The development was announced in statement signed by the Prime Minister Dr. Edouard Ngirente on behalf of the head of state. It reads:
His Excellency The President has suspected from duty Mr. GASANA Emmanuel, Governor of Southern Province and Mr.GATABAZl Jean Marie Vianney, Governor of Northern Province owing to matter of accountability under investigations.
Both Provinces have been cited in the 2019 Auditor General’s report as entities where public resources went unaccounted for but it is not yet clear if the suspension is linked to the report. President Kagame however during the National Leadership Retreat said many top officials, including Ministers would be held accountable in months to come.
Prior to his appointment as Governor, Gasana was the Inspector General of Police (IGP) while Gatabazi had been a Member of Parliament for 14 years.
Out of the 1,400 people who were tested on Sunday, only two tested positive for the virus, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 327 of which 237 have recovered.
Since the first the coronavirus case was reported in Rwanda in March, the country has conducted 58,477 tests.
The CEO of the airline Yvonne Makolo said that the airline will direct the funds in sustaining operations and expanding the airline as flights resume after a lull occasioned by coronavirus pandemic.
“We are looking at both, sustaining operations and expanding the airline but for now we are waiting to see if skies will reopen and we resume flying,” She said.
RwandAir grounded flights as part of the measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 and only recently launched cargo flights in the region and beyond as an alternative as passenger flights remain suspended.
Last month, RwandAir announced that they would cut employees’ salaries by between 8 percent and 65 percent while the top management team forfeited their salaries. Makolo said the airline has not laid off any staff.
“We have not laid off any staff and we don’t hope to do so,” Makolo said, adding however that fully restoring operation will depend on the subsiding of COVID-19.
RwandAir recently resumed cargo flights to and from Guangzhou, China, flights from Mwanza, Tanzania, to Brussels as well as London in a bid to rake in revenue from the growing demand of goods.
Makolo said the plan is working out well with the demand for cargo shipment on the increase as many countries continue to impose travel restrictions to contain the spread of Coronavirus.
President Paul Kagame said the government would consider investing more money in the airline to sustain its operations last month.
The Ministry of Health on Wednesday said six new cases were detected out of 982 tests done over the last 24hrs.
The Ministry also confirmed that 7 people have recovered, bringing the number of total recoveries to 216, leaving 98 active cases.
The Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) confirmed that all the new cases are attributed to cross border drivers and their assistants.
East African Community (EAC) nations are battling cross border transmission, with leaders of the Northern Corridor countries coming up with joint measures to contain the cases.
The measures which previously saw countries resort to blocking entry of drivers and their assistants have been revised in line with the resolutions of the Heads of State Consultative meeting.
Among the new measures, trucks will be stopping and offloading at designated entry points, except those carrying fuel and perishable goods.
Countries also agreed to do regular testing of drivers and their assistants, stopping those who test positive from proceeding, while Rwanda too will be testing drivers upon arrival and escorting trucks with perishable goods or fuel to their final destination and transit trucks to the point of exit.
the Ministry of Health launched the robots, Tuesday, May 19 at the Kanyinya COVID-19 Treatment Centre. They have been acquired with the support of United Nations Development Programme.
The five high-tech robots can perform a number of tasks related to COVID-19 management, including mass temperature screening, delivering food and medication to patients, capturing data, detecting people who are not wearing masks, among others.
Made by Zora Bots, a Belgian company specialized in robotics solutions, they are designed with various advanced features to support doctors and nurses at designated treatment centers, and can also be leveraged into screening sites in the country.
The robots have the capacity to screen from 50 to 150 people per minute, capture both video and audio data, and notify officers on duty about detected abnormalities for timely response and case management.
Dr. Daniel Ngamije, the Minister of Health said that the idea of using the robots is aimed at reducing exposure of health workers to possible Covid-19 infection.
“Medics and other front-liners visit patients’ room many times to deliver medication, meals, carry out tests, among other things – and this may pose a risk of contracting the virus,” he said.
“These robots will fasten service delivery while protecting our valuable health workers against COVID-19 exposure.”
There haven’t been cases of medics that have caught the virus according to Dr Ngamije. However, he said there is a cleaner at a COVID-19 treatment facility in the country that tested positive for the virus.
Dr. Ngamije said that robotics engineers will be training the Ministry of Health staff concerning the use of the robots for about one month, after which it is expected that the ministry’s officials will be able to operate them.
Paula Ingabire, the Minister of ICT and Innovation said that COVID-19 has accelerated the need for digital solutions across various industries, especially in the health sector.
“There are various innovative solutions being applied to combat COVID-19, and the robots delivered today in these treatment centers, will be deployed to support our frontline health workers in treating and containing the pandemic by taking on routine tasks.”
According to Dr. Ngamije, more robots are expected to be brought in the country to assist in the COVID-19 fight.
Evelyn Kamagaju was appointed Vice-Chairman while other seven board members include Alice Nkulikiyinka, Diane Karusisi, Ivan Kagame, Eric Kacou, Solange Uwituze, Liban Soleman Abdi and Faith Keza.
Uwituze has served as the Deputy Director-General in Charge of Animal Resources and Technology Transfer at Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) since 2018. She has a Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition and a Master’s degree in Animal Sciences.
Ivan Kagame holds an MBA from the University of California. He is an entrepreneur and investor mainly in renewable energy.
Eric Kacou is an Ivorian national and the Co-Founder of Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners, a firm that offers consultancy to businesses.
Kacou’s operations in Rwanda started with his OTF Group, a firm that played a role in developing competitiveness in the country’s human capital in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He has also led the Rwanda National Innovation and Competitiveness Program.
The development is part of the cabinet resolutions passed on Monday, May 18 and decided on many topics among which new guidelines for the prevention against the COVID-19 were released.
According to the same statement, apart from the 50 young women convicted of abortion, the cabinet also approved a Ministerial order granting conditional release of 3,596 convicts.
This makes a total of 3,647 convicts who are expected to be released with several obligations as citizens, also having to avoid recidivism.
The cabinet maintained the curfew but extended the curfew by one hour, from 8p.m to 9p.m (until 5a.m), allowing couples to have civil weddings with only 15 attendees.
Under the new measures which will run for 15 days until June 1, the government eased some restrictions.
The new developments are contained in a communication of cabinet decisions reached on Monday, signed by Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente. Government also announced that inter-provincial travel (including to and out of City of Kigali) and taxi-moto transport will resume on June 1.
These are some of the latest Covid-19 decisions:
The Government has introduced a curfew from 8 pm to 5 am, when the total lockdown was partially lifted on May 1. Yesterday, the curfew was reduced by one hour and will now be observed between 9 pm to 5 am.
Since late-March, social gatherings, including weddings, have been banned. Under the new guidelines, however, civil weddings with 15 people are allowed; but related ceremonies such as church services and receptions are not permitted.
The cabinet statement said that borders will remain closed, except for goods and cargo, as well as returning Rwandan citizens and legal residents.
All returnees will be subjected to mandatory quarantine in accordance with existing health guidelines at their own cost.
Quarantine services for people returning from abroad were initially free.
The quarantine normally lasts for 14 days.
Moto taxis have been suspended from carrying passengers since the lockdown was ordered on March 21. But they are allowed to carry goods and other essential supplies. This will continue to be the case until June 1.
The cabinet also retained major coronavirus preventive measures.
For instance, schools remain closed until September, while churches and bars are still not allowed to open.
Major preventive measures such as wearing masks, keeping the required 1-metre distance between people and washing hands remain a requirement for everyone.
Some parents made arrangements with teachers for home-based learning, after the government directives to close schools until September due to the virus, where children from different families are brought together in groups to take lessons.
“People who are bringing teachers to their homes are violating the directives to prevent COVID-19. It is not allowed,” CP John Bosco Kabera, the spokesperson for Rwanda National Police, said in a tweet.
Kabera said that in response to a tweet from one Sylvie Nsanga, who pointed out that it was difficult for teachers and their students to observe physical distancing during home-schooling, especially during grouped sessions.
“We are bringing teachers in our homes to teach our children not knowing where they have touched and we are doing homeschooling in groups of different families,” reads one of her series of tweets.
The Police spokesperson explained that teachers were not allowed to find students in their homes.
He urged parents to adopt e-learning practices or following lessons that are being broadcast of public radio and television.
“Coaching in a sense where a teacher will bring together a few students to teach them is against the directives on social distancing that is in place, and so is prohibited at the moment,” Gaspard Twagirayezu, State Minister for Primary and Secondary at the Ministry of Education, said.
Irenee Ndayambaje, the Director-General of the Rwanda Education Board (REB) encourages students to study using the available online platforms, saying that the online learning materials are available for free for those who have access to the internet.
“The systems are interactive since there are tutors to help students and other users. The lessons on YouTube will not require internet charges after partnering with Telecom companies to finance the project,” Ndayambaje added.
For the students who are unable to access the e-learning platforms, the option is to follow the lessons through radio and television.
The sad news of his death was confirmed by one of his family members who was attending to him at the time.
Born March 20, 1950, Prof Laurent Nkusi served in different government positions.
Nkusi served as literature and language lecturer at the University of Rwanda for 24 years between the years of 1976 and 2000, before he was appointed Minister of Land and Environment for three years.
Nkusi was later appointed Information Minister before he served as the vice-rector in charge of academics at the Institute of Agriculture, Technology, and Education of Kibungo (INATEK).
Thereafter Nkusi was elected to the senate and completed his term last year.
He leaves a widow and five children.
