Author: IGIHE

The portal also significantly reduced costs related to transport and printing documents.

Bidders expressed gratitude for the e-procurement services during a seminar organized by the Rwanda Public Procurement Authority (RPPA) on the functionality of the portal.

The 2-day seminar was held from March 11th to March 12th, 2020 in Huye District and brought together business owners across various sectors such as hotels, restaurants, private institutions and heads of cooperatives from Huye, Nyaruguru and Gisagara Districts.

The seminar aimed at sensitizing bidders who have not yet registered in the portal to do so and coach first-time users through the process of registering and submitting bids online.

Egide Kayitasire, a businessman and Private Sector Federation (PSF) representative in Huye District said that UMUCYO e-procurement portal solved many challenges including costs incurred during the procurement process.

“Through the portal, bid notices and tenders are published and bidders can apply without physically presenting themselves to a procurement office. The former procurement process was lenghty, costly and complex but now you can buy internet and place a bid using a laptop.”

The portal increased transparency in the procurement process given that before its introduction, corruption was a common practice.

Mahoro Vanessa, Light Hotel representative said that the procurement process is far more transparent than before as the portal was designed to comply with RPPA’s regulations and procurement policies.

Munezero Lydia who works at Emmaus Hostel in Huye said that the portal eases the procurement process and allows bidders to obtain documents such as technical specifications on contracts and learn about terms and conditions of public contracts.

“This seminar will allow us to learn about different functions of the portal because you cannot really say you have mastered the process a hundred percent.”

New subscribers told IGIHE that the system is easy to navigate and that bidders can see details on transactions including bidders, bid prices, contracts, and evaluation reports.

Nsengiyumva Vital, Jyambere Muhinzi Cooperative treasurer said that the cooperative runs a flour processing plant but that until today they did not know how to apply for bids.

Nayigiziki Boniface, a maize farmer in Nyaruguru district emphasized on the importance of the portal saying that they did not know how to register and submits bids online before they attended the seminar.

Richard Migambi, e-procurement manager at RPPA said that UMUCYO portal encouraged bidders to register on the portal and request assistance to the RPPA whenever they will meet difficulties.

“The online portal provides all documents and information required by bidders and eliminates the need for in-person visits and costs incurred in printing.”

The 2-day seminar which was organized by the RPPA will educate about 7490 contractors on the functions of UMUCYO e-procurement portal.

UMUCYO pilot portal was launched in 2016 and availed e-procurement services nationwide by 2017.

MINEDUC executed the preventive measure following a notice from the Prime Minister’s office published on March 6th, 2020 advising Rwandans on COVID-19 prevention.

Dr. Uwamariya Valentine, Minister of Education requested all schools to avail soap and clean water for students to wash their hands before entering class and other common spaces and before meals. “Moving forward, announcing special programs or communicating information to students will be done in classes instead of at the assembly.”

MINEDUC advised teachers, students, and other personnel in schools to immediately seek medical care if they have been in contact with a person coming from COVID-19 pandemic countries and have symptoms including fever, flu or cough.

School leaders were reminded to alert authorities if any student, teacher or personnel shows symptoms of the virus.

Even though no case of COVID-19 has been identified in Rwanda, the government has taken proactive measures to prevent the disease and treat it in case it spreads to Rwanda.

Some preventive measures already in place include cancellation of all public events and gatherings and the distribution of soap and clean water or hand sanitizers in all public institutions and places.

The government of Rwanda advised citizens to avoid unnecessary travels especially in countries where the virus prevails.

The first case of COVID-19 was identified towards the end of 2019 in Wuhan, China. Statistics show that 115,000 were diagnosed with the virus across the globe while 4200 died from it.

On March 10th, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was identified in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The function was attended by Howard Graham Buffett, an American businessman whose foundation has supported the development of this project, senior government officials, and local people among others.

Operational since the agriculture season 2017A, Nasho Irrigation Scheme project is made of 63 center pivots irrigation system, irrigating 1,173 hectares belonging to 2,099 smallholder farmers.

The project, worth 54 million USD, helps local farmers improve their livelihoods by enabling them to grow crops all year round, and allowing for a more efficient use of inputs, such as water and fertilizer, and by enhancing the yields and quality of the crops they grow.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President Kagame thanked Howard G. Buffett for the partnership that has become very productive in Rwanda’s agriculture and conservation to make a big difference for so many lives.

“I am very glad that we are witnessing a scheme like this one which has improved lives of so many to a level many people would not have thought could be achieved in such a short time,” the Head of State said. “We, the Rwandans, have a challenge to make sure that this productive relationship never comes to waste at any point.”

President Kagame also pointed out that the government will keep providing all farmers with advisory services so that they can achieve an increased farm productivity.

As of the agriculture season 2020A at Nasho Irrigation Project, the productivity for maize is between 5.5MT/ha and 10MT/ha, Bean:1.5 MT/ha, and Soybean: 1.3 MT/ha.

Beneficiaries of the irrigation systems were grouped into a cooperative dubbed Nasho Irrigation Cooperative (NAICO); which utilize and maintain the infrastructure.

The scheme also consists of a solar power plant with a capacity of 3.3 megawatts to power the irrigation system, with 2.4 MW battery storage unit installed, to provide electricity to pump water and reduce the burden from farmers.

In addition, 144 houses (36 houses that are four-in-one) to resettle households from areas under pivot irrigation, and farm buildings were constructed thanks to this project.

About 24 km of existing roads within the project area were also widened and resurfaced and about 10 km of new roads created, which made it easy for installation of irrigation systems as well as transportation of inputs and produce.

The challenge was raised as part of a 2018/2019 report from the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG) to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security.

Senator Bideri John Bonds, Head of the Senate Committee Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security noted that there is still a long way to go to render justice to genocide survivors.

“We cannot neglect the incredible achievements of the justice system in Rwanda but CNLG report showed that property restitution laws impede unity and reconciliation.”

Bideri said that one of the challenges met in settling property restitution claims was that some of the criminals who were accused of damaging and stealing property during the genocide are deceased while some others fled the country.

Settling claims is made impossible by the fact that the government cannot track those who fled the country and that for many of them, no property is registered in their names to compensate the survivors.

In 2019, Prof Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, IBUKA President explained that apart from property restitution lawsuits, more than 141 ‘Gacaca’ legal actions were not settled and that also obstructs the process of unity and reconciliation.

In addition, the Rwandan Senate recently called for measures to fight against genocide denial and ideologies spread daily on social media platforms. Genocide propaganda on social media was said to be one of the major reason obstructing unity and reconciliation especially within Rwandan communities living abroad.

‘Gacaca Courts’ was a method of transitional justice which was created in 2002 to rebuild the Rwandan community in the wake of the genocide by placing justice in the hands of citizens. Up to 2 million lawsuits were settled by only 2012 when the lawsuits should have normally taken 110 years to settle.

In approximately 900,000 trials which were conducted under Gacaca Courts, 200,000 were claims for restitution of properties damaged or stolen during the genocide.

Currently, only 10 in 30 districts have completely settled lawsuits related to the 1994 genocide against Tutsi while in the remaining districts, the lawsuits are majorly about property restitution.

The district has availed soap and clean water in all public places including park stations, markets, and shops.

Residents applauded the initiative saying how worried they are about the quick spread of the virus and commended the district’s administration for the preventive measures.

“We are thankful for the preventive measures the government thought of. That virus is worrying as it has claimed several lives across the globe” said Uwamaliya Immaculé one of the residents.

Another resident, Mihigo Vincent, thanked the government of Rwanda for being proactive in preventing the spread of COVID-19 but suggested the program should be extended to taxi-moto riders as the most common transport means in Rwanda. “Taxi-moto riders should be advised to clean their helmets frequently to prevent the spread of the virus.”

Jean Bosco Bigirimana, the deputy director-general for Horizon Express, a public transport company said that they have adopted measures to prevent COVID-19 through sensitizing passengers to wash their hands before boarding the buses and before checking in at their service counters.

Ange Sebutege, Huye District Mayor called upon owners of shops, markets and other public places to avail hand sanitizers or soap and clean water and urged residents to cooperate to prevent the virus. He also advised them to avoid shaking hands as it is the quickest way for the virus to spread.

COVID-19 was identified towards the end of 2019 in Wuhan, China and has since spread in many countries including Italy, the US, France, Egypt, and Nigeria among others.

The virus spreads through direct contact with the infected person, sneezing and coughing. To prevent the spread of the virus, the World Health Organization advises regular hand washing with alcohol-based hand sanitizers or clean water and soap, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. In addition, it is important to avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.

Recently, the Ministry of Health announced that no case of COVID-19 was identified in Rwanda so far.

The court hearing which was postponed twice attracted huge crowds from Muhoza village where the crimes were committed.

It is alleged that on February 22nd, 2020, the suspects were involved in a heinous crime by burning a house where two minors, Célestine and Sifa, daughters of Manirafasha Jerôme, lost their lives. At the time of the arson, the mother of the two deceased had gone to a nearby trading center for groceries.

It is said that on a fateful day, the suspects broke the house windows, poured gasoline inside and burned the house, instantly killing one of the girls. The other girl survived but was gravely injured. She is currently being treated at Rwanda Military Hospital where one of her legs has been amputated.

All the 6 suspects denied committing the crimes and gave the alibi that it happened during working hours and that they were all at their respective jobs.

The prosecution said that even though all the suspects claimed innocence, Munyakazi Evariste admitted that his daughter who is currently in jail did it along with his wife and his two sons. The incident happened as a result of a long-time conflict between Munyakazi’s family and the victims’ family.

Nsengiyumva who is accused of complicity in committing the crimes allegedly advised Munyakazi to keep a low profile, pretend to reconcile with Manirafasha and kill him afterward.

Both Munyakazi and Nsengiyumva denied the crimes before the court and claimed they were pushed by fear to tell that story and that the testimony should be rendered inadmissible before the court.

The prosecution asked the court to maintain the validity of their testimony since none of them was coerced into speaking and prayed before the court that unless any of them claims mental illness, only then will the testimony be dismissed.

During the hearing, the suspects applied for bail but prosecution asked they remain in custody as investigations get underway.

The next hearing of the case will be on March 13th, 2020.

One of the events that have been postponed is the Water Africa and East Africa Building and Construction Exhibition that was scheduled for 11-13 March 2020 in Kigali

“As was stated in our recent email, we were faced with the fact that the coronavirus pandemic is causing serious disruption throughout the world and as a result, Rwanda is taking stringent precautions to limit population exposure to the virus. Exhibitions and seminars are seen as high-risk areas for people to attend, particularly where international visitors from affected countries are present.

In addition, the government of Rwanda through their Prime Minister have called upon their people to avoid touching in the form of handshaking, hugging, etc. and to avoid close contact with anyone who may be potentially infected with the virus,” the statement reads in part.

In addition, the statement says, organizers have we learned that Kenya had the previous day declared that all events are to be canceled for 30 days.

“This is an unprecedented move and one which we are sure will follow in other neighboring countries”.

Organizers say they also had to consider the possibility of exhibitors and visitors having problems when returning to the home countries as several countries have now placed a 14-day quarantine moratorium on all passengers arriving back from foreign travel.

“With these issues in mind and the fact that we were advised that visitors would boycott the event, we felt compelled to postpone the event for 6 months in the hope that coronavirus will have been brought under control and that business and travel are back to normal. We have provisionally rescheduled the event to take place from 16th to 18th September 2020 but will monitor the ongoing problems which are still on the increase,” concludes the statement signed by Tracey Nolan-Shaw. Managing Director of ACE Event Management.

The Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Police (CIP) Alexis Rugigana, has said that the suspect was apprehended in Kabashotsi village, Nyamabuye cell, Kagogo sector after locals alerted the police.

“Residents called the police informing them the suspect was in possession of counterfeit bills and that she was planning on scamming them.”

Rugigana said that as soon as they received the call, they immediately headed to Kabashotsi village expecting to catch the suspect red-handed but she attempted to flee when she saw the police.

“When she saw us, she boarded a motorcycle and told the rider to speed off. She hid the bag which contained the fake bills and came back on foot not knowing we saw her hiding it.”

After intensive interrogation, she admitted to possessing the fake bills and showed the police where the bag was hidden. She had Rwf 319,000 fake bills in Rwf 2000 and Rwf 5000 denominations.”

Rugigana commended the cooperation of local residents and advised them to always provide information to the police on all suspected criminal activities.

“Our country’s security concerns us all. It is important to report all criminal activities especially the distribution of counterfeit bills as they impact the value of the Rwandan Franc and impede economic progress.”

The suspect is currently held at Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) station in Cyanika as further investigation get underway.

Under article 269 of the Penal Code, any person, who fraudulently counterfeits, falsifies or alters coins or bank notes which are legal tender in Rwanda or abroad, notes issued by the Treasury with its stamp or brand, either banknotes or alike that have legal tender in Rwanda or abroad, or one who introduces or issues in Rwanda such effects or notes with knowledge that they are forged or falsified, commits an offence.

On conviction, the culprit is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years and not more than seven years.

Starting last week, the Ministry of Sports held various meetings with football associations to identify ways in which COVID-19 can be prevented.

On Monday, March 9th, 2020, FERWAFA issued a notice to all football clubs in Rwanda banning handshakes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The notice reads: “In response to the outbreak of the Coronavirus across the world and following measures which have been put in place by the government of Rwanda to prevent and fight the virus, FERWAFA has set measures to prevent the virus spread.”

Some of the measures FERWAFA imposed include availing soap and clean water or hand sanitizers at all stadiums entrance, a handshake ban between players and prohibition to host games before the aforementioned hygiene requirements are fulfilled.

All football teams that are not able to fulfill the COVID-19 prevention requirements are required to inform FERWAFA not later than March 10th, 2020 at 10 am for FERWAFA to inform the guest football teams regarding match cancellation.

Due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, many countries around the world including China and Italy banned football matches until April 3rd, 2020.
In the United Kingdom, Morocco and France, teams will be playing behind closed doors with no fans in the stadiums.