The Head of State, who is also the Chairman of the ruling party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi) made the remarks on Monday, while presiding over the party’s extended National Executive Committee (NEC), which was aimed at taking stock of the progress in fighting COVID-19 and asses economic recovery plans.
President Kagame said that the biggest challenge the country faces today is poor service delivery, not because of lack of infrastructure or means to provide good services but mainly because of a poor attitude that doesn’t give priority to urgency.
“We need to be doing things at the pace we need to develop. We need to do things faster and better. Mindset is very important,” President Kagame said.
“If you have everything required to provide services, why don’t you give it? Why do you need to wait another hour, another day to provide the service you should have provided?”
The head of state said it happens because of two reasons, one being the person who is supposed to give the service and is not doing so and the person who is supposed to get a service and does not get it.
“If you just accept things to be that way, you walk out of the room and go complaining on the way or you vent your anger elsewhere, you are part of the problem because you are not doing anything about it,” President Kagame said.
He urged the youth especially to be categorical in rejecting bad services and to also do something to address it rather than complaining.
President Kagame gave an example of a pregnant woman in Karongi district who lost her life and that of her baby due to sheer negligence because they could not trace her Mutuelle de Sante file yet she had paid her dues.
He said the woman was tossed up and down and told that they needed to address the issue regarding her records with the headquarters in Kigali and they asked her to go back home and wait, yet the woman had paid and needed a service urgently.
“It was not because she hadn’t paid. The problem was with the people supposed to give her a service. It was their mistake. They sent her back, later in the evening that same day, she died delivering. The baby died too. This is a true story,”
“Let us assume that she had other serious issues to address, first give her a service and settle whatever issue there is later,” President Kagame.
President Kagame said that what is unfortunate is that even the death of a person or people does not change anything people continue to go about their work with the same attitude, adding that it is the innocent people who pay the price; urging leaders to address issues around service delivery as soon as possible.
He said this on September 27, 2020 while in Huye District to visit various infrastructures, looking at the existing achievements and the needs that are yet to be met.
As the minister was exploring the streets of Huye, he said that the construction of the road has changed the appearance of the city.
“In this World Bank project, especially on roads and other necessary infrastructure, we can see many good transformations and we have reached a very good stage; by next January all road infrastructures should have been completed,” he said, adding that it is very gratifying that the City of Huye is looking so different from what it was two years ago.
Gatete said that the City of Huye is clean and that the Huye District Administration has a positive vision for its improvement.
Huye District Mayor Sebutege Ange said they were currently constructing six-kilometer-long and 300-meter-long murrum roads in Huye City that would cost about Rwf6 billion.
Sebutege pointed out that other major projects will make Huye City the second largest city after Kigali including a school for the training and operation of small drones; industrial area; football academy and top-notch hospitality facilities.
President Paul Kagame was on Monday, September 28, while addressing members of the extended National Executive Committee (NEC) of RPF-Inkotanyi, which took place at the party headquarters in Rusororo, Gasabo District.
“For years, we’ve had people requesting to be naturalized Rwandans. I keep telling leaders, I hope they agree with me, whoever wants to be one of us should be given the opportunity, as long as they want to make a contribution towards building our country,”
For Kagame, it would be shameful for any Rwandan to wish to belong somewhere else while many want to come here.
“I would not wish to be anyone else or from anywhere else. We must be proud to be who we are. Whoever wants to be someone else, that’s their problem. It would be shameful because there are people who want to be us,” Kagame said.
The president also referred to the hostilities of past Rwandan regimes that were against people, including Rwandans themselves and indicated that Rwanda today is different.
“We cannot say the country is full, like those before used to proclaim, therefore we could not be accommodated. That is not who we are. There is room for everyone, including those Rwandans who are still abroad,” the President said adding however that, accommodating people should not be interpreted wrongly.
“However, being accommodative of everyone should not be misconstrued to mean that we are submissive. It does not mean that some people are going to claim to be more important than everybody else. We are all equal and must be treated equally,” Kagame said.
Furthermore, President Kagame reiterated the values of a Rwandan leader and the dos and don’ts.
“Last time we met, we talked about corruption and other governance challenges that negatively impact Rwandans. This should not still be happening. When fighting a bad habit, we have to uproot it, rather than get to a point where it’s tolerable,” he said.
Kagame asked officials to work hard for the community they are meant to serve.
“Working for the wellbeing of Rwandans is a mandate that does not change under any circumstances. People should get what they deserve. We cannot be drawn back to where this country came from,” he said.
“For all our aspirations to be achieved, it will require effort of everyone, you and me. We may defer in ways we think or do things, but we have a common vision, building the nation. Everyone must make their contribution to move the country forward.”
President Kagame said that the government is doing all it can to ensure that life continues because when a business person isn’t able to trade, or children are not going to school, it becomes a problem not only for the people but also for the economy in general.
He said that whatever the government does is and should be for the wellbeing of Rwandans, something he said is a mandate that does not change under any circumstances.
“People should get what they deserve. We cannot be drawn back to where this country came from,” President Kagame said.
He said the ruling party will continue working towards achieving the goal but each and every Rwanda will have to play their part, especially young people, who he challenged to be solution seekers and stop pointing out where problems are in society without doing anything about them.
“For all our aspirations to be achieved, it will require effort from everyone, you and me. We may defer in ways we think or do things, but we have a common vision, building the nation. Everyone must make their contribution to move the country forward,”
“We face challenges in different forms; in our communities, as a nation, in the region we live in or even at the global scale. Overcoming these problems requires working together. Rwanda is not an island,”
The president was straight to the point where he indicated that it belongs to everyone to pay taxes.
“For instance, we must fulfill our fiscal responsibilities. When you have conducted business, it is your duty to pay tax. We need the tax to build schools, roads etc. It is for the general interest, so whether you like or not, you must comply,” he said.
The Head of State said that he has no problem with being insulted or Rwanda being called a ‘dictatorship’ as long as long as they don’t interfere with the country’s right to defend its territory or determine its development course.
Talking of bad services, President Kagame said that the biggest challenge the country faces today is poor service delivery, not because of lack of infrastructure or means to provide good services but mainly because of a poor attitude that doesn’t give priority to urgency.
“We need to be doing things at the pace we need to develop. We need to do things faster and better. Mindset is very important,” President Kagame said
He said there is a tendency of people saying that ‘the machine is not working’, ‘come back tomorrow’, and ‘we don’t have this or that’, just to delay a service that must be given to a citizen.
“The issue is in people’s mindsets. If you have everything required to give a service, why don’t you give the service? Why do you have to wait for another hour, another day to give a service you should give, there and then?”
He pointed out that that mindset or attitude cannot be imported from anywhere but it needs people to proactively reject bad service.
“It happens because of two reasons -the person who is supposed to give the service and is not doing so and you who is supposed to get a service and you don’t get it and then all of us who become part of the problem,”
“If you just accept things to be that way, you walk out of the room and go complaining on the way or you vent your anger elsewhere, you are part of the problem because you are not doing anything about it,” President Kagame said.
He encouraged the youth especially to be categorical in rejecting bad services and to also do something to address it rather than complaining.
House parties, visits and other social gatherings are prohibited under the government directives meant to fight further spread of COVID-19.
At about 3 am on Sunday, Police found the five people in the house of Marie Claire Kibukayire, who was holding a party in celebration of her newly built house.
Police was called in the night by neighbors, who were affected by noise pollution caused by loud music.
At the time, Police also found them drinking.
Kibukayire regretted holding “unlawful gathering and breaching the government safety guidelines.”
“I admit that what i did to organise a house-warming party and inviting friends… I violated the government safety directives, which prevents such social gatherings as a way of preventing people from infecting others with COVID-19.
Beyond that, we also caused noise pollution, and the truth is that I know this is prohibited and punishable by law. I have no excuse but to ask for liniency,” Kibukayire said.
Dollar Karumugabo is one of the people caught in the night house warming party.
He also regretted the “inappropriate action” for the social visit and not being in their respective homes by 10pm as directed by the recent Cabinet meeting.
“We were drinking and the music sound was really high. We violated the instructions and ask for forgiveness,” Karumugabo reckons
Rwanda National Police (RNP) spokesperson, CP John Bosco Kabera said the violators breached varied safety instructions because they were “complacent.”
CP Kabera said: “People should know that due to this pandemic, some events were prohibited. For Kibukayire to celebrate her achievement, there was no need to invite other people for the house-warming party.
These people came from different places, gathered under one roof, started drinking, they violated the movement hours because in any case, they were supposed to be in their homes by 10 pm, and as if that was not enough they disturbed the wellbeing of other people with their music.”
He reminded the general public that the pandemic is real, deadly, and still in our midst adding that there is no room to be complacent.
“Although life is slowly being restored with some services allowed to resume, this does not mean that we should relax and lean back; these services are allowed to resume under strict guidelines which should be followed as well as all other general directives still in place.”
The City of Kigali council resolutions taken on August 31, 2020, prohibit and penalize anyone, who organises, invites or attends social events such as home parties, religious services in homes, birthday parties, bridal or baby showers, among others.
Organising or inviting people for such prohibited events attracts a fine of Rwf200,000.
Everyone, who attends these prohibited gatherings faces a penalty of Rwf25,000.
Violators are also subjected to 24 hours in centres where they are enlightened on COVID-19 prevention directives and safety guidelines.
The law No. 48/2018 of 13/08/2018 on environment in its article 53, states that; “Without prejudice to the provisions of the law determining offences and penalties in general, any person who causes noise pollution is liable to an administrative fine of Rwf500, 000.”
Noise pollution, according to National Noise Pollution Guidelines, is determined when sound goes beyond 80 decibels (db). Decibel is the unit through which noise is measured and sound becomes “physically painful” when it goes beyond 80db.
The establishments include restaurants, motels and bars, which were found selling alcohol or operating their bar sections, which are supposed to be closed in this period as per the government directive.
These are among the violations that were observed during the two-week assessment and operations organized by Rwanda National Police (RNP) and conducted jointly with local authorities and other charged institutions.
At least 270 people were caught in the fined and closed hospitality facilities in prohibited social gatherings and drinking alcohol, according to the assessment report.
Over 130 businesses were also not using the recommended cashless payment systems while more than 30 others had neither hand washing apparatuses nor hand sanitizers available.
According to RNP spokesperson, Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera, the inspection was part of the “Rwanda National Police’s ongoing awareness on the government directives, safety behaviors and practices as well as maximum compliance.”
“It is the usual RNP proactive practice of implementing the law and other directives mainly through education and awareness,” CP Kabera said.
He added: “This specific inspection was, therefore, meant to assess the level of compliance, ensure that those caught in serious violations are penalized but more importantly remind and educate different groups of people on their responsive roles to exhibit behaviors and actions that not only make them safe from the pandemic but also prevent them from spreading the virus where they work, live, walk, in their businesses where they serve clients and anywhere someone runs personal errands.”
The inspection targeted hospitality establishments, markets and trading centers.
It also assessed key COVID-19 prevention guidelines like washing or sanitizing hands, social distancing, cashless payment, wearing facemask as well as respect for movement hours.
“It is commendable that the level of compliance is largely high, although one error or one person can lead to further spread of the pandemic; no one wants that and that calls for individual responsibility to make right and safety choices in whatever you do,” CP Kabera said.
He commended the role played by the public in sharing information on violators, and called for the continued spirit of community policing.
The Air Pollution Control Treaty, signed on September 16, 1987 in Montreal, Canada, came into force in January 1989, and was amended in 2016 in Kigali. The revised agreement, which came into force in 2019, is an international one aimed at eliminating air pollution by 80% over the next 30 years.
Martine Uwera, the National Focal Point of Montreal Protocol said that Rwanda has reduced the importation of chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) from 4.1 tonnes in 2010 to 1.89 tonnes currently.
“We have reduced ozone depleting substances by 54 per cent and there is still a gap of 2.21 tonnes which we seek to phase out by 2030,” she said.
Uwera said the effects of sunlight damage include skin cancer, DNA damage and more.
Rwanda has also taken steps to control modern equipment such as refrigerators and air conditioners that can release air pollutants.
“Currently new appliances such as fridges that use ozone depleting substances are not allowed to be imported. Those caught are arrested and are ordered to return such equipment to their country of origin or take them for recycling. We are only coping with imported gases that are not environmentally friendly,” she said adding
there are mechanisms to control illicit trade in ozone depleting substances.
Patrick Karera, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment said that Rwanda has also adopted a National Cooling Strategy, which is one of the results of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to help phase out the gases.
Rwanda needs at least Rwf20 billion to encourage uptake of energy efficiency and climate friendly cooling solutions in the country as part of its obligation under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
“It is admirable that the Kigali Amendment has exceeded 100 ratifications. Without decisive and global action, emissions from the cooling sector are set to grow 90 per cent by 2050,” he said.
He said that the National Cooling Strategy approved by the cabinet in 2019 will help to roll out standards for cooling technologies.
“We are working with Rwanda Green Fund, Rwanda Business Development Fund, and UN Environment’ united for Efficiency initiative and Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy to ensure the success of financial mechanisms for climate-friendly cooling solutions,” he added.
Top Rank stands as one of the world’s premiere boxing promotions. For nearly half a century, Top Rank has produced some of boxing most exciting bout and Top Rank’s current stable of champions represents the best the sport has to offer: Vasiliy Lomachenko, Terence Crawford, Oscar Valdez, Gilberto Ramirez, Jose Ramirez and Tyson Fury.
Top Rank is joining a long list of premium combat sport events broadcast on the StarTimes channels. These events include top boxing bouts held by WBO, WBA, and WBC and IBF as well as several mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions.
Cage Warriors is Europe’s leading and longest-running mixed martial arts promotion. It is the sport’s fastest-growing organization and has been home to some of biggest stars of MMA’s past and present, including Conor McGregor.
One Championship is the leading Asian MMA event, quickly becoming a global powerhouse. Today, the very best fighting talents and prospects in Asia ply their trade in the fabled ONE cage, including 10 World Champions that represent the very pinnacle of the game. This includes global superstar athletes such as Angela Lee, Bibiano Fernandes, Eduard Folayang, Ben Askren, and Brandon Vera.
Fight Nights Global (FNG) is a Russian mixed martial arts organization that previously hosted K-1 and other martial arts events. It features the top-ranking fighters of the sport. The company’s shows featured Fedor Emelianenko, Batu Khasikov and many other eminent mixed martial artists.
Glory is the world’s premier kickboxing league. It signed most of the world’s top kickboxers such as Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky, Semmy Schilt, Gokhan Saki, Daniel Ghiţă, Albert Kraus, Giorgio Petrosyan, and Yoshihiro Sato.
Last but not least, the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is an annual boxing tournament and brings the ‘best of the best’ fighters together to compete at venues around the world for the Muhammad Ali Trophy, named in honor of the “Greatest of all time”, Muhammad Ali.
Kristen Miao, StarTimes Sport Director, explains that “StarTimes is committed to bring the widest and richest combat sport offering into Sub-Saharan Africa. Combat sports are among the most popular sports in Africa and we looking to give the best experience to our subscribers. To this end, we will continue to enlarge our portfolio with premium events such as Top Rank’s.”
All these events are broadcast on the ST Sports Arena channel as well as on the other sport channels exclusive to StarTimes.
{{StarTimes}}
StarTimes is the leading digital TV operator in Africa, serving 13 million DVB subscribers and 20 million OTT users in 30+ countries. StarTimes owns a 600+ channels’ content platform combining African local channels (75%) and international channels (25%, including Chinese channels 1.5%). The company’s vision is “To ensure that every African family can access, afford, watch and share the beauty of digital TV”.
The big TV sets were seized on Tuesday, September 22, from two people; Innocent Twagiramungu, 41, and Athanase Habarurema, 36, both security guards, who were also taken into custody.
Twagiramungu is a security guard at Tamara Hotel located in Gisenyi Sector, Kivumu cell where the TV sets were recovered while Habarurema works at the nearby hospitality establishment called ;Kwa Nyanja’.
The two suspects are believed to be members of a smuggling ring and are largely responsible for storing or hiding the goods after they are sneaked into the country.
Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Bonaventure Twizere Karekezi, the Police spokesperson for the Western region said that on Tuesday at about 11pm, Police in Rubavu received information about people who had just smuggled TV sets from DR Congo and hid them at Tamara Hotel with the help of Twagiramungu and Habarurema.
“Police raided the hotel where the ten television sets were recovered and the two suspects taken into custody. The hotel management was not aware that their facility was being used for illegal acts although they had previously suspected their security guard (Twagiramungu) to be working with wrongdoers,” CIP Karekezi said.
“Investigations are still underway to know if there are other electronics or goods they smuggled and to trace and arrest all members of this smuggling ring.”
The spokesperson thanked the resident who was quick to report the fraud. He commended the impact of community policing in fighting and preventing crimes, including smuggling and fraud.
Under the East African Community Management Act, which is applicable in Rwanda, seized smuggled goods under article 199, are auctioned.
A vehicle used in fraud and smuggling is also auctioned and the driver slapped a fine of US$5000.
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