respond. The final judgment will be read by the Supreme Court on 27 May 2011.

    Recently, the Media High Council suspended the local tabloid for a period of six months, after the journalist ignored a number of warnings by the media control body. Subsequent to the suspension, the paper went online without changing its editorial line and cases of media law violations are still eminent on its website version. 

  • SFAR boss says bursary scheme now well evaluated

    When the government scrapped the controversial bursary loans scheme for university students last year, a lot of disorientation arose since there were no proper laid down mechanisms to know determine bona fide beneficiaries, yet the monthly Frw 25,000 bursary fund, popularly known as “bourse” specifically targeted the neediest students to cater for accommodation and food expenses among others.

    However, even among the needy students who are set to benefit, there are those who claim that they are yet to receive the bourse from the Students Financing Agency of Rwanda (SFAR) since the start of the current academic year.

    In an interview with IGIHE.com, the Director General of SFAR, Emma Rubagumya clarified that the agency had decided to first conduct an assessment among the students to determine genuine beneficiaries from imposters.

    “We had to first make a proper evaluation before we could release this money since a lot of mistakes were made when we were implementing this,” Rubagumya observed.

    She disclosed that the evaluation had been conducted by local authorities and other departments in charge and a final list submitted to the SFAR offices on Monday (April 27, 2011). She added that in less than two weeks, beneficiaries would receive the bursary funds in their accounts.

     “We have delisted some students who were not meant to receive this money and they will have to refund it,” the SFR boss cautioned.

    Rubagumya revealed that some of the false beneficiaries were eating from restaurants and renting accommodation facilities on credit, claiming that they would clear the credit upon receiving the bourse. She warned those who may have misguidedly obtained the funds that they would have to reimburse the money to such creditors.

    She announced that the situation was regrettable especially among innocent traders, adding that such students would have to service the arrears and still be delisted from the bursary scheme.

  • SFB students accuse varsity’s administration of insensitivity

    Students at a local university, School of Finance and Banking (SFB) in Gikondo, Kigali, have accused the varsity of poor administration and failure to call assembly meeting to address their grievances.

    “How can the institution spend an year without holding a meeting with students ? They should do something, otherwise we are also human beings, we think and can act,” a student who requested for anonymity told IGIHE.com.

    Others who we interviewed raised issue with the administration’s failure by the Ministry of Education stipulation that students be allowed to work to help finance their studies and upkeep after the government’s removal of the students’ monthly allowance of Frw 25,000, popularly known as bourse.

    According to students, many of them had sought for employment since they had no alternative source to fund their tuition fees. This has however meant that class attendance levels would be affected due to clashing of working and study hours. The institution stands by its policy that if a student attendance status is below 75 percent, this would lead to an automatic year’s repetition of the affected course.

    The students allege that answer sheets in the ongoing exams at the institution indicate that those who did not attain the requisite attendance ratio of 75 percent are separated from those who did. This has resulted in tension and fear that many of those who failed to satisfy the requirement risk repeating the academic year. This further implies that those in their final year would not graduate and will have to re-sit the affected course accompanied by a fee worth RWF 55.000 per course.

    The SFB students also complain about the way the attendance issue is being conducted by the varsity’s administration. They suggest that roll-calls for attendance should be done daily according to the institution’s policy but this does not happen as regularly as expected.

    “How can the authority in charge of roll calls hold them only two or three times in a semester and compute this into a percentage ?” one of the students asked, terming the method as unfair.

    ”We need to do something or else the ministry of education needs to intervene,” said another student who also sought anonymity.

    The students said they had petitioned the Vice Rector in charge of Academics, Dr. Papius Musafiri Marimba, several times to discuss the controversial issues but they claim he has since turned a deaf ear.

    Efforts by IGIHE.com to contact the Public Relations Manager of the institution Mr. Elias Kiyaga were fruitless as the call could not get through by press time.