Author: Elina Jonas Ruzindaza

Arsenal overcame their rivals, Chelsea, thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who scored two goals [in the 28th and 67th minutes], while Chelsea’s only goal was scored by Christian Pulisic in the fifth minute of the match.

Arsenal’s victory has delighted fans around the world, including President Kagame, who is dedicated to the club’s fans, The Gunners.

In a message posted on his Twitter wall, President Kagame expressed his happiness with Arsenal’s victory and the confidence of his fans.

“Bravo, Congrats ARSENAL for a well-deserved and needed win -FA CUP. We, FANS, and supporters kept Faith in you…going forward let’s aim at much bigger things. WE CAN… !!!” he said.

The victory automatically sees Arsenal secure a ticket into next season’s Europa League competition next year which guarantees bigger visibility for the Visit Rwanda brand.

Apart from being a fan of Arsenal FC, President Kagame is also one of the leaders who loves football and he even has a cup named after him, the Cecafa Kagame Cup.

On May 3, 2014, Arsenal presented him with a gift from former captain Tony Adams.
Tony Adams has revealed that the team has given him Arsenal football, three Arsenal dress t-shirts, and one with his name and number1.

In 2007, when President Kagame celebrated his 50th birthday, coach Arsene Wenger presented him with the club’s signature card with the signatures of all the players in his honor.

In October 2013, President Kagame was at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, when the team beat Napoli 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League.

At the time he was happy to watch the game. “I enjoyed watching football at the Emirates. Congratulations to Wenger and Arsenal on their return to victory.”
President Kagame has been an Arsenal fan since 1996, where he says he enjoys a good game they play whether they win or lose.

Arsenal has a relationship with Rwanda because for since May 2018 the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has entered into a three-year partnership with Arsenal FC in the Premier League, making it the first sponsor in the hands of ‘balls, where they wear Visit Rwanda ’on their left hand for the senior team.

In early 2020, RDB announced that in its first year with Rwanda, Arsenal had made £ 33million and while expecting to earn £ 28 million. , and working with the British club had increased the number of tourists visiting Rwanda.

Rwanda’s tourism revenue reached $ 438 million in 2017, an increase of $ 34 million compared to 2016. It expects $ 800 million by 2024.

The total number of people who have been infected with COVID-19 since the first patient was diagnosed in Rwanda has risen to 2022, including 1106 who have recovered, 911 active cases and five deaths.

Among the new patients diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday, 8 were from Nyamasheke, 8 from Rusizi, 7 from Kigali, 4 from Ngoma, while 1 from Rulindo.

Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty breathing. It is transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

To prevent the spread of Coronavirus, Rwandans are required to continue to pay attention and comply with government regulations, especially with frequent washing of hands with water and soap and wearing masks when a person leaves home or in public.

RwandAir is also starting flights to Cotonou, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Douala, Dubai, Kamembe, Kigali, Libreville, Lusaka and Nairobi.

On March 20, 2020, Rwanda decided to suspend passenger flights to and from the country to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

Now before a person is allowed to take a flight, he or she must have a certificate confirming that he or she has been tested and is coronavirus negative. International travelers are re-tested before continuing with their activities.

In an exclusive virtual interview with The EastAfrican on Thursday, July 30, President Paul Kagame reiterated that his government will continue to mount pressure on high profile officials suspected of corruption.

“To minimize or reduce corruption like in our case (Rwanda)… simply means maximizing pressure on the corrupt. What is happening now is exactly in that direction,” President Kagame told The EastAfrican.

President Kagame emphasized that the fight against corruption is a national priority.

“We have always talked about not entertaining corruption as our way of life. That has always been at the center of the politics that I have associated with and others in this country, and I think there is respect for that,” he said.

President Kagame noted that what needs to be prioritized is a transparent process so that even a corrupt suspect knows full well that it is intolerable, all of which go hand in hand with questioning everyone’s responsibilities.

Last year, 1,187 people were tried for corruption and mismanagement of government funds.

“We have made changes. As soon as a person is investigated for corruption, all their bank accounts and property will automatically be frozen. Any individual who claims to own property of individuals suspected of corruption will also be prosecuted,” Prosecutor General Aimable Havugiyaremye told the reporters.

“This is the only way we can guarantee that money stolen from the government will be recovered and not be concealed or moved before investigations begin,” he added.

President Kagame, however, disagreed in opinion with the new change that allows freezing of bank accounts and property before investigations are complete.

“I do not see why the seizure of property should be carried out in advance, even before the case is understood or getting to the bottom of the facts. That would be wrong in my opinion,” President Kagame said.

Under the asset recovery law, properties can be seized only when there are reasons to believe that an asset is related to an offense. This is done through a court order upon conviction of the suspect.

Transparency International’s recent study puts Rwanda at the forefront of the East African Region’s fight against corruption, ranking fourth in Africa.

Figures released by Transparency International Rwanda show that in 2018, so-called small bribes were reported, amounting to over Rwf 7,7 billion.

Rueben Lifuka, the Vice President of Transparency International in the World, recently told IGIHE that Rwanda should put more effort into having strong media and NGOs in the fight against corruption, as it is one of the most productive countries in the world.

The agreement was signed on Thursday, July 30, 2020, between the Japanese Ambassador in Rwanda, Masahiro Imai, and the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana.

Japan will provide medical equipment that will help the health sector to cope with the Coronavirus pandemic. The equipment will, among others include; a patient monitoring machine, an electrocardiogram and ambulance.

The equipment is expected to be delivered to hospitals and laboratories in Kigali and all four provinces of Rwanda.

Minister Ndagijimana said the medical equipment would contribute to strengthening the capacity of the health sector to fight the Coronavirus pandemic. It will also increase the outcomes that the government continues to look for in the fight against Coronavirus and will also lead to better health.

Ambassador Imai said the whole world was found to be in a state of social turmoil due to the Coronavirus devastating the global economy and social welfare.

Rwanda and Japan have good relations with a focus on addressing social issues.

There is also investment cooperation, where Japanese investment in Rwanda focuses on value-added from agriculture and animal husbandry, hospitality, fruit, and vegetable farming, mining, technology, and services.

The donation is an initiative of the organization which, in its end of July meeting, resolved to review and take further steps to help member institutions better fulfill their responsibilities.

The Managing Director of Bufmar, Rwagasana Ernest, said they thought of providing weighing scales to member clinics as a key tool in determining the child’s growth so that informed advocacy in child protection is carried out.

The director of Remera Rukoma Hospital, Dr. Jalibu Theogene, said the scales that were given to his hospital were going to benefit them.

Dr. Jalibu further thanked Bufmar’s role in assisting the clinic in fulfilling its responsibilities including facilitating access to medicines and providing them with various training.

Dr. Jalibu together with GS deputy director of academics at Saint Famille, Marie Claude Uwingabire, said the masks given to her school would help them continue to avoid Covid-19 when classes resume in September.

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ruhenegeri and Legal Representative of Bufmar, Vincent Harolimana, said that all the activities of the organization show that it has grown and so committed to supporting more members.

Bufmar Foundation founded in 1975, and currently supports 153 member religious clinics, including 17 from the District General Hospital and 136 from health centers and the National Hospital from Ndera Psychiatric Hospital.

I&M Bank gave Rwanda Book Mobile Initiative Rwf45 million grant that will be used to pay subscriptions on different local radios and televisions.

The partnership project was launched to contribute to the development of the wider community in which they work and to better live with their beneficiaries.

The partnership was launched at St Famille in Kigali City on Wednesday, July 29, 2020.

According to Robin Bairstow, CEO, I&M Bank, the partnership was inspired by the fact that during the Covid-19 pandemic, recovery plans have been more focused on different sectors including education.

It is a campaign that will focus on children aged between 2-12 years, where they will create fun and entertainment content, humorous conversations, and brochures with interesting stories that will be taken to their homes.

Robin also said that in addition to working with their clients, they will also continue to contribute to the development of Rwandans.

Shannon Porthault, Co-Founder, Rwanda Book Mobile Initiative, said that the partnership with I&M Bank was exciting because it helped them achieve what they had never achieved.

” Thanks to this partnership we have been able to access various radio stations through our program, and we have plans to launch a talk show that will air on television in August. As a result of this help, we are growing with the hope of achieving a satisfactory level of productivity.”

The partnership between I&M Bank Plc and RBI has been going on for two weeks and they will continue to work together until December 2020.

The plan was set up four days before the resumption of commercial flights.

The testing services have begun this Tuesday, at two different locations including Gikondo at the immunization program office and the Petit Stade in Remera.

The person will first ask the date on which he will be tested and pay for it. A Rwandan who needs this service will have to pay Rwf47,200($ 50) first to the Bank of Kigali account.

“We would like to inform you that the ongoing free testing of people who have met with the infected ones or the groups that are being monitored, is a public health activity and will not be affected by this program,” he said.

The Director-General of the Rwanda Biomedical Center(RBC), Dr. Nsanzimana Sabin, recently said that the health authorities are ready, as it has been decided that every arriving passenger supposed to show a Covid-19 negative test certificate, and also undergo a second Covid-19 test upon arrival.

This is different from before because one could take a plane and travel, in many countries they had no testing instruments, and even in Rwanda, there was not yet enough capacity to test mass of people. Rwanda can now examine over 6,000 tests per day.

So far, Rwanda has recorded a total of 1879 confirmed cases with 58 new cases, 55 from Kigali in villages under lockdown, two in Rusizi District, and one in Musanze District. The total number of recoveries is 975, while the number of patients is 899. The total number of the sample tests taken is 248,294.

Cabinet meeting on April 30, 2020, to curb the Coronavirus pandemic, decided that schools would remain closed until September, prompting many private schools to suspend contracts with teachers.

It is a decision that has made lives of the teachers worse because since March they haven’t received a salary. As a result, some teachers were chased from the rented houses, and others looked for other opportunities to survive.

In June this year, Umwarimu Sacco launched a loan scheme called ‘Iramiro’, through which private schools will be given loans so that they can continue to pay teachers who are currently affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Teachers in private schools, however, say that the private schools’ managers have chosen not to take out the loan, and so in a way, the affected teachers will not benefit from the scheme.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Ngirente, when addressing members of Parliament on Strategies for Preventing and Combating the Covid-19, said that the issue of private institutions ignoring the loan opportunity to enable them pay teachers will be responded to with an actionable intervention.

“We have encouraged private institutions to take out loans from the teachers’ Sacco but we have already noted that some schools are reluctant to take the offer, so we shall take another intervention,” he said.

Prime Minister Dr. Ngirente said there is a plan to provide food to private school teachers who haven’t been paid for a while.

“Some have asked us to provide them with food regularly and we are doing it. There is a plan to help them because there are some who have not been paid for a long time. Those who fall in the category of people who have not been able to earn anything since Covid-19 started will be supported so that they don’t sleep without eating”.

On the issue of schools refusing to pay teachers’ salaries, the Minister of Education, Dr. Uwamariya Valentine, said that they could not force private schools to take a loan to pay teachers’ salaries since they will not help them to pay back the debts.