Author: IGIHE

In Boma, one of the worst-hit towns, residents told Al Jazeera they watched in despair as their loved ones were swept away by surging waters.

Makiadi Mvubu, who lost one of his daughters to the floods, told Al Jazeera: “I was trying to get into the house but just before I could it collapsed.

“We saved everyone but our daughter. We found her body four kilometres away.”

Torrential rains caused the Kalamu river, which flows through Boma, some 470km southwest of the capital, Kinshasa, to overflow last month, causing waters to hit a peak of two metres above their average level.

Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller, reporting from Boma, said some family members were still searching for bodies that may be buried in the mud.

“The force of the floodwater washed away a bridge,” she said. “It was so strong that some bodies were swept 35km into neighbouring Angola.”

So far, 50 people have been confirmed dead.

Anger has surged in the past few days at the government’s alleged slow response to the disaster.

“I am very disappointed because there is no help,” Vundula Mwaka, a Boma resident who has lost his home twice in one year to flooding, told Al Jazeera.

“We have lost everything. I got injured and I still haven’t been treated until now, not even a painkiller.”

Emergency services have been accused of being poorly equipped to deal with natural disasters, especially with towns and cities typically built up in a haphazard fashion.

Despite its vast mineral wealth, the DRC is classed among the world’s poorest countries and two thirds of its 70 million inhabitants get by on less than $1.25 a day.

{{SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS}}

Organised BK TecHouse, the three-week training intends to encourage youth to think about technology-based solutions.

The training is offered by Nigerian Obinna J. Ukwuani who is the founder of Makers Academy, a secondary school and learning centre in Nigeria and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students.

BK TecHouse is a subsidiary of Bank of Kigali Group Plc, Rwanda’s long-time leading financial institution.

Dubbed “Robotics Academy Rwanda 2018,” the training is taking place at Lycée de Kigali in Nyarugenge District and brought together 40 students aged between 14-17 years who are doing science subjects in secondary schools.

The training aims at raising their skills as well as preparing them for different jobs in the future.

Chief Executive Officer of BK TecHouse, Regis Rugemanshuro said that the training is part of their responsibilities to promote ICT and help youth understand it thoroughly.

He said that as Bank of Kigali celebrates 50 years of operations and plan for 50 years ahead, they thought about what they can do to help different companies and the country be well positioned in the future.

“After observing how robots do many things in a short period of time and through our partnership with MIT, we requested for their students to come and spend three weeks here training Rwandan children,” he said.

Beyond acquiring skills through the training, students will make robots that will perform different activities like cultivation as a way to solve problems using technology.

“We need to create confidence among Rwandans by showing them how things that are being done away are also possible in Rwanda and tell them that they are able to make them,” he said.

He added that they target to take the training to provincial level so that students will turn it into profitable business.

Director General of ICT at the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, Claudette Irere said that robotics technologyin Rwanda is timely alongside drones. She said that they need to prepare students to operate them.

“In teaching methodology, such things help to broaden mindsets of students and think big as well as creating new innovations,” she said.

Junior Gashumba, a student in Lycée de Kigali was excited to participate in the training saying the skills can bring positive impact among the population.

“This technology is good as it can help in societal lifestyle like using them in agriculture. I wish to learn much until I am able to make drones that can help in other services,” he said.

“It is now one year since we started working with EAC for sending equipments overseas and ordering some from there without us flying there. And now (Wednesday), I have sent a faulty transmitter to Italy for a replacement. I do not need to do any follow up on the movement of my cargo. EAC will deliver it to the wholesaler and bring me a replacement to my workplace as always,” said Nzamurambaho, the Country Manager of ERTEC Rwanda Ltd.

Nzamurambaho told IGIHE he is saving time and over 50% of costs that ERTEC previously used to spend on staff flight, freight and all travel facilitation since the company started in 2010.

{{Reliable cargo services globally}}

With over 90 premium European and African destinations and more to New York JFK, Washington D.C. and Toronto in Canada, and in partnership with its international partners, Brussels Airlines provides freight services to and from every corner of the world.

Bruce Rukundo, Operations and Sales Officer at East African Cargo, says the company is a partner of giant air freight forwarder, Brucargo Air Freight, which is based in Belgium but operates globally.

“We often carry cargo above 50 kgs to five tonnes but we can still carry a smaller quantity even to one kilogramme and bigger up to 15 tonnes. We often send cargo to US, Belgium, England, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, etc. With Brussels Airlines, the delivery is ensured as an experienced carrier with a lot of destinations of operation around the world and in collaboration with other airline companies,” he said.
Being a member of Lufthansa Group and Star Alliance, Brussels Airlines has partnership with other giant carriers including American Airlines and Swiss International Airlines to reach out to all corners of the world.

Rukundo said that they have reduced cargo prices by at least 20% depending on their types and the fee is charged depending on cargo weight, volume and type of products.

“We have extensive knowledge of this business, we advise clients on certification depending on types of products. There are some products like telephones, cars, biological samples, pyrethrum… that might contain products that are considered as dangerous goods such as batteries or other chemicals that must meet some regulations and wrapped in particular ways,” says Rukundo.

“Some clients come to us saying that they used a certain company to send cargo but the cargo was returned or blocked because they did not know about the regulations to ship those specific products.”

“We have a refrigerated vehicle that also keeps the products at the required temperature from airport to final destinations like from Kigali to Goma in DRC. We deliver cargo to Brussels in Belgium within one day and a maximum of three days to other cities in Europe and JFK Airport in New York, USA. We also have a system that helps a client track the movement of their cargo.”

A client can decide to pay cargo fee right away as they send it or agrees with the receiver to pay the fee upon delivery.

Rukundo reassures clients of “our rapidity, clarity and safety for delivery of your cargo.”

A statement released by BoT Thursday revealed the affected banks as Covenant Bank For Women Limited, Efatha Bank Limited, Njombe Community Bank Limited, Kagera Farmers’ Cooperative Bank Limited and Meru Community Bank Limited.

“The decision has been made after BoT learnt that the banks have inadequate capital, which is contrary to the Banks and Financial institutions Act of 2006 and its regulations,” the statement from the country’s central bank says.

According to BoT, it made the move as part of its mandate as provided by section 56(1)(g), 56(2) (a) of the Banks and Financial Institutions Act of 2006.

“Through powers given by Banks and Financial institutions Act BoT place the banks under the deposit insurance board, as a liquidator, from January 4, 2018,” it said today.

The regulator says their capital shortfalls are a risk to the stability of Tanzania’s banking system.

The closure of the lenders follows a directive by President John Magufuli last month to the BoT that all non-performing banks should be closed.

The IMF in its latest staff report also supported the government’s move to close down the lenders.
{{Source:businessdailyafrica.com}}

Gacinya who is also the vice-president for Rayon Sports is allegedly accused of poor tender execution in Rusizi District.

The court clerk announced on Wednesday that the reading was adjourned due to poor internet connection which deterred judges from opening ‘Justice System’ to access Gacinya’s dossier.

The prosecution says that Gacinya’s company breached a tender contract of supplying 830 electricity pylons worth Rwf636 million.

Gacinya was paid Rwf495 million but the inspection of Rwanda Energy Group (REG) revealed that activities performed were worth Rwf253 million.

According to the prosecution, some pylons had not the required quality as some of them were bent down.

As a result of breaching tender contract, Rusizi District hired another company which they paid Rwf338 million.

The prosecution requested that Gacinya be remanded for 30 days.

In his defense, Gacinya said that Rusizi District paid him a smaller amount of money that does not equate with the work done. He says that Rusizi District did the contrary by putting pressure on him as they wanted to fill the report that they wanted to present for performance contracts (imihigo) evaluation.

Gacinya said that he supplied quality materials as they were first examined in MAGERWA. He said that they should release him to go to take care of his family.

The reading is expected to resume on Thursday afternoon.

The warning follows an incident on Monday in Kacyiru Village of Ntendezi Cell, Ruharambuga Sector in Nyamasheke District where a man beat and injured his four-year old son.

The ordeal started when the father identified as David Harindintwali, 35, returned home drunk and started assaulting his wife.

However, when the wife managed to flee the scene for her dear life, Harindintwali turned the feud to his son, Police said.

“At about 4pm on Monday, Harindintwali came back home drunk and started assaulting his wife in presence of his son, whom he fathered with his ex-wife. When the wife found her way out of Harindintwali arms and escaped, Harindintwali turned to his son beating him seriously and injuring him on the forehead,” Inspector of Police (IP) Eulade Gakwaya, Police spokesperson for the Western region, said.

“A neighbor, who witnessed the incident rushed to the nearby Ruharambuga Police station and reported the incident, officers were immediately dispatched, they rescued the boy and took the suspect into custody,” he added.

According to the spokesperson, there would have been the “worst scenario of infanticide had the officers not arrived in time” judging from the way the man was physically torturing the boy.

The boy had been brought by her mother to spend the festive season with his father. The victim’s mother separated with Harindintwali also due to similar violent domestic conflicts.

IP Gakwaya said that Harindintwali will be charged with ‘battery or causing bodily injuries against a child or a person unable to defend him or herself’ under article 154 of the penal code.

The article states that “Any person, who intentionally inflicts battery or bodily injuries on a child or a person who is unable to defend him/herself due to his/her physical or mental state or old age, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of one to three years and a fine of between Rwf100, 000 and Rwf500, 000.”

It is the second similar case in Nyamasheke in the last two month following one in November last year when another man seriously assaulted an eleven year old boy.

IP Gakwaya called upon the general public to protect and promote the rights of children by reporting all sorts of abuses such as corporal punishment or child labour to the nearest Police stations or call the police on 116 –(child help line), 3029 (Isange One Stop Centre) and 112 for emergency.

Currently, there are 44 Isange centres across the country, which offer free medical, psycho-socio and legal services to victims of gender violence and child abuse.

The Governor observed that cases of domestic assault, child abuse and school dropouts are associated with drug abuse or committed by people under the influence of illicit drugs.

He made the call, yesterday, while addressing hundreds of residents of Rwaza Sector shortly after a special communal exercise to construct 13 classrooms in Kabushinge Cell.

Police officers, headed by the District Police Commander of Musanze, Supt. Aphrodis Gashumba as well as other security organs, took part in Umuganda to construct classrooms.

“We are here today in a volunteer work to construct enough classrooms for the children, but we need also to think and work together against all obstacles that these young ones might face in their search for education and better future, one of them being illicit drugs, which have driven others out of school,” Governor Gatabazi said.

He also hinted on administered self-justice, which also amounts to crime, as well as domestic conflicts and gender based violence, which he said, partly divide families and drive children out of their homes and ultimately engaging in abusing and selling narcotic drugs, and theft.

“If you know any household experiencing conflicts or a woman terrified to report injustices she’s facing, break silence and report to the police. You also need to make good use of Umugoroba w’ababyeyi to discuss community security and development issues, and open up to thinks that affect your wellbeing,” the Governor said.

Umugoroba w’Ababyeyi, loosely translated as ‘evening of parents’ is a customary social coercion gathering that happens every Thursday in all the 14 837 villages across the country, where men and women come together to deliberate on various community issues related to security and socio-economic and cultural issues.

Supt. Gashumba commended the residents for their partnership in community policing, and called for strengthened collaboration and information sharing on anything illegal or criminal, especially drug dealers, gender based violence, child abuse and corruption.