Minister Uwihanganye said the road to be completed within 30 months will take around Rwf 70 billion.
“The tarmac road will be extended to 66 kilometers including 7 km roads in Kibeho town. The road will cost Rwf 70 billion upon completion,” he said.
The road is part of infrastructures president Paul Kagame promised Nyaruguru residents in 2013.
It is constructed by the government of Rwanda in partnership with People’s Republic of China which provided the loan.
It is expected that the road being constructed will have seven meter width, a walkway for pedestrians with street lights.
Residents expressed delight over the construction of the road that has been awaited for long. “We used to spend over an hour from Huye to Kibeho but will be using like 20 minutes once the road, is completed,” said Twizerimana a motorcyclists.
Other feeder roads of 12 kilometers are being constructed in Nyaruguru district.
The mayor of Nyaruguru district, François Habitegeko revealed that the road is expected to improve lives of residents and boost the district’s development as well.
“The road is going to become an enabler of investment in Nyaruguru district,” he said.
Ntamabyariro was arrested on 27th May 1997 as she returned to Rwanda along with other refugees.
Ntamabyariro trial began in 2007 following the transfer of her files to Nyarugenge High Court in November 2001.
The court handed her a life sentence on 19th January 2009 convicted of genocide crimes mobilizing Hutus to kill Tutsi, making a list of targeted Tutsi to be killed.
Ntamabyariro appealed against the sentence at the High Court where she was tried from December 2012 and sentenced on 27th February 2015.
Accompanied by her defense lawyer Gatera Gashabana, Ntamabyariro appeared in the Court of Appeal in Kigali on Thursday appealing for reduced sentence claiming there were facts disregarded during her previous trial.
The court analyzed her claims including violation of laws and human rights during her arrest and the pre-trial detention period.
Ntamabyariro said the fact that her trial was delayed from the time she was arrested in 1997 to appear in court in 2001 is an evidence of violation of laws which the court should consider to reduce her sentence.
The Indian Naval Ships are to provide relief material in the form of food, clothes, and medicine to the affected people. In addition, the ships have 3 medical practitioners and 5 nurses to provide immediate medical help.
In this hour of tragedy, the Government of India stands to extend support to the affected people. India has been extending humanitarian assistance to Mozambique and had provided 10 million dollars for food grains in 2017, after it suffered food shortage as a result of natural calamities.
The Cyclone IDAI made landfall in East & Southern Africa around March 15th, 2019, causing widespread destruction and loss of human lives in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
In response to a request from the Republic of Mozambique, the Government of India immediately diverted 3 indian naval ships to the port city of Beira. Over the last several days, the 3 indian ships; INS Sujata, ICGS Sarathi and INS Shardul are undertaking HADR (Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief) in coordination with local authorities and the high Commission of India, Maputo. As of now, the Indian Naval Crew has rescued more than 192 people.
Medical Assistance has been provided to 1381 persons in medical camps set up by the Indian Navy. The Helicopter Chetak took several routes to facilitate aerial survey by the Disaster Management Officials of Mozambique for evacuation of people in coordination with local authorities and for dropping of food and water packets in cyclone-affected areas.
Indian Navy Ships have also been providing fresh water in relief camps, undertaking community service including clearing of debris and repairing damaged roads, etc…
Food supplies have also been provided to about 700 persons working in the port area.
In view of the evolving crisis, India is continuing with its efforts to help the people of Mozambique. To sustain HADR operations, another ship INS MAGAR, suitably loaded with relief provisions, is being sent to Mozambique. The HADR brick loaded on board contains medicines, dry provisions, ready-to-eat meals, daily essentials, and clothing items. This would cater for approximately 1000 people for 7 days. In addition, 500 kilograms of epidemic related medicines and 400 tonnes of rice has also been loaded on the ship.
India Navy was the first responder in the evolving humanitarian crises in the aftermath of Cyclone IDAI that hit Mozambique on March 15th, 2019. Assistance is also being sent to Zimbabwe and Malawi, two other countries hit by the Cyclone.
These include Nzove station built in Nyarugenge district with the capacity of generating 16 Megawatts and Gahanga station in Kicukiro district with the capacity of 19 Megawatt.
Both stations were built under the project funded by European Union. The latter is part of Euro 23 million worth agreements EU signed with the government of Rwanda to fix on-grid electricity problems.
The funds were utilized to build power transmission line with length of 27 km connecting Jabana, Mont Kigali and Gahanga and renovating Mont Kigali, Jabana and Birembo stations.
It also included the construction of new stations including Nzove and Gahanga , distributing 8000 meters updated with technology identifying electricity voltages lost in each area and installing power regulators.
Each of the new substations took Euro 3 million excluding the cost to build the power transmission line. Nzove station supplies Nyabugogo and neighboring communities including Skol Brewery plant, Nzove Water Treatment plant and Shyorongi while Gahanga station supplies electricity to Kicukiro, Bugesera among other places.
The Minister of infrastructure, Amb. Gatete Claver has said that such stations will help to supply electricity and reduce loss of electricity along transmission in different parts of Kigali, Bugesera, Muhanga and Kamonyi districts.
Rwanda Energy Group (REG) indicates that electricity lost along transmission reduced from 21.1% in 2016/17 fiscal year to 19.1% in 2017/18. The institution targets 1% reduction every year.
The representative of European Union in Rwanda, Amb. Nicola Bellomo hailed Rwanda’s milestone in the distribution of electricity especially reducing power losses which is the core target of the aid.
The government of Rwanda targets to connect all Rwandans by 2024.
Recent figures indicated that 51% of Rwandans have access to electricity with 37% of them connected to the on-grid
During the Wednesday discussions with different stakeholders and clerics on measures to address such violence, the president of RICH, Bishop Thaddée Ntihinyurwa said that church leaders have a duty to collaborate with government to seek solutions to gender-based violence highlighting the need to first establish the root cause.
“Research indicated that cultural practices rooted on negative mindsets are among issues fueling the problem. It is necessary to analyze the matter from its roots so that we can find a durable solution,” he said.
The Bishop of Anglican Church in Butare Diocese, Nathan Gasatura observed that some leaders are nowadays concerned with symptoms other than the cause of GBV.
Gasatura attributed the increase of violence to hard life prohibiting parents to stay closer with children to acquaint them with education serving as the basis for humanity.
Bishop Gasatura also reflected on technology enabling children to negatively use social media.
“It looks like the pace of technology, using WhatsApp and Twitter among others, has replaced our children’s food. What a child acquires from these platforms occupies his/her mind and tend to explore how things are done. Such porn films are another form of drugs,” he commented.
Rwanda’s Mufti, Sheikh Hitimana Salim said that Rwandan community can’t be assured of security when violence cases against girls and women persist.
He explained that it is the duty of clerics to seek to solution and highlighted the need to go deeper into root causes of such problems first.
Reports indicate that the National Prosecution received 2,996 defilement cases between July 2017 and June 2018.
It also received 505 cases for violence against women and 1,091 violence cases between spouses in the same period.
“On 23rd March 2019, Governments of Tanzania and Rwanda agreed to avail direct cargo flights from Mwanza Airport to European Markets by 1st July 2019. They are also working on the transportation of Rwandan cargo through Tanga port and the supply of raw milk to Tanga,” he said in a tweet.
Tanga port is located in Northeast of Tanzania near Indian Ocean. It is the second largest port following Dar es Salaam.
Tanzania’s Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Luhaga Mpina, recently told fish traders in Mwanza town that Tanzanian and Rwandan officials were in talks to enable RwandAir ferry fish from Mwanza airport in northern Tanzania to overseas markets.
Mpina said that it will be a massive relief for Lake Zone fish traders, who have, for a long time, been seeking an alternative airline to transport their products abroad. Fish dealers in the region have been relying on Entebbe and Nairobi airports in Uganda and Kenya respectively, which they claim are more costly.
Sijaona James, the spokesperson of the Tanzania Fishermen Union, recently told Xinua news that over 1,000 tonnes of fish could not be exported in the past few months because of transport problems adding that a total loss of the exports destined for Japan and Israel stood at 5.5 billion Tanzanian shillings.
The agreements between Rwanda, Tanzania follow the visit of President Paul Kagame to Tanzania at the beginning of this month where he held talks with his counterpart, Dr. John Pombe Magufuli.
Eyewitnesses who saw the woman collapsing on the Rwanda side attempted to intervene for emergency help but was blocked by Uganda’s soldiers camped near the area.
Officials have said that the woman was not a dweller in the neighborhood of the border as reported by media from Uganda and denied unfounded truths that the deceased was crossing the border to get food.
The border is in Burera district while the deceased lived in Kinigi sector of Musanze district where she ran businesses.
Northern Province Governor, Gatabazi Jean Marie Vianney has confirmed to IGIHE that the woman died in Uganda denying claims that she crossed the border to get food. ‘They are not harvesting too, this is a planting season.’
“She collapsed in the forest and hit her head on stones. Rwanda’s soldiers couldn’t
help her because it was on the land of another country. She was taken to Kisoro hospital dead and returned her body to be handed to Rwanda’s officials,” explained Gatabazi.
Her body has been taken to Ruhengeri hospital for postmortem.
Rwanda has of recent advised its citizens not travel to Uganda after hundreds of Rwandans have been abducted, arrested, tortured and incarcerated incommunicado.
The Expo 2020 Dubai World Majlis initiative held its latest session in Kigali, Rwanda to discuss the exchange-value between large global companies and smaller enterprises. A formal and inclusive gathering, the World Majlis brought together current and aspiring thought leaders from across Africa and the UAE at the Kigali Public Library, Kigali Innovation Village.
The session, titled ‘Borderless Talent: How do the global economy and local change-makers connect?’, was hosted by Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau and moderated by Georgie Ndirangu, from BBC Africa. Participants included Mohammed Dewji, CEO, MeTL; Claudette Irere, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of ICT and Innovation, Rwanda; Amin Gafaranga, CEO, Innovation Village, Kigali; and Dr Shivon Byamukama, Deputy CEO, Babyl Rwanda.
This Year’s edition delved into the changing nature of how talent is developed and mobilised, and how Africa is playing a leading role in connecting small and large businesses, as well as governments and independent platforms.
Henry Umunnakwe, Co-founder, Compound55, said: “For corporates, governments, private sector or SMEs to survive we all need to work in the same environment and we all need to work in a way that’s collaborative because [an SME’s] success is our success, the government’s success, the private sector’s success.
“Rwanda is a start-up nation, you come with some ideas, you test your ideas, you have the space to do it from the government, but that’s not enough; the corporates also need to see how they can get involved. For instance, how can they support the ecosystem through simple things like what events they sponsor for people to connect, because if you’re not connected at the lowest lower how can you take an idea to the next level?”
Adam Jones, Vice President and Area Business Head, East Africa, Mastercard, said: “As an organisation that operates in the tech sector, particularly the financial sector across Sub-Saharan Africa, we see that there’s small, nimble organisations that can act far more swiftly than we ever could but we can bring to them potential scale, network capabilities and stakeholder discussions that then means they can grow very rapidly. Then it becomes about how can you foster that dialogue to be able to take it as a repeatable, scalable function around the world.”
The Expo 2020 World Majlis programme chose to host its latest session in Africa in recognition of the entrepreneurs transforming the economic landscape across the continent, and as African nations prepare their pavilions for the next World Expo, which will be the first ever to ensure each country has its own pavilion to showcase its achievements and aspirations.
Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau, said: “As the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, Expo 2020 has the potential to positively influence the world beyond the borders of the UAE, through programmes such as the World Majlis.
The World Majlis initiative is an extension of the traditional majlis, designed to provide a space for respectful and inclusive dialogues that invite thought-provoking opinion, incubate meaningful connections between people and new ideas and inspire a positive outlook on the future.
Expo 2020 is already supporting creative solutions to reach their potential through its USD 100 million social innovation and partnership programme Expo Live. Contributing to Expo’s social legacy, Expo Live supports innovative projects that are already having a positive impact on society or the environment, or both, while also demonstrating that innovation can come from anywhere to everywhere.
A total of 42 Global Innovators from 70 countries have been selected so far, with more to be announced later this year. Many of them are based in Africa, including two in Rwanda – Babyl Rwanda and Nuru Energy. The projects are being supported with funding, business guidance, networking opportunities and media exposure.
The agreement will see a joint venture firm established by the two institutions to develop infrastructure and advanced factory units on the land.
The land was offered to Djibouti by the Rwandan Government in 2013 in reciprocity to the 20 hectares of land Djibouti offered Rwanda at the Port of Djibouti.
Djibouti also gave Rwanda an additional 40 hectares of land in its new Free Economic Zone in 2017 for trade.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of RDB (Rwanda Development Board), Emmanuel Hategeka said : “Our countries are experiencing strong bilateral relations and in addition to the signing of this MoU today, we have shared detailed plans with the Government of Djibouti on how we want to develop the land given to us in Djibouti.”
The chairman of the DPFZA, Omar Hadi Aboubaker said: “Our goal is to open up Africa to the rest of the world by connecting Rwanda, which is at the heart to a third international sea port in Djibouti after Mombasa and Dar-es- Salaam.
We will develop toll roads connecting Djibouti to Kigali and upon developing the infrastructure and factory units in Kigali; we will look for investors to whom we shall lease out the land for trade.”
Jeanne Isabelle Gasana, the Managing Director of PEZ, said: “The signing of the MoU today is a sign of the goodwill between our two nations. The next step will be to establish the joint venture, which will have the DPFZA as foreign investors in Rwanda as soon as next week and sharing and implementation of the land’s development plans.”
