Author: IGIHE

The pass-out was held at the Canine Brigade headquarters in Masoro, Gasabo District.

The one-month training focused on basic explosive and narcotic detection and kennel management. It was conducted in partnership with the Police Dog Center of Holland.

DIGP Marizamunda thanked the course participants, the facilitators and the Canine brigade for the successful completion of the training.

He commended the canine specialists for the important role they play in supplementing national safety and security.

“We all know that the primary responsibility of the Police and other security organs is to make sure that there is peace and security in the country as they are the pre-condition for sustainable development. You play a significant role in ensuring that security,” DIGP Marizamunda said.

He, however, reminded participants that the criminal landscape is becoming more complex and challenging, especially with criminals taking advantage of advancement of technology.

“Criminals are dynamic, they are now using technology; capacity building must be the priority to ensure we always stay many steps ahead of criminals. The course you end today fits well in that objective,” he added.

He emphasized that Rwanda National Police (RNP) will continue to invest in capacity building, acquire more dogs and expand areas of specialization such as apprehension and attack dogs.

RNP, he further said, will continue to upgrade Canine Brigade infrastructure including training facilities and developing a dog breeding center.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Benoit Kayijuka, Canine Brigade Commanding Officer said that the training was designed to equip police officers with the required standard skills and knowledge for effective use of dogs while searching.

“RNP is strengthening the Canine capabilities. These officers completing training today have been taught the maintenance of gear and kennel, handler safety, canine health and welfare, search techniques, among others. The acquired knowledge will help us in our daily duties,” ACP Kayijuka said.

Andres Isaksson, the chief trainer from the Police Dogs Centre Holland commended the discipline, commitment and energy displayed by the trainees.

“Dogs have the ability to perform better, under the supervision of more experienced handlers,” Andres noted.
Police Constable (PC) Nadine Ingabire, one of the course participants said that she learned many things and she is committed to use the knowledge acquired.

“Before coming here I did not know that dogs obey and respect orders given. My dog searches for explosives and it is interesting to work with it. I am now familiar with it, we form a team and we are ready to work for our country,” PC Ingabire said.

K-9 means a dog that is specifically trained to assist Police and other law enforcement personnel in, for example, searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, finding crime scene evidence, and protecting their handlers.

Dr. Binagwaho has been appointed alongside Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Sahel Consulting: Agriculture & Nutrition Ltd., headquartered in Nigeria.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Agnes and Ndidi to our Board of Trustees. As the Foundation works to lift up the most vulnerable people in communities around the world, their deep global development expertise and longstanding commitment to improving lives will be invaluable to the organization,” said Board Chair Richard D. Parsons.

Dr. Binagwaho has served as Vice Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity, an initiative of Partners In Health, since 2017.

From 2002-2016, she served the Rwandan Health Sector in high-level government positions, first as the Executive Secretary of Rwanda’s National AIDS Control Commission, then as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, and later spent five years as the Minister of Health.

Dr. Binagwaho is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a Professor of the Practice of Global Health Delivery at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda, and an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

She completed her MD in General Medicine at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles and her MA in Pediatrics at the Universite de Bretagne Occidentale.

“Agnes has helped change the national health landscape as a member of the government of Rwanda, and is an important leader in the field of global health,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation.

« I have long admired the work of the Rockefeller Foundation and I am delighted to join the Board of Trustees. The Foundation’s work advancing new frontiers, especially with respect to health and science, continues to touch the lives of so many around the world, and I look forward to helping support the advancement of that work, » said Dr. Agnes Binagwaho.

The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission to inspire and foster large-scale human impact that promotes the well-being of humanity throughout the world; it’s efforts to scale innovations that help meet the needs of the most vulnerable communities around the world are just as important now as they were when the foundation was founded.

The Rockefeller Foundation was established in 1913 and was ranked the 39th largest foundation by total giving in the United States in 2015.

The 20 ambulances acquired through Imbuto Foundation under Baho Neza project, worth around Rwf 1 billion Rwandan francs and were donated to the hospitals and health centres in most need, to enhance Rwanda’s efforts in decreasing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity rates as one of the goals of the Baho Neza project.

From the recent assessment done by the Ministry of Health, almost half of the fleet is old and there is a gap of around 174 ambulances if these old ambulances are to be replaced to meet the Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP) 4 target.

The Ministry of Health aims at ensuring that at least one ambulance is available for every 40,000 citizens. In order to reach this target, the MOH has engaged districts for more ownership in terms of planning and budgeting for new ambulances each fiscal year in order to replace the old fleet.

The recipients of the new ambulances were advised to keep improving the fleet management, ensure proper maintenance of the cars and work with the districts to come up with a strategic replacement plan.

This comes after several people have been arrested for either conducting illegal mining operations or unlawful trade in minerals.

In the latest case, Police in Gatsibo District, on Wednesday, arrested two illegal mineral dealers with 70kgs of wolfram.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Hamdun Twizeyimana, the police spokesperson for Eastern region identified the suspects as Eliezel Musengimana, 27, and Fraterne Shyaka, 28, over illegal mining.

“The suspects were arrested in Rugarama Sector with the minerals after the locals called the Police. They were buying minerals from miners, who were also mining illegally,” said CIP Twizeyimana.

“Mining or trade in minerals has to follow the law; right people being in the right concession at the right time. A dealer has to be licenced to do so and transportation has to be done in the right way—minerals have to be tagged to show the origin partly to fight fraud and tax evasion.”

“Illicit mining activities don’t follow legal and safety provisions. They take place at abandoned mineral concession and illegal miners often operate under dangerous conditions. Not only is illegal mining risky from a safety perspective for those who choose to participate, risking their lives and that of others; but it leads to outcomes that have negative long-term consequences,” said the spokesperson.

Article 54 of the law on mining and quarry operations, states that “any person, who undertakes mineral or quarry exploration, exploitation, processing or trading without a license commits an offence

Upon conviction, the offender is liable to imprisonment for a term of between two and six months and a fine of not less than Rwf1 million and not more than Rwf5 million or only one of these penalties.

Liliane Musabinema, 31, was at the time of her arrest found in possession of 5,200 pellets of cannabis.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Sylvestre Twajamahoro, the Police spokesperson for the Southern region, said that Musabinema was arrested following a tip-off by area residents in Muyira.

“The Anti-Narcotics Unit received reliable information that Musabinema, who was suspected of being a major drug dealer, had brought another consignment of narcotics,” said CIP Twajamahoro.

“ANU responded and arrested her red-handed with 5,200 pellets of cannabis. Musabinema disclosed another drug dealer whom she identified as Emmanuel Niyirora, as her supplier. Law enforcement organs are working together to track and arrest Niyirora as well,” he added.

The spokesperson also said that it is a chain of drug traffickers from the neighboring countries to their local suppliers and retailers, which is being targeted in the ongoing operations.

“It is a chain of distributors and local suppliers, but we commend the role of the general public in identifying these individuals and their groups, which continues to ease Police operations to break these chains,” CIP Twajamahoro said.

Article 263 of Rwanda penal code stipulates that any person who, unlawfully, produces, transforms, transports, stores, gives to another or who sells narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances commits an offense with a sentence, upon conviction, ranging between 20 years and life in prison, and a fine of between Rwf20 million and Rwf30 million.

The certificates which were presented by Digital Jewels, a specialized cybersecurity and IT solutions firm, after a period of evaluation and capacity building in regard to digital security measures for the well-functioning of the bank in line with the standard best practice.

In their evaluation prior to certification, the experts examined backup memory storage capacities, staff capacities and cybersecurity against outlier access.

The evaluation included also the security of the Cards used, to improve their experience with the ATM machines and other channels.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Digital Jewels Ltd, Adedoyin Odunfa noted that the certification awarded were well deserved, considering the cybersecurity solutions that have been introduced at the Bank and they act as a game changer as they give the Bank confidence to become more competitive and more effective in service delivery and data system protection.

“Access Bank Rwanda Plc has upgraded their security infrastructure and can now detect any electronic breach if there is any,” She aid

The Managing Director of Access Bank Rwanda, Mr. Jean-Claude Karayenzi assured customers of the safety of their deposits.

“These certificates mean a great deal to this international bank; now cyber hacking has grown on an international level; this means that we have to work even harder to ensure the safety of our customers’ accounts. We made this extra effort to help our clients feel safe with their accounts in our hands.”

John Karamuka, the Director of Payment System at the Central Bank of Rwanda congratulated Access Bank Rwanda for being the first Commercial Bank in Rwanda to attain these three certifications at the same time.

The project known as the Rwanda Housing Financing Project promises cheaper mortgages and longer duration of payment.

With a secured World Bank (WB) loan of $150m now available, the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) has given fresh opportunities for Rwandans to own a house at low-interest rates, as low as 11%.

The funding will be dispatched to all commercial banks, micro-finance and saving schemes to speed up service delivery.

The beneficiaries will also get an option on choosing a rent-on mortgage loan, in this case, the rental fee will be used as payment for the loan for a period of more than 20 years

The new rates and offers comes as a game changer in the mortgage segment which has been offered by commercial banks at a rate of between 16% and 18% and for a short tenor.

The Chief Executive Officer of BRD, Eric Rutabana and the Director General of Rwanda Housing Authority, Eric Serubibi announced that applicants for affordable funding must be first time home owners and citizens having an income of less than Rwf700, 000 per month and they can borrow to purchase a house starting with a worth of Rwf10million not exceeding Rwf35million.

“This kind of loan is strictly meant for low income earners which include teachers and the fund is for those who don’t have houses at all but need an affordable one for the first house not for those with other houses,” said Eric Rutabana.

The new funding is expected to respond to the need for affordable housing in general especially in Kigali which has more than 1.2 million dwellers with a majority of them renting houses.

The concerned institutions will share the list of the registered applicants to the participating financial institutions who will approach the applicant to fulfill the mortgage requirements and get the loan.

The financial institutions will then pay the seller of the house on behalf of the mortgage applicant.

However, they said, the new project will be subjected to the usual mortgage loan laws and penalties such as taking possession of the house in case of default.

Currently 17 projects have been registered, some of which started in July 2019 as a pilot scheme to assess the market and decide whether to expand the construction.

Among others, the PM’s Order established a 2.5% levy on annual turnovers of telecommunications companies for the first two years, which is to increase to 3% in the third year and thereafter.

MTN Rwanda has led the way in complying with this new legislation, cementing its commitment to contributing to the development of Rwanda and building a legacy of changing lives within the communities where it operates.

In relation to the rates established by the Prime Minister’s Order, MTN Rwanda will pay out a total of Rwf1,363,442,690 by the end of December 2019.

In addition to this, MTN Rwanda has paid Rwf50 million through its Corporate Social Responsibility to further contribute to achieving universal health coverage.

Speaking about this contribution, MTN Rwanda CEO, Mitwa Ng’ambi said, “In line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal of achieving good health and well-being, MTN Rwanda is committed to contributing to the betterment of the health of millions of Rwandans. We are all about making a positive and sustainable impact in Rwanda so that we can be better together.”

Mutuelle de Santé is a community-based health insurance scheme established in 2002 and managed by the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) since 2015.

The Prime Minister’s Order came after the Government of Rwanda’s commitment to spend an additional Rwf6 billion on Mutuelle de Santé through direct budget financing every year.

“As the Government continues to push for increased accessibility to high quality healthcare for all, the cost on the scheme increases. As a result, it was necessary to find creative ways to finance it for which we are grateful to the Government’s support and to the actors who are coming out to comply with the obligations,” RSSB Deputy Director General in charge of Benefits Dr. Hakiba Solange said.

Financing sources established by the Prime Minister’s Order come to increase financing for the CBHI scheme without increasing the healthcare cost for very many Rwandans.

“We would like to remind all Rwandans to continue paying their Mutuelle de Santé subscriptions on time to ensure they access healthcare without hindrance because a health body is the basis for everything,” Dr. Hakiba added.

Besides complying with the new Prime Minister’s Order, MTN Rwanda has always been a strong partner in facilitating universal health coverage, and the commitment remains.

“We recognise health care challenges and we are committed to being part of the solution. Our collaboration with the Government of Rwanda and RSSB is part of the greater good – we’re pleased to work together to create a brighter Rwanda,” concluded Mrs. Ng’ambi.

This ceremony, which is the second of its kind, demonstrates the commitment of FAGACE and COGEBANQUE to support the private sector in the implementation of the projects and the excellent cooperation relationships that exist between the two financial institutions.

The project that is being carried out by the company YEGO INNOVISION has the objective of equipping moto-taxis with an electronic connected device called Intelligent Connected Fare Meter (ICFM) in order to ensure the management and control of the rides and displacements carried out by these means of transport.

The project will help streamline the motorcycle taxi industry and address the following challenges:

-* Follow motorcycle taxi drivers in real-time;
-* Regulate travel fares;
-* Usage of electronic payment means;
-* Register owners and drivers of motorcycle taxis
-* Improve the revenue of motorcycle taxi drivers through the use of the telephone for booking reservations by means of 24-hour operational calls
-* Build a relevant database of the taxi-motorcycle transport industry for the collection of reliable statistics.

The most ardent wish is that YEGO INNOVISION is a success story and that the Cooperation between FAGACE and COGEBANQUE strengthens and leads to the signing of several guarantee agreements in favor of several projects.

President Kagame made the invitation as he addressed members that participated in the ‘G20 Compact with Africa’ Investment Summit held in Berlin, Germany yesterday.
Kagame cited Rwanda’s partnership with Germany companies like Volkswagen (VW), Siemens and SAP, saying that it “demonstrates the competitiveness of our economies and the reforms that have been happening in the ease of doing business.”

“This really showcases how Africa is ripe for business and investment, and how far we can go,” he added

Commending the Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership in prioritizing investment from the German business community, Kagame said that this was delivering the practicalities of what Africa wants to see from Germany, Europe, and the G20.

Thomas Schaefer, the Chairman and the Managing Director of Volkswagen South Africa told business executives to present especially those from Germany that the continent was particularly ready for investments in the automotive industry where his group is already invested.

He pointed out that the continent was faced by challenges of dumping of used cars and extraordinary importation of fuel, saying businesses could tap into that to address challenges.

G20 Compact with Africa is an initiative launched in 2017 to promote private investments in Africa and currently, 12 African countries – including Rwanda have joined it.

Besides Rwanda, other African countries that are part of the partnership are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Senegal, Togo, and Tunisia.