IGIHE

Author: IGIHE

  • Eng. Pascal Gatabazi replaces Gasana as WDA boss

    Speaking to IGIHE, the newly appointed Director General of WDA, Eng. Pascal Gatabazi said that he is ready to fulfill his duties for he has what it takes to turn things around in the vocational skills development domain.

    “I was happy to be appointed for those duties and I thank our country’s leadership for the confidence it has entrusted in me. We pledge to use all our energy to implement programmes we are charged with. Collaborating with others and working as a team, I hope we will accomplish our duties,” he said.

    The former WDA DG Jerome Gasana is likely to have been dropped due to keeping big quantities of consumables meant to be used in learning processes in stores, rendering them to waste.

    In June 2018, Gasana appeared before Parliament where he was questioned on persistent problems of infrastructures and consumables in the institution that he headed.

    Marie Josée Kankera, a Member of Parliament told her fellow MPs then that WDA stores were filled with equipment and consumables, meant to be used under the Skills Development Project, bought with so much money but remained unused with some having got wasted in stores.

    In 2011, Rwanda’s SDP was financed by the International Development Agency with Rwf18 billion loan on which the Government of Rwanda added Rwf2 billion for the implementation of the Project.

    Honorable Kankera said that project aimed at helping Rwandan youth acquire vocational skills but much of the project was not implemented as most of the materials that would have been used got wasted.

    Members of the Parliament highlighted that pedagogical materials were purchased before classrooms and lecture rooms were constructed. This saw some damaged while others were stolen.

    The Auditor GeneralReport 2017 indicates that unused materials laid to waste are worth Rwf241,529,263 and have been in WDA stores and other affiliated vocational schools countrywide for more than three years.

    {{Who is Eng. Gatabazi
    }}

    Eng. Pascal Gatabazi holds a Masters’ degree in Construction Management of Tswane University of Technology, South Africa. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from Dar es Salaam University.

    He worked at Africa Development Bank in 1999 as a Project Engineer.

    Eng. Gatabazi worked as the Head of Technology Research and Development at the Center for Innovations and Technology Transfer (CITT) of former Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) now College of Science and Technology (CST).

    Between 2007 and 2018, he worked as the Principal of Tumba College of Technology before he was appointed Principal of IPRC Karongi in February this year, a post he has now left to the Director General of Workforce Development Authority.

  • Examinations center supervisor dismissed over clumsy sitting arrangement

    This happened this morning as ordinary and advanced level students across the country started their national exams.

    153 students who sat for their exams in the school are from Ecole Technique SOS, World Vision Secondary School, and APAETA.

    At 8 A.M when Mutimura started issuing exam papers to students, he saw two students who were both doing Mathematics exam seated together.

    After inspecting the entire room, he found many students seated together and working on the same exam and immediately requested Mbonabucya who headed the examination center to leave.

    In a press conference after launching the exams, Minister Mutimura said that Mbonabucya has not been dismissed from his job, but from the examination center supervisor.

    “I have requested him not to do the job he was doing here and asked someone else to do it. We have not dismissed him, but we are asking him to step aside so that others help him with the job because he was not working well,” he said.

    He appealed to other teachers who are monitoring examinations all over the country to be vigilant and make sure that no students doing the same exam are seated together.

    “There should be enough space, about three or two meters between each other because the problem is not space but the way they are organized,” he said.

    Today, 143,551 secondary school candidates started the exams among whom 46,653 are Advanced Level students while 96,898 are sitting for Ordinary Level.

  • AMIR kicks off 2018 Rwandan Microfinance Week

    The week was launched on Monday, November 19th, in Musanze District, Northern Province with the theme: “Good corporate governance; a pillar to a strong Microfinance Sector” and will end on Friday 23rd, 2018.

    According to Nkuranga Aimable, the Head of the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR), the week will focus on finding resolutions that will improve the performance of the Microfinance sector, more specifically in the good governance of Microfinance Institutions.

    Good governance in Microfinancial Institutions have proved over time to be an important factor in the success of the institution, the services rendered and its development in general.

    “Establishing good governance in Microfinancial Institutions is one of the main focus of the week. It is a principle we wish all those institutions to use.” Nkuranga said

    “We are planning to train our members and this will be a priority throughout the week.” Nkuranga added

    During the week, the association aims to train more than 470 Microfinancial Institutions staff including cooperatives and Umurenge Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs); Mwalimu Sacco and others.

    This year’s Rwanda Microfinance Week was organized by AMIR and sector partners including National Bank of Rwanda (BNR); Savings Bank Foundation for International Cooperation (SBFIC); Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA); Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA); TransUnion Africa; Mobicash; Business Development Fund (BDF) and others.

    Through AMIR’s strategic plan, Rwanda Microfinance Week (RMW) is a fundamental component in the association’s advocacy and communication strategy.

  • Over 120 golfers to grace MTN Rwanda Golf open 2018

    The four-day golfing event will take place on the 21st – 24th of November and is expected to attract golfers from Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Burundi, DR Congo, Nigeria, South Africa, and Belgium.

    Speaking at a press conference of the Kigali Golf Club yesterday, MTN Chief Marketing Officer, Richard Acheampong expressed his delight at the launch of this year’s edition.

    “We are proud to partner once again with the Kigali Golf Club to host the MTN Rwanda Golf Open. Golf is a game that typifies our brand values. Relationships and connections are nurtured on the course and Integrity is a key value for us and critical in the game of golf.

    The MTN brand and the game of golf are naturally aligned with these key values and therefore it is only right that we support the game.” Acheampong said.

    Professional Golfers will be competing for the grand prize of Rwf10 000 000. The Amateur category will be competing for the best gross after four days, and these include the open group with Handicap 9 and below, Men’s Subsidiary Group with Handicap 10-18 and 19-28, ladies and seniors aged 55+ that will be playing for two days.

    Over 119 golfers have entered this year’s MTN Rwanda Open. This event is the biggest on the Rwandan Golf Calendar. This year is the 20th Edition of the MTN Rwanda Golf Open, which coincides with MTN celebrating 20 years of business in Rwanda.

    MTN Rwanda has consistently supported the sporting fraternity in Rwanda and aside from Golf, it has sponsored many sports over the years including football, basketball, volleyball, and athletics. The Kigali Peace Marathon sponsored by MTN has supported many noble causes since it began and remains the flagship event on the Rwandan Sports Calendar.

    “MTN will continue to support Golf in the country because we are interested in the development and promotion of the sport. The opportunities afforded to the players, especially the amateurs who compete in this event are truly life-changing and we hope this inspires others to embrace the sport and grow their skills,” concluded Acheampong.

    MTN Rwanda Gold Open Organizers assured that the competition was going to be a success
    MTN Chief Marketing Officer, Richard Acheampong expressed his delight at the launch of this year’s Golf Open Edition.
    Over 120 golfers have entered this year’s MTN Rwanda Open

  • Bralirwa to brew Heineken beer locally

    The development was announced Monday, making Rwanda the 9th African country producing, packing and selling Heineken locally alongside other markets including Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, and Ethiopia.

    According to a statement from Bralirwa Plc, the award of a license to produce Heineken in Rwanda is a significant sign of trust by HEINEKEN NV, a company which has always been focused on the ‘Value Passion for Quality.’

    “The local production of Heineken beer can be viewed as the latest milestone in the development of Bralirwa Plc as a world-class company,” reads the statement in part.

    “Heineken local production is the result of many years of successful investments in world-class brewery equipment, expert and brews master knowledge. Heineken produced in Rwanda will importantly maintain the same international quality standards of the brand and given local production will have an even fresher taste,” adds the statement.

    Bralirwa has been importing from the Netherlands since 1991.

    “Heineken will now taste as fresher as you were drinking it in a bar at Amsterdam,” said Sander Bokelman, the Supply Chain Director at Bralirwa Plc.

    “We believe that this innovation will create additional business opportunities for Bralirwa Plc and for our business partners in Rwanda as well as through export to neighboring countries. Additionally, this is another contribution by Bralirwa Plc to the Made in Rwanda program which every Rwandan can be proud of. By switching from importing to producing Heineken in Rwanda, Bralirwa Plc will also importantly contribute more to the development of the local economy,” said Victor Madiela, the Managing Director of Bralirwa.

    “ Furthermore, Heineken will be more affordable to the Rwandan consumers with the retail recommended price reduced from Rwf 1000 to 800 for a 33 cl returnable bottle allowing more Rwandans to enjoy the great Heineken taste,” he added.

    Heineken will start being brewed in Rwanda by December 20, 2018

  • What we deserve is in the future not the past- Kagame

    Kagame made the remarks as he addressed 80 members of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), a global network of business leaders with more than 26,000 members in more than130 countries.

    President Paul Kagame, who is the Chairman of the African Union (AU) and who in 2016 was mandated by his fellow African Heads of States to watch over the African Union institutional reforms, expressed his pleasure in the role Rwandans have played in the AU reforms and said a lot more can be achieved by the Continent and through partnerships.

    “It is a great pleasure for us as Rwandans to be part of it [AU reforms] and play our role, however little, trying to achieve results for everyone’s benefits. There is so much we can do as a continent and there is, even more, we can do with partnerships,” he said.

    On Rwanda’s progress, Kagame said: “We are convinced that we have had in our past is not what we deserve, what we deserve is in our future. We all go together and we don’t want to leave anyone behind, that is more or less like a religion for us.”

    To get the future the country deserves, Kagame urged the YPO members to ‘act ahead of the actual time you are in.’

    Kagame said: “I am no longer worried about the past or the future, the sustainability of what we are building is what I spend my days and nights on. We have to keep thinking ahead, and sometimes acting ahead of the actual time you are in.”

    “We need to sustain the kind of politics, activities that ensure Rwandans value one another so we don’t go back to the history where one looks at a neighbor, a workmate as an enemy. There is no basis for that,” he added.

    The Chairman of the African Union highlighted the mental problem as the biggest challenge that delays Africa’s transformation stressing some cases where Africans beg from others what they already have.

    “In Africa, we tend to lower our standards. In some cases, Africans even beg to be given what they have. Some ask for others to spend on them when they have the resources to spend on themselves. It is a mentality problem,” Kagame said adding that, “What is lacking is being able to say, we have all the means & the intellectual ability to think. There is no continent with more resources than ours. The question is what is missing to produce what we need, to take ourselves to the level where we need to be.”

    On the AU Peace Fund that was launched during the AU Extraordinary Summit last weekend in Addis, Ethiopia, Kagame said: “The idea was to create a fund and grow it so that we can prevent conflicts on our continent without having to beg NGOs or others to do it for us.”

    President Paul Kagame with 80 members of Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), a global network of business leaders with more than 26,000 members in more than130 countries

  • Statement on Cabinet Decisions of 19.11.2018

    1. The Cabinet Meeting approved the minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held on 24th October 2018.

    2. The Cabinet Meeting was briefed on:

    – Rwanda’s Performance in the Doing Business Report 2019The Implementation Progress of Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) Programme;

    – The launch of the new approach to fast-track graduation in the implementation of social protection programs.

    3. The Cabinet Meeting approved:

    – The revised Rwanda National Payment System Strategy (RNPS);

    – The revised Intellectual Property Policy;

    – The National Quality Policy (NQP);

    – The National Agriculture Insurance Scheme;

    – The establishment of the Water Resources Board;

    – Rwanda’s Membership to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Centre.

    4. The Cabinet Meeting approved the following draft laws:

    – Draft Law approving the ratification of the Grant Agreement signed in Kigali, Rwanda on 19 September 2018, between the Government of the Republic of Rwanda and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), relating to the grant of two billion six hundred and thirty-five million Japanese Yen (JPY 2,635,000,000) for the project for the improvement of substation and distribution network (phase 3);

    – Draft Law approving the ratification of the Financing Agreement signed in Kigali, Rwanda on 05 November 2018, between the Republic of Rwanda and the International Development Association (IDA), relating to the credit of fourteen million three hundred thousand special drawing rights (SDR 14,300,000) for public finance management reform project;

    – Draft Law approving the ratification of the grant agreement signed in Kigali, Rwanda on 19 September 2018, between the Republic of Rwanda and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development acting as trustee of the trust fund for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, relating to the grant of twenty-six million three hundred thousand American Dollars (USD 26,300,000) for the sustainable agricultural intensification and food security project;

    – Draft Law approving the ratification of the financing agreement signed in Kigali, Rwanda on 16 November 2018 between the Republic of Rwanda and the International Development Association (IDA), relating to the credit of eighty-nine million six hundred thousand Special Drawings Rights (SDR 89,600,000) for the second Rwanda Energy Sector Development Policy Financing;

    – Draft Law approving the accession of Rwanda to the Vienna convention on civil liability for nuclear damage concluded at Vienna on 21 May 1963;

    – Draft Law approving the accession of Rwanda to Arusha Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, adopted at Arusha, in the United Republic of Tanzania, on 6 July 2015, within the Framework of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO).

    5. The Cabinet Meeting approved the following orders:

    – Presidential Order on secondment of one Senior Officer (SP Rank) and 34 Junior Officers to be seconded to the Rwanda Forensic Laboratory (RFL).

    – Prime Minister’s Orders determining mission and functions, organizational structure, salaries and fringe benefits for employees of:  Office of the Prime Minister (PRIMATURE);  Ministry of ICT and Innovation (MINICT);  Ministry of Environment (MoE);  Ministry in charge of Emergency Management (MINIEMA);  Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA);  Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI);  Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC);  Ministry of Education (MINEDUC);  Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MINAFFET);  Ministry of Health.

    – Prime Minister’s Order establishing the Bugesera Special Economic Zone (BSEZ). – Prime Minister’s Order granting a leave of absence for a non-specific period to Mr. KATANISA Peter who was Advisor to the Minister in the Ministry of Environment);

    – Prime Minister’s Order granting leave of absence for a non-specific period to Dr. MURINDAHABI Ruyange Monique who was the Director of Prevention Unit in Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC);

    – Ministerial Order on secondment of 15 Non-Commissioned Police officers of Rwanda National Police to the Rwanda Forensic Laboratory (RFL)

    – Ministerial Order appointing Lt. Moses NDOBA and SSGT BIHEZANDE Bernardin Magnus as Clerks in the Military Tribunal;

    6. The Cabinet Meeting approved the agrément of Ms. BURCU CEVIK as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Turkey to the Republic of Rwanda, with residence in Kigali;

    7. The Cabinet Meeting approved Mr. RICHARD MUGISHA as Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Rwanda with residence in Kigali.

    8. The Cabinet Meeting made the following appointments:

    In the Office of the Prime Minister (PRIMATURE)

    – NGUGABE Chris: Economic Advisor;

    – KARUHANGA Wilson: Macroeconomic Policy Analyst.

    In the Ministry of Education

    – KAGERUKA Benjamin: Head of Department of Basic Education and Quality Assurance;

    – RUGAZA Julian: Director General of Corporate Services;

    – BAGUMA Rose: Director General of Education Policy and Planning.

    In RwandaTransport Development Agency (RTDA)

    MUNYAMPENDA Imena: Director General.

    In Road Maintenance Fund (RMF)

    SIBOMANA Mathias: Director General.

    In High Education Council (HEC)

    NTUKANYAGWE MICOMYIZA Michelle: Head of Policy, Planning, Scholarship & Fund Management Department.
    In Food and Drugs Authority (FDA)

    – KABATENDE Joseph: Head Food & Drug Assessment and Registration Department;

    – GISAGARA Alex: Head of Department Food and Drugs Inspection and Safety Monitoring Department ;

    – BERWA Françoise: Chief Finance;

    – IRASABWA Clarisse: Drug and Health Technologies, Assessment and Registration Division Manager;

    – MUSANGWA Desire: Food Assessment and Registration Division Manager;

    – MUNYANGAJU Edouard: Drug and Food Inspection and Compliance Division Manager;
    – NTIRENGANYA Lazare: Pharmaco-Vigilance and Food Safety Monitoring (PV & SM) Division Manager;

    – MUKUNZI Antoine: Quality Control Lab (QCL) Division Manager.

    In Rwanda Polytechnic (RP)

    – Dr. UWAMARIYA Valentine: Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Trainings, Institutional Development & Research;

    – Dr. RUBERWA Alexis: Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Finance and Administrative.

    In Rwanda Education Board (REB)

    NGOGA James: Head of Department of Teacher Development and Management.

    In Workforce Development Authority (WDA)

    – GATABAZI Pascal: Director General;

    – INGABIRE Winfred: Head of Qualifications Standards & Accreditation Departement.

    In Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centers (IPRCS)

    – NDAYAMBAJE Fortunate: Head of Corporate Services Division, IPRC Kigali;

    – RUDAHIGWA Oswald: Head of Corporate Services Division,

    IPRC Ngoma;

    – Senior Superintendent KABUYE David: Principal,

    IPRC Gishari;

    – INGABIRE Dominique: Vice Principal in Charge of Academic Affairs,

    IPRC Gishari;

    – KAYITSINGA Jean Marie Vianney: Head of Corporate Services Division,

    IPRC Gishari;

    – Dr. NSABIMANA Ernest: Principal,

    IPRC Karongi;

    – Eng. UMUKUNZI Paul: Vice Principal in Charge of Academic Affairs IPRC Karongi;

    – MUSABE Liliane: Head of Corporate Services Division, IPRC Karongi;

    – Major Dr. TWABAGIRA Barnabé: Principal, IPRC Huye.

    In Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB)

    – BATETA Jeanne: Inspector;

    – BANYUNDO Dieudonné: Inspector;

    – MUKARUGINA Valerie: Inspector;

    – MBABAZI Modeste: Communication Analyst;

    – UMUHOZA Marie Michelle: Investigation Analyst;

    – KAMARAMPAKA Consolée: Chief Investigator at Provincial Bureau;

    – RUZAYIRE Prosper: Chief Investigator at Provincial Bureau;

    – MUKAMANA Belline: Chief Investigation at Provincial Bureau;

    – GASIRABO Félicien: Chief Investigator at Provincial Bureau;

    – RUTARO Herbert: Chief Investigator at Provincial Bureau.

    In the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN)

    – TUYISENGE Faustin: Director of Central Government Internal Audit Unit;

    – KUBWIMANA Gratien: Director of Local Government Internal Audit Unit.

    9. AOBs.

    – The Minister in the Office of the President informed the Cabinet Meeting that the 2018 Anti-corruption week will be organized from 4th to 9th December 2018 while the International Anti-Corruption Day will be celebrated on 9th December 2018.

    – The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning informed the Cabinet Meeting that:

    . From 22nd – 23rd November 2018, Rwanda will be hosting the 11th Annual Policy Makers’ Conference under the chairmanship of RSSB as the incoming Chair;

    . The 22nd meeting of the ICE of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) – Sub-Regional Office for Eastern Africa (SRO-EA) will take place at the Kigali Convention Center (KCC) from 20th – 22nd November 2018.

    – The Minister of State in Charge of Social Affairs/Ministry of Local Government informed the Cabinet Meeting that Rwanda will celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on the 3rd December 2018 in all districts and at the national level in Masaka Sector, Kicukiro District. The National Celebration will be preceded by a Disability week starting from 24th November 2018.

    – The Minister of Justice/Attorney General informed the Cabinet Meeting that:

    . Rwanda will join the rest of the World to celebrate the International Human Rights Day on 10th December 2018. The world will also be marking the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the national level, the celebrations will be preceded by a week-long (from 1st -9th December) awareness campaign on the principles of Human Rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

    . The National Human Rights Commission was accredited with status “A” for the 4th time. The status is conferred to National Human Rights Institutions that fully comply with the Human Rights principles;

    . The Judiciary in collaboration with the National Public Prosecution Authority is organizing a Judicial Week from 26-30 November 2018.

    – The Minister of Youth is informing Cabinet Meeting that :

    . Youth Connekt Holiday Program will be conducted from 24th November to 20th December 2018 at Cell Level. At the national level, this program will be launched in Gicumbi District, Kageyo Sector in Kageyo Cell and will be marked by the planting of trees during the monthly community work, Umuganda. This Youth will continue to participate in the Youth Connekt Convention and the National Umushyikirano Council from 12th -14th December 2018.

    . Itorero Urunana rw’Urungano 3rd edition, 2018 will take place from 5th – 11th December 2018. It will bring together 616 youths aged between 21-35, including 200 Rwandan Youth living abroad.

    – The Minister of Trade and Industry informed the Cabinet Meeting that the Africa Industrialization Day will be celebrated on 20th November 2018 at the Kigali Special Economic Zone.

    – The Minister of Environment informed the Cabinet Meeting that the Coalition Building Conference for Peace and Security and shared Natural Resources Management in the Greater Virunga Landscape and the GVTC Council of Ministers meeting will be held at Kigali Serena Hotel on 26th and 27th November 2018 respectively.

    – The Minister of Gender and Family Promotion informed the Cabinet Meeting that election of Children Forum committees shall be held from 4th to 07th December 2018. Elections will be preceded by a briefing of local leaders (District, Sector, Cell and Village) on the election of children forum committees from 26th to 30th November 2018. Children Committees with 104,622 elected representatives will be in place at all levels in the whole Country.

    This Statement was signed by Marie Solange KAYISIRE The Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister in charge of Cabinet Affairs

  • Msgr. Antoine Kambanda replaces Ntihinyurwa as Archbishop of Kigali

    In March this year, the 76-year-old Bishop Thadee Ntihinyurwa wrote to the Pope requesting to be allowed to go in retirement due to advanced age.

    According to the Catholic Church’s doctrine, a bishop can request for retirement when he reaches 75 years of age. The Pope approves the retirement and appoints the new Diocese’s Bishop.

    Bishop Ntihinyurwa turned 75 on September 73, 2017.

    Shortly after his appointment as Kigali Archbishop, Bishop Antoine Kambanda told IGIHE that he is ready to serve duties with the help of God.

    He said: “It is true; Rome has announced it. They are heavy duties but we are enabled by God. What follows is to relocate to Kigali and take over duties from my predecessor. I have not yet learned of the handover date because it has not been long since the news broke out,” said Kambanda as he talked to IGIHE’S reporter on phone shortly after his appointment.

    Bishop Kambanda was born on November 10, 1958, in Nyamata Parish of Kigali Archdiocese.

    He did his primary studies in Burundi and Uganda and continued with his secondary studies in Kenya. He completed his theology studies at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary of Nyakibanda.

    He was ordained priest on September 8, 1990 by Pope John Paul II at Mbare, Kigali Archdiocese during the late Pope’s visit to Rwanda.

    Upon his priesthood ordination, Bishop Kambanda started his mission as teacher doubling as the in charge of studies at Ndera Minor Seminary in Kigali.

    Between 1993 and 1999, he went to continue with studies at the Alphonsian Academy in Rome, where he obtained a doctorate in moral theology.

    From 1999 to 2005, Kambanda served as Director of CARITAS of Kigali Archdiocese, serving also as the Chairman of Justice and Peace Commission in the Archdiocese. He was also a teacher at Nyakibanda Major Seminary.

    Between 2005 and 2016, Antoine Kambanda was the Rector of Kabgayi Major Seminary before he was once again appointed as Rector of Major Seminary of Nyakibanda, a position he left when he was appointed the Bishop of Kibungo Catholic Diocese on May 3, 2013 replacing Monsignor Kizito Bahujumihigo who had resigned from the position in 2010 amid financial troubles.

    Monsignor Antoine Kambanda’s motto is “Ut vitam habeant’’, translating as, “That They May Have Life.”

    Mgr. Kambanda replaces outgoing Thadee Ntihinyurwa who was appointed the Archbishop of Kigali Diocese March 9, 1996, a position he held after serving as Bishop of Cyangugu Diocese for a 16 year spell.

    When a bishop retires, he is allowed to do other Church services like heading to a parish he wishes and supports priests or teaches in a school of his choice.

  • Rulindo District rescinds food ban notice as MINALOC calls it unacceptable

    On November 13, a notice contained in a circular issued by Rulindo District on November 13 made some local government workers suspect that their rights were at risk.
    The announcement read:

    “I write this letter to let you know that bringing foodstuff in offices is prohibited. Failure to respect this directive will be considered as indiscipline,” reads part of the statement signed by Rulindo District Executive Secretary, Godfrey Muhanguzi.

    Different staff of the district who talked to IGIHE expressed grave disappointment over the decision by the district.

    On conditions of anonymity, one said: “We start working at 7.00 a.m. and many of us live far from the office which requires us to wake up early and pack that doughnut for instance. There are also those who fail to get time to go to restaurants for lunch and so bring food in offices.”

    On dirtying official files, he said it is impossible. They suggested that the district sets up a place for the staff to take their meals from.

    Rulindo District Executive Secretary, Godfrey Muhanguzi later changed the statement and told IGIHE on Thursday that the circular was misinterpreted by those who viewed it and spread it while it was just meant to be kept in the district.

    “It was even not necessary that we post it on the site, but interpreters misinterpreted it. Someone can interpret something in their own sense that is different from the intention of the writer. The aim of the circular was to improve hygiene, in general. We didn’t prohibit people from bringing foodstuffs at work but to do it in an orderly manner,” he said.

    He added that the district has a hotel called IREMBO where the district staff may have meals. He said the hotel provides district staff with tea, water, or soda because those are paid for by the district for its staff,” he said.

    As to whether the staffers are allowed to bring meals at the office, Muhanguzi said that office is not meant to be a place for having meals. He said that workers are allowed to bring meals, but take them in separate rooms because as local government where serving citizens is a priority, the latter should not come to the office and find the one who was supposed to offer them a given service eating. It looks unprofessional, he said.

    “Let us assume that you are a citizen from Rulindo District who is coming to look for a service at the district office and find me eating in office. What interpretation can you get from there? Do I respect or disrespect you? But you can take 15 minutes and go to a certain room and do what you want to do and get back to work,” he said.

    The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC), Assoumpta Kampeta commenting on the notice told IGIHE that Minaloc does not approve of that decision.

    “We do not agree with the statement as Minaloc because for a worker to deliver on their work, they need energy. The issue would rather be the fact that those who bring food and snacks do not take them properly designated places,” she said.

    She adds that everyone has the right to pack something to eat at work. She urges workers to maintain hygiene of the places where they have meals from instead because food crumbs can be unhygienic.

    “Someone would at least mention their hygiene, but prohibiting them from bringing food is not acceptable. We do not approve of that and neither does the district,” she said.
    She said the district should change the prior message and give another one because there would be two messages: Maintaining hygiene or designate a room where people should take foods.

    Surprisingly, the circular also said that any worker at the District or Sector caught with foodstuff at the office will be punished in accordance with Presidential Order No65/01 of 04/03/2014 determining modalities of imposing disciplinary sanctions for public servants.

    Meanwhile, the circular said that an audit carried out on public servants’ management revealed that some stuff brings bread, chapatti, and doughnuts among other foodstuffs and eat them inside their offices causing untidy environments and soil official documents.

  • Road accidents claim 437 lives in nine months

    Rwanda National Police statistics indicate that the accidents were mainly due to the high driving speed witnessed in weekends, irresponsible driving and drunk driving among other causes.

    The revelations were made yesterday as Rwanda joined the rest of the continent to mark the ‘Africa Road Safety Day’ which was set aside to raise awareness on good road practices.

    According to the IGP Dan Munyuza, 50% of the accidents involve commercial motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians and most accidents are recorded over the weekends, from Friday up to Sunday.”

    IGP Dan Munyuza added: “We have conducted several awareness campaigns but still see accidents happening because of driving recklessly by some drivers. This is a concern of everyone, not just the Police. You don’t have to wait for an accident to happen to you, so, act.”

    This year, over 106,835 vehicles underwent technical control tests and of them, 49,359 which were first tested were found in good conditions while 57,45 tested for the first time were found in bad conditions.

    The Minister of State in charge of Transport, Eng. Jean de Dieu Uwihanganye said that ‘’At least two people lose their lives every day to road accidents. This has to stop. The new traffic law soon to be promulgated introduces stringent measures against abuse of traffic rules.”

    “When people die in accidents, it’s not only the motorist or passenger who is affected; the country loses its human labor and spends more money to rehabilitate the destroyed public infrastructure instead of expanding such infrastructures or channeling the funds to other development activities,” Eng. Uwihanganye said while addressing thousands of people who attended Car Free Day at RRA ground in Kimihurura.

    The new law provides steps through which a driver’s license can be withdrawn from an errant motorist, imprisonment for any motorist found drunk, high on illicit drugs and using a phone, but also penalties to a pedestrian whose inappropriate use of road result into accident or loss of lives,” he said.

    Road accidents according to the World Health Organization (WHO), rank 8th among the leading causes of death globally with an estimated 1.2 million lives lost every day. Majority 60 percent of the accidents are in Sub-Saharan Africa.