Besides, 96 toilets were, too, inaugurated during an event that was attended by the Governor of the Southern Province, Alice Kayitesi, along with various officials and partners.
Eleven classrooms have been set up in Ngoma Sector; Kibeho 10; Ngera 20; Nyabimata 8; Muganza 6; Mata 4; Kivu 3; Ruheru 5 and Cyahinda 4. The classrooms were built in the first phase of the government’s plan to increase the number of classrooms across the country.
The Mayor of Nyaruguru District, François Habitegeko, said that it was built by the Government of Rwanda with the help of the World Bank.
Habitegeko said the plan is to build 529 classrooms of which 300 are to be built by the Government of Rwanda and the other 229 would be built by partners.
Nyaruguru residents say that the classrooms will enable their children to learn from a better environment.
Ntakirutimana Evariste, a resident, said he once went to visit his son to a school and found more than 70 children studying from one room.
“With the new classroom, now we hope that they are going to learn better with about 30 students or less.” he said
Southern Province Governor Alice Kayitesi commended Nyaruguru District for leading the way in building new classrooms.
“Just as Nyaruguru District leads in the Mutual health program in the Southern Province, it has yet again topped in building classrooms. This will help us improve the quality of our children’s education,” she said.
She also appreciated the citizens’ contribution in the realization of the established facilities as the district administration would not have achieved much without their participation.
In the Ministry of Health, Zacharie Iyakaremye was appointed Permanent Secretary, replacing Dr. Jean Pierre Nyemazi, who took a leave of absence from the position in January.
Dr. Vincent Rusanganwa was appointed Head of Faculty Recruitment and Academic Partnership Department in the Human Resources for Health Secretariat while Joseph Shema was made the Head of Teaching Coordination and Quality Assurance Department in the Human Resources for Health Secretariat.
Still in the Ministry of Health Nicole Jabo was appointed the Advisor to the Minister of Health Esperance Kwizera became the Advisor to the Executive Secretary for Human Resource for Health Secretariat.
Armand Zingiro was appointed the Managing Director Energy Utility Company Ltd (EUCL), in the Ministry of Infrastructure, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs registered the biggest number of appointees to head different departments.
Those appointed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MINAFFET) are:
1. Mr. KUBWIMANA RUGAMBA Eric, Division Manager, Americas, UN &
International Development Organizations
2. Mr. BUKUZAGARA Francis, Division Manager, African Affairs
3. Mr. KAMUSIIME Fredrick, Division Manager, EAC and Eastern African Affairs
4. Ms. BASOMINGERA Candy, Division Manager, Communication
5. Mr. MUSEFANO Bonny, Director, Northern and Western Europe
6. Ms. RUGASAGUHUNGA Yvette, Director, South and East Asia
7. Ms. MAZIYATEKE UWIMBABAZI Sandrine, Director Rwandan Community Abroad.
Gilbert Mucyo was confirmed as the Division Manager of the Office of the Government Spokesperson, which is also under MINAFFET.
Dr. Charline Mulindahabi was appointed the Rwanda Management Institute (RMI) Director General. She is replacing the Amb. Wellars Gasamagera, who was appointed Ambassador in Angola in July 2019; Dr. Mulindahabi will be deputized by Kizito Habimana, who was appointed the Deputy Director-General.
Jean Pierre Mugabo was made the Director General of Rwanda Forestry Authority while Teddy Mugabo was appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA).
The cabinet also made key appointments in Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB), which also got a new board chaired by Sir David King. Similarly, FONERWA also got a new board that will be chaired by Rachel Kyte.
In other appointments, National Electoral Commission (NEC) also got a new Vice Chairperson Nicole Mutimukeye and two commissioners namely Faustin Semanya and Uwera Kabanda Francoise.
The decision comes after weeks of preparations given to places of worship including infrastructure that will allow fighting COVID-19, putting in place trained volunteers, required social distancing among others.
Representatives from local government institutions have started to visit some worship places to ascertain the progress.
Among other decisions taken by the cabinet meeting is also that public and private businesses will continue to operate, with only essential staff going to work from office, while others continue to work from home.
Domestic and international tourism will also continue, and, according to the previous communique, all flights to/from Rwanda will resume on August 1.
Hotels services were also maintained, and encouraged to promote tourism.
Noncontact outdoor sports will continue, but the gyms will remain closed.
Motos will also continue to carry passengers in accordance with the hygiene measures, except in areas under lockdown.
Movements within sectors of Rusizi district that have been under lockdown for one month and a half have resumed but travel to Rusizi from other parts of the country are prohibited, except for cargo and all transport of goods.
Some cells of Nyamagabe and Nyamasheke that were recently headed to lockdown will remain in lockdown and the same applies to some cells in Kicukiro district.
Civil marriage service was also maintained with the same number of participants allowed being 15.
The funeral services at church will also allow a maximum of 30 people and so are other burial gatherings.
Meanwhile, borders remain closed except for cargo and returning Rwandans and legal residents who are allowed to come in and to spend a mandatory 14 days of in quarantine at their own cost.
Schools will open in September as earlier scheduled, while gaming, mass gathering in public and homes are still prohibited.
All bars remain closed, movements are still restricted between 9 PM and 5 AM and wearing a face mask is mandatory.
The government encouraged the general public and service providers to embrace digital payments to avoid contact of cash which may put people at risk of contracting COVID-19.
The predictions stipulated that the mentioned weather condition may lead to structural damages in localized areas; this will result from high-pressure systems from the southern part of the Indian Ocean.
Following the warning, in a tweet on Wednesday, July 15, the Ministry of Emergency Management called on citizens to observe precautionary measures ahead of the predicted strong winds.
“Based on the warning by Rwanda Meteorology Agency, people are urged to remain awake tonight if strong winds arrive at their homes,”
The Ministry went on to say that: “Citizens are also urged to close windows and doors and lean on walls whenever strong winds hit their homes.”
“Electronic gadgets should be unplugged to avoid fire accidents, citizens should avoid going out and hiding near trees or other things that may lead to accidents. People living in houses with loose roofs that may be taken by strong winds are requested to seek refuge in strong nearby shelters,”
According to the Daily update by the Ministry of Health, Kigali has 18 including high-risk isolated cluster, Nyamasheke 12 testing in high-risk zones, while Rusizi registered 4 cases and Rubavu 2, Kirehe and Nyabihu registered 1 case each.
This brings the total number of cases to 1416; active cases are 675, recoveries are 737, including 27 on Tuesday.
So far 4 deaths have been recorded since March 14 when the first case was registered.
The zones add to five sectors of Rusizi district in Western Province and some cells of Kicukiro and Nyarugenge districts in the City of Kigali which have been under lockdown.
The Ministry of Local Government announced yesterday evening that the cells of Kigeme in Gasaka and Ruhunga in Kibirizi sectors in Nyamagabe district have been placed under total lockdown.
In Nyamasheke, which is neighboring with Rusizi, four cells in Gihombo sector are into total lockdown, including Mubuga and Gitwa.
A part of Jarama cell which is on the lower side of the tarmac road towards Lake Kivu was put under total lockdown as well as a part of Butare cell, also on below the tarmac road towards Lake Kivu.
Residents of the affected cells should continue to observe guidelines of staying at home,” reads the statement signed by the Minister of Local government Prof. Anastase Shyaka.
Rwamuganza, the former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Godfrey Kabera, the Director-General in the Ministry of Finance, Eric Serubibi, the former Director-General of Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) and Christian Rwakunda, who was Deputy Director-General in Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) are being prosecuted for having conspired to mismanage the purchase of a building on the behalf of the government in 2018, causing losses to the government.
The judges upheld the remand for all six defendants, saying they have a case to answer.
One of the main things that the judges emphasized was the fact that they participated in negotiation meetings that led to the purchase of the building from its owner, a process they handled in a way that was contrary to public procurement laws.
In their appeal, the defendants had also questioned the primary court’s failure to consider the securities they presented to it in order to be granted bail, to which the intermediate court rejected the securities because their value was lower than the losses estimated to have been caused by the government officials.
Of all the defendants, Rusizana is the one who presented high-value security pieces of property worth over 4.3 billion Rwandan Francs.
The defendants’ lawyers argued that court documents indicate that the decision to remand them was made on August 23, 2020, which is due next month, but it emerged that the court registrar in the previous hearing was supposed to write “June 23, 2020,” the day the decision was made.
The court said that a mistake in writing does not provide strong grounds to release the defendants, adding that there are reasons to believe that releasing them would jeopardize the case, considering that businessman Rusizana continues to deny that there was a conspiracy to set the price between himself and the officials.
The judge said that after assessing each of the defendant’s culpability, they found strong reasons to believe that the decision to award Rusizana the deal was not done in a competitive manner and he cannot deny his involvement in the process.
The basic guidelines for Coronavirus prevention include reminding Rwandans to wash their hands frequently with water and soap and to wear facemasks when in open places where many people converge.
Rotary Club Kigali Doyen as a charitable organization has decided to support those who cannot afford facemasks to protect themselves as well.
The mission of Rotary is to join foundations that help in changing the world through conflict resolution, fighting ignorance and poverty, improving access to clean water, fighting epidemics, and eradicating rabies through vaccination and helping the needy.
The Rotary Club Kigali Doyen donated made in Rwanda facemasks.
These facemasks were handed over to the Rwanda Biometric Center (RBC) on May 5, 2020, which in turn will hand them over to the Ministry of Local Government, which will distribute them to the residents of Rutsiro.
Rotary Club Kigali Doyen President Eddy Sebera told IGIHE that after making various donations to the City of Kigali, they have also started going to the provinces.
“We have now started with Rutsiro where we donated 8,000 facemasks purchased with more than Rwf 4 million, these are donations collected by 30 members of the Rotary Club Kigali Doyen and the Rotary club of Duren in Germany.’’ Said Sebera.
“We plan to continue in the same path; therefore, we urge everyone to join this program as we continue to protect Rwandans. We should just focus on our persons, there are those who can afford prevention means while others lack means; assistance to these people does not require much, it is something that we, as Rwandans, can achieve,” he added.
Rotary Club of Kigali Doyen started the program of supporting measures established to fight the Coronavirus in April 2020.
Francine Mutesi, the interim director of RBC’s Medical Equipment Department, said the funding is important in the fight against Coronavirus.
‘‘In the current context of the fight against.COVID-19, any support to the Ministry of Health and the Government is more than welcome, as it helps to continue to protect Rwandans. We will use these donations to help the needy or those who are unable to buy facemasks, and we will continue partnering with donors and all others, so as to ensure that no Rwandan will be left without protection.’’ She said
The facemasks made by licensed industries in Rwanda can be washed up to five times. Health authorities advise that once it has been washed, it should be ironed before wearing it.
Rotary Club Kigali Doyen recently donated Rwf 13 million to the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) and King Faisal Hospital in the fight against the Coronavirus.
The grant is in addition to the RBC’s more than 900 liters of hand sanitizers and hygiene kits including 160 ‘kandagira ukarabe’, valued at Rwf 12 million in the fight against Coronavirus 160; they also donated Rwf 3 million to support the Solid Africa Charity program, which cares for the homeless.
The name of the dead Rwandan soldier has not been released. However, RDF confirmed to IGIHE that they were aware of the death of one of their soldiers.
The United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, through his Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said he strongly condemns this attack that targeted a MINUSCA convoy in Gedze, Nana-Mambere prefecture in the northwest of the country.
“The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the family of the victim as well as to the people and Government of Rwanda. He wishes a speedy recovery to the injured,” a statement from Guterres’ office reads.
“The Secretary-General recalls that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. He calls on the Central African Republic authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this attack so that they can be brought to justice swiftly,” it adds.
The Secretary-General reaffirmed that the United Nations will continue to support national efforts to advance peace and stability in the Central African Republic, working closely with the country’s international partners.
MINUSCA, the UN peacekeeping operation in the Central African Republic, works to protect civilians and support transition processes.
The authorities and 14 armed groups, which included 3R, signed a Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in February 2019.
“This criminal attack constitutes a new violation of the peace agreement by the 3R & its leader Abass Sidiki”, the UN mission said on Twitter.
Rwanda is the third largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations. There are 5342 RDF troops in Amisom, Minusca, Unamid, Unisfa and Unmiss.
The crops that will be covered by the government in the matter of fertilizing in the 2021 A, B and C seasons are maize, beans, wheat, soybeans, rice, potatoes, cassava, bananas, vegetables, and fruits; while maize, wheat, and soybeans are the crops that will be needing added seed in those seasons.
Farmers are asked to use Smart fertilizers program to identify the amount of product they need and to join ‘Twigire muhinzi’ group.
Fertilizers traders should also use MOPA-based Smart Support technology, so as to buy fertilizers supported by the Government.
Of the hybrid maize seeds grown in the highlands, the most expensive type is PAN691 which will be sold at Rwf 962the Kg and the cheapest will be RHMH1520 and RHMH1601 which will be sold at Rwf 453 the Kg.
Hybrid seeds grown on mountains and in the valleys, the most expensive will be PN53 which will be sold Rwf 1547 the Kg, the lowest price will be RHM104, RHM1402, and RHM1407 which will be sold at Rwf 453 the Kg.
OPV corn seeds will be sold at Rwf 295 the Kg. Soybeans are currently sold at Rwf 425 and Rwf 396 and wheat is currently sold at Rwf 346, Rwf 318, and Rwf 426 the Kg, respectively.
In Regards to added fertilizers; Urée is set at Rwf 447, DAP is at Rwf 480, NPK 17:17:17 costs Rwf 603, TSP is at Rwf 523 while MOP costs Rwf 481.
These directives, signed by the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Gérardine Mukeshimana, stressed that anyone who is caught smuggling or misusing seeds and fertilizers will be punished.
Only four companies have been so far allowed to import fertilizers from the country under the Nkunganire program and sell them through Agro-Processing Trust Corporation Ltd (APTC); these include Yara, ETAG Inputs, Rwanda Fertilizer Company, and Tubura.
Sarah Doukouré is replacing Eddy Sebera who was President of the Club for the last 2 years.
The handover ceremony took place on July 9, 2020, and it was attended by Members of the Rotary Clubs of Rwanda.
For more than 50 Years, Rotary Clubs in Rwanda have contributed to improving access to clean water, quality of education, fight against epidemics such as the eradication of rabies, the eradication of ignorance and poverty, the protection of the environment and the struggle for peace.
Eddy Sebera said that during his two years in charge of Rotary Club Kigali, much has been done to improve people’s lives.
“We have contributed in the health sectors, education, among others.’’ He said
He said that the club has grown positively with more women on board.
“This year of presidency went very well and I am particularly happy about it. You Rotarians are responsible for it based on your commitment to the Club. You have been regularly present to encourage me while making a valuable contribution to the dynamism of the Club by showing me your confidence as your President.’’ Said Sebera.
Sebera added that he has no doubt with his successor, Sarah Doukouré would continue to lead the Rotary family in a positive direction and advised her to continue the spirit of changing our world to a better place.
“I’m happy and I know Sarah will take us far.’’
Sarah Doukouré joined Rotary in 2017, being the first woman to hold this position in the last 10 years in the Rotary Club Kigali.
She said that becoming president as a foreigner shows how Rotary Club Kigali is open to anyone who wants to contribute.
“This day marks a new beginning in my calling as a member of the Rotary club. It is a heavy responsibility because it means that next year I will be representing all the projects we will have.’’
Among projects she will focus on are projects related to helping those affected by COVID-19.
“Rwanda has been reacting to the pandemic in a very strong and positive way….this gives us, as Rotarian the will and engagement to do the same; to continue to contribute and to help the community because that is what we are here for.” She said
She also stressed that she will continue to work to increase the number of new female members.
“For the past three years, I have been trying to recruit other women into the Rotary Club. Today we are about ten women out of 30 members of the Rotary club of Kigali. We really want to recruit more women to join us, that would be my honor and that will be my focus.’’ Doukouré added
During her term, Doukouré Says she will be working hand in hand with Eddy Sebera as Vice President and in charge of Projects; Karema Carole is in charge of Fundraising; Ndoba Mugunga in charge of the Foundation; Kayitare Florent has been appointed as the Secretary of the Club at the same time as looking after the Youth Affairs; Ida Alexandra is the Deputy Secretary while Kaburame Julien is the Treasurer.
Jeannette Rugera, the Assistant District Governor of Rotary in the District 9150, was present in the ceremony to represent the District and she assured the new President of Rotary Club Kigali to be there for her as she resumes her new role.
“It is a pleasure to have a woman as the president of Rotary Club Kigali; I will be here to assist. We will be working together, there are a lot of projects that we will be working on together focusing on needed medicine for these special times of fighting COVID-19.’’ ADG Rugera said
In its contribution to the prevention of COVID-19, Rotary Club Kigali Doyen donated 4,000 bags to Rutsiro residents; donated 13 million Frw to both Kigali University Hospital (CHUK) and King Faisal; they also donated more than 900 liters of hand sanitizer and cleaning equipment to RBC. They also donated 3 million Frw to support Solid Africa, a charity that cares for patients in public hospitals and helps them get food.
In Rwanda, Rotary is made up of six clubs including Musanze, Kigali Mont Jali, Kigali Virunga, Kigali Doyen, Kigali Gasabo and Butare with 112 members.
