Author: IGIHE

The President gave the advice today as he met with over 800 medical doctors from both public and private institutions for an interactive discussion at Intare Conference Arena in Gasabo district, Kigali city.

The meeting aimed at discussing medics’ role in the development of the nation.
Medics told the President that health sector in Rwanda has grown remarkably going hand in hand with the increase of health care practitioners.

Today, Rwanda counts 1,464 doctors in Private and Public Hospitals has 751 General Practitioners and 504 specialist doctors.

There are also 209 medics who are simultaneously carrying our internships and undertaking Masters. This shows that the country has at least one medic to attend 8,197 people.

The number of nurses rose from 1 attending 1,291 patients in 2010 to 1 attending 1,904 patients in 2017. The number of midwives grew from 1 per 66,749 to 1 midwife per 4064 in 2017.

The increase bore fruits that maternal and child deaths reduced by 75% and 79% respectively in the past 20 years.

The country reports 58,445 community health workers countrywide.

Dr. David Ntirushwa, the president of Rwanda Medical Association said that shortage of equipment remains a challenge despite commendable achievements including the increase of specialist doctors.

“There is an increase of medics at hospitals but the issue of adequate equipment persists,” he said.

Ntirushwa also hinted on increased salary and incentives for medical practitioners to get transport facilitation and accommodations.

President Kagame reminded medics of their role to transform the society they live in and take part in problem solving.

“You are aware of the country’s situation, siblings and friends. You have to take it into account starting from you asking the question. Your request is one of the concerns but not the only one to be addressed by the government. You are part of solutions providers. You have to play your role,” he said.

The President blamed carelessness and ineffective performance of some medical practitioners drawing all their attention to a public figure seeking services and abandoning other patients.

He requested the Minister of Health and relevant institutions to collaboratively solve the problem of medics making own choices for specialized medical courses other than preferring specialty in wanting priority areas of the country.

Kagame asked medical practitioners to reduce the prevalence of health tourism and change the mindsets of people with wrong perceptions that Rwanda can’t make it. He also urged them to make necessary transfers.

“Change such mindsets aligning it with capacity building so that people perceive Rwanda as a transformed country,” he said.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Diane Gashumba said that health sector made remarkable strides and gained international repute that it needs to be upheld and taken farther.
“We built credibility in reducing maternal deaths, preventing HI/ AIDS and Malaria. We need to ensure that nothing holds us back,” she said.

The successes are attributed to efforts expended in the advancement of health sector allocating 16% of the national budget to the sector; introducing inclusive community based medical insurance, and community health workers among others.

Oscar Kerkejta, India’s ambassador in Rwanda said that the donation reflects cooperation between both countries.

“It is a donation promised by our Prime Minister during his visit to Rwanda last year.
India enjoys existing cooperation with Rwanda in different areas including education. We chose to provide science books because the field is constituted of complex courses. Using such didactic books helps students to understand better sciences,” he said.

The Director-General of REB, Dr. Irenée Ndayambaje explained that such books will be used by students in 9 and 12 years of basic education programs.

“Schools with Nine and twelve years’ education program have the most pressing issues of books’ shortage,” he said.

Dr. Ndayambaje underscored that such books will bring remarkable productivity given that the country is targeting a knowledge-based economy.

Rwanda, India’s diplomatic relations date back in 1999.

Currently, Indians are continuously increasing investment in Rwanda. A total of 66 projects worth US$317 million were recorded between 2011 and 2016 including Airtel, Zinc Hotel and Mahatma Gandhi University.

Indians have also invested in Gisovu Tea Factory, Imana Steel and Sahasra Electronics Pvt Ltd among others.

A group of parliamentarians led by Baroness D’Souza, the former chairperson of British Senate on 4th November 2019 wrote to President Paul Kagame asking him to release detained military officers including Tom Byabagamba and Frank Rusagara.

Col Tom Byabagamba’s and Rtd Brig-Gen Frank Rusagara’s cases are currently at the Court of Appeal challenging March 2016 verdicts by the Military High Court that saw Col. Byabagamba jailed for 21 years and Rusagara for 20 years.

Byabagamba had been convicted of tarnishing the image of the State, public insurrection, illegal possession of firearms, contempt, and concealing evidence in a criminal case, while Rusagara was found guilty of instigating public insurrection and illegal possession of firearms.

The request letter explained that the duo has spent five years in prison yet their health is critical because Byabagamba leans on orthesis following back surgery while Rusagara has prostate complications among other health problems.

Beyond that, the letter reads that Rusagara’s wife died when he was in prison and so children miss parental care and want to live together with the surviving parent.

The letter ends stating that releasing Byabagamba and Rusagara would be proof to the United Kingdom and the entire world that Rwanda commutes sick inmates sentenced for long.

Replying to the letter, Minister Busingye clarified that Tom Byabagamba and Frank Rusagara were convicted on 31st March 2016 of serious crimes under Rwandan law and were sentenced 21 and 20 years of imprisonment respectively.

He explained that Byabagamba and Rusagara cases are being handled by the Court of Appeal following their appeal against the ruling.

Minister Busingye said that opinions should not determine courts’ decisions referring to the response British previously gave to UN Working Group requesting the United Kingdom not to arrest Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks as he got out of Ecuador embassy in London but was immediately detained.

“As a matter of Rwandan law, there are limited circumstances in which the Government can intervene in a criminal case. Unless and until invited to do so in accordance with the relevant laws and procedures, it would be inappropriate for the Executive to comment on any pending case, seek to influence the outcome, or intervene as proposed in your letter. Any such action would constitute improper interference with an independent judicial process,” reads part of the reply letter.

“Rwandan law provides a clear procedure for requesting clemency which Mr. Byabagamba and Rusagara are entitled to pursue, in accordance with relevant law,” adds the letter.

The Court of Appeal is expected to read the ruling on case of Byabagamba and Rusagara on 15th November 2019.

Winners were selected after voting by 30 of the most popular travel bloggers in the industry, who collectively sport more than 12 million followers on social media.

Commenting on the development, Belise Kariza, Chief Tourism Officer of the Rwanda Development Board said that Rwanda is honored to receive the award and is among the top countries to be visited in 2020 as rated by the world’s leading travel bloggers.

“Visit Rwanda shares this award with the community members, conservationists, tourism operators and hoteliers who contribute every day to making Rwanda a special place to visit. If you haven’t visited Rwanda yet, we welcome you to experience the country’s natural beauty, culture, and wildlife. Rwanda is truly one of the world’s most remarkable luxury eco-tourism destinations,” she highlighted.

In describing why Rwanda was selected, the article states: “With the World Economic Forum recently naming it the safest country in Africa and RwandAir slated to open direct flights from JFK to Kigali, 2020 is the best year yet to travel to Rwanda.”

“This East African pearl is changing the African travel narrative in so many ways. It will be exciting to visit Kigali to see its amazing transformation and to see the conservation efforts at its national parks,” said Amarachi Ekekwe, one of the judges and the travel blogger behind Travel with a Pen.

Amanda Mouttaki, another judge and the travel blogger behind Maroc Mama said that Rwanda is at the top of his list to visit in Africa to experience its cultural mix and beautiful natural surrounds.

“While most people go to see the gorillas there are lots of other cultural heritage sites and experiences to be had,” he said.

The site is also inviting readers to cast votes for their favorite destination, with winners on each continent being crowned with the annual Readers’ Choice Award.

Travel Lemming is a travel blog founded by Nate Hake, an American who has been traveling the world full-time since 2016. The site’s mission is to help highlight emerging and underappreciated destinations as a way to fight over-tourism.

Rev. Karangwa was arrested towards the end of October 2019.

Karangwa appeared in court today morning for hearing of bail application as investigations are underway.

He was neither accompanied by a defense lawyer nor relatives or the church’s followers.
Karangwa told the judge that he was not ready for the hearing and requested to postpone it to get a defense lawyer.

The prosecution said that the files were transferred to the court three days ago and so defense lawyers should have seen it.

It, however, explained that the suspect has the right to legal representation and requested to adjourn the hearing.

The presiding judge postponed the next hearing on Tuesday 12th November 2019 at 2 pm.

The suspects are all residents of Muyira Sector, Nyundo Cell in Mugari Village where four underage children were rescued.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Sylvestre Twajamahoro, the Police spokesperson for the Southern region, said that the rescue of the children and subsequent arrest of those who were violating their rights is part of the ongoing operations against child labour.

“All the four children, with three of them girls, had dropped out of school including one aged 12. Two children were working in a restaurant while others were working as house-help doing domestic chores,”he explained.

“It’s so unfortunate that one of the suspects is a teacher; these are parents with school-going children, who should understand that these children they were employing to do hectic work in their homes and businesses should equally be in school,” CIP Twajamahoro added.

Article 6 of law No. 71/2018 of 31/08/2018 relating to the protection of the child defines a child as “any person under eighteen (18) years of age.”

“These are operations meant to fight child labour, promote child rights and ensure children go to school. These child labour activities are harmful to minors and their development. Children should be guided to have a better future,” the spokesperson said.

“Parents and guardians should remember their responsibility of looking after their children; take them to school and to avoid any form of abuse that makes children escape from their homes,” he advised.

Article 6 of the law regulating labour in Rwanda, prohibits subjecting a child below the age of 18 to any form of works, which are physically harmful to the child; work underground, underwater, at dangerous heights or in confined space; work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools or which involves manual handling or transport of heavy loads; work in an environment, which exposes the child to temperatures, noise levels or vibrations damaging his/her health; work for longer hours or during the night or performed in confined spaces.

The event was part of Visit Rwanda’s ‘Business-to-Business’ outreach at the World Travel Market, which takes place each year in London to introduce global travel buyers, investors, and operators to more than 5,000 of the biggest destinations and brands in the world.

The event began with a screening of the Rwanda Royal Tour, a travel documentary featuring President Paul Kagame and showcasing Rwanda’s tourism offering.

The film includes President Kagame taking American Journalist Peter Greenberg on safari to see the Big Five, to Volcanoes National Park to encounter the mountain gorillas as well as sharing Rwanda’s incredible journey of transformation.

A group of 20 Rwandan tour operators had the opportunity to present themselves and showcase the tourism experiences and travel packages they offer.

The event also featured a performance from Indatwa Cultural Troupe which gave guests a taste of Rwanda’s unique cultural heritage.

“The World Travel Market in London brings together some of the globe’s leading travel agents. We were excited to provide a platform for Rwandan tour operators to connect with their international colleagues and foster new business relationships. Wherever we are in the world, we are pleased to see travel professionals excited about Rwanda as a popular luxury eco-tourism destination,” said Belise Kariza, Chief Tourism Officer, Rwanda Development Board.

During the event, representatives from the Rwanda Development Board, Rwandan tour operators, hoteliers, international tour operators, and travel media took time to network, learn from each other, exchange knowledge and expertise as well as explore new opportunities. The event was organized in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board and the Rwanda Tourism Chamber.

Aimable Rutagarama, Rwanda Tourism Chamber Chairperson said that the event with Visit Rwanda in London was the perfect opportunity for Rwanda Tourism Chamber members to network with global travel buyers and media.

“Rwanda’s private sector tour operators and hoteliers are at the forefront of promoting the country and providing tourists with world-class travel experiences,” he noted.

Visit Rwanda and the Rwanda Tourism Chamber have been exhibiting their travel experiences and services to global investors and potential tourists at the World Travel Market, which started in London on Monday 4 November and concludes on 6 November 2019.

Ramaphosa who was speaking during a televised interview at CNBC Africa where he hinted on different issues concerning his country’s economy and foreign policy, emphasized South Africa pulls a lot of lessons from Rwanda’s achievements through his country’s economy surpasses Rwanda’s economy.

“We are learning quite a lot from Rwanda. Rwanda has achieved tremendous achievements. I have had a number of people from our local Government sector going to Rwanda just to go and see how Kigali manages to be the cleanest city on the whole continent and I say emulate them,” he said.

“Be like them and even beat them, be better than Kigali. In terms of their business savviness, their regulatory framework and their more-open economy, we have a lot to learn from them. For instance, when they say they have one stop shop, they mean it in real effect. When you get to Rwanda, you open business the same day and you have all your payments in a few hours, get your company registered and takes certificate,” added Ramaphosa.

He further explained that South Africa is learning from others which he believes is the beauty of being united as part of the African Union ‘that we can learn from one another, exchange good lessons and emulate what they are doing best and if they are doing wrong things we can learn from that and say we are not doing that’.

Rwanda remained the second easiest place to do business in Africa and is now 38th globally, according to the 2020 World Bank Doing Business report released towards the end of last month.

The World Bank assessed 190 countries using 10 indicators in business regulations.
These include starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

Rwanda ranked second in Africa after Mauritius and maintained the first position in the East African Community. Rwanda is also the only low-income country in the top 50.

The 2020 report also saw Rwanda’s global ranking drop 9-positions to 38th from 29th last year, mainly caused by the World Bank’s sudden change in methodology.

He was arrested on 22nd October 2019 and appeared for the first time in Nyarugenge Primary court on 30th October 2019 for bail application hearing on alleged crimes as investigations got underway.

The hearing was adjourned after Bayigamba told the judge that he was not ready for trial citing the absence of his defense lawyer. He requested time to negotiate his legal representative to which prosecution said is part of the suspect’s rights to get legal representation.

Bayigamba was taken to court today as expected but the hearing could not proceed because prosecutors were holding a general assembly.

It is said that Bayigamba sold land to two different persons. It is alleged that Bayigamba received payments in advance from one buyer but later sold the same land to another person and failed to pay back the advance.

Bayigamba is among prominent figures in the Private Sector. Apart from being the Managing Director of Manumetal Ltd, he once chaired the association of manufacturers and the Private Sector Federation.

Bayigamba also assumed different functions in the top management of different institutions including RwandAir, Soras, Agaseke Bank (currently Bank of Africa), Banque Populaire and the University of Rwanda among others.

He also served as the Minister of Sports and Culture and the Chairperson of the Olympics Committee in Rwanda among others.

Uwambajemariya Florence, the mayor of Burera district has been appointed the executive secretary of Western province replacing Habiyaremye Pierre Célestin.

Dr. Jeanne Nyirahabimana, the mayor of Kicukiro district has been appointed the executive secretary of Eastern Province replacing Habimana Kizito.

Jabo Paul, the executive secretary of Northern Province has been transferred to Southern province exchanging duties Mushaija Geoffrey appointed executive secretary in Northern Province.

The provincial executive secretary is mandated to issue instructions to the province’s staff, coordinating and supervising service delivery, preparing the budget plan at the provincial level and following up its implementation; assessing files and other archives to be approved or signed by the Governor and reviewing issuance of tenders among others.