IGIHE

Author: Nicole Kamanzi Muteteri

  • Rwanda’s economy grew by 3.5 percent in first quarter of 2021

    In the first quarter, the service sector was the main contributor with 46% of GDP followed by agriculture sector (27%) and industry (20%) while and 8 percent was attributed to adjustment for taxes and subsidies on products.

    In the first quarter of 2021, GDP at current market prices was estimated at Rwf 2,579 billion up from Rwf 2,410 billion of the same quarter in 2020.

    Agricultural activities grew by 7 percent and contributed 1.7 percentage points to overall GDP growth. Within agriculture, the production of food crops increased by 7 percent while the production of export crops increased by 7 percent too.

    Industrial activities grew by 10 percent and contributed 1.7 percentage points to GDP growth. The main contributors in the industry sector were construction activities which grew by 14 percent and manufacturing activities which grew by 8 percent. Mining and quarrying activities also increased by 3 percent.

    The growth in manufacturing activities is attributed to an increase of 7 percent in food processing, 17 percent in Wood & paper; printing, 29 percent in metal products, machinery & equipment and 20 percent in production of Chemicals and plastic products. However, textiles, clothing & leather goods and non-metallic mineral products declined by 2 percent and 3 percent respectively.

    Service sector remains at the same level of quarter one of 2020, thus 0 percent growth. Within services sector, information & communication services increased by 18 percent, professional, scientific & technical activities increased by 10 percent, real estate activities increased by 3 percent while education increased by 5 percent.

    However, human health & social work activities decreased by 12 percent, hotel and restaurant services by 34 percent, administrative and support services by 4 percent and public administration and defense; compulsory social security by 2 percent.

    NISR has revealed that total final consumption expenditure decreased by 2 percent in the first quarter of 2021, with household final consumption declining by 2 percent while Government final consumption remained constant at 0% growth. Exports decreased by 19 percent, imports decreased by 22 percent while Gross Capital Formation increased by 3 percent.

    Rwanda’s economy grew by 3.5 percent in first quarter of 2021.

  • Nigeria National Defence College students on study tour in Rwanda

    The delegation, led by Brig Gen Aniedi Edet has paid a courtesy call to Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Army Chief of Staff (ACOS), Lieutenant General Mubarakh Muganga after which they received a presentation on the RDF roles and organisation.

    The Team leader and Director of Coordination of the visiting team spoke at length on their tour in Rwanda and thanked RDF for a warm welcome extended to the delegation so far.

    “For this year, we are eight teams going to other parts of the world, but team seven came to Rwanda to particularly explore the strides achieved in the area of Digital healthcare in Rwanda and draw lessons,” said Brig Gen Edet.

    He highlighted that the selection of Rwanda was mainly motivated by the existing strategic partnership between Rwanda and Nigeria.

    Rwanda and Nigerian militaries have exchange training programme at the senior command and staff course level that has been going on for quite some time.

    The delegation from NDC started their official tour on Monday. They visited Kigali Genocide Memorial where they paid respect to victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.

    During their week-long tour, the delegation will also visit the Ministry of Health, Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA), Zigama CSS, Military Medical Insurance, Rwanda Military Hospital, Campaign Against Genocide Museum, Huye Museum and other key government and public institutions.

    Nigeria National Defence College students have visited Kigali Genocide Memorial where they paid respect to victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.
    The delegation have received a presentation on RDF roles and organisation.

  • Dealer in skin bleaching cosmetics arrested in Nyarugenge

    He is identified as Gerard Nzamutuma, 41, and was found in possession of 162 pieces of assorted lotions including Skin Balance gel, Clinic Clear, Princess Clair, Epiderme Creme and Beauti.

    Gerald Nzamutuma was showed to the media on Tuesday, June 15, at the RNP Headquarters Kacyiru, Gasabo District.

    His arrest came two days after three other dealers in outlawed products were also arrested in Downtown with 491 pieces of assorted lotions.

    Three others were arrested recently Kigali Sector, Nyarugenge District with 156 pieces of assorted skin whitening creams including Caro light, Eclair 600, Extra Clair, White Max and Beauty.

    While parading Nzamutuma, RNP spokesperson warned that operations will continue targeting shops selling the banned skin bleaching cosmetics as well as individuals, who traffic them into the country.

    Nzamutuma claimed that the cosmetics were left in his shop by a Congolese national whom he only identified as Bongo.

    CP Kabera said that Police unearthed various tricks used by traffickers of the harmful lotions and commended the role of the public in reporting dealers.

    Article 266 of the law determining offenses and penalties in general, states that any person, who produces, sells, or prescribes harmful products; cosmetics or body hygiene substance or any other products derived from plants, commits an offence.

    Upon conviction, he/she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than two years and a fine of not less than Rwf3 million and not more than Rwf5 million or one of these penalties.

  • Rwanda confirms 298 new COVID-19 cases

    The statement released last night shows that majority of new cases were found in Kigali: 121, Rubavu: 48, Muhanga: 21 and Rutsiro: 16.

    Rwanda confirmed the first Coronavirus case on 14th March 2020. Since then, 28 912 people have been tested positive out of 1,516,498 sample tests of whom 26 383 recovered, 2 157 are active cases, 14 are critically ill while 372 have succumbed to the virus.

    A total of 389, 719 people have been vaccinated since Rwanda began countrywide inoculation program on 5th March 2021.

  • Media professionals urged to be agents of positive transformations

    Minister Busingye made the call during a three-day training aimed at building capacities for journalists reporting justice and human rights issues and exchanging ideas on the implementation the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations on human rights.

    On 25th January 2021, Rwanda participated in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) where Minister Busingye presented Rwanda’s 3rd report to the Human Rights Council.

    At the time, Rwanda received 284 recommendations from the United Nations Human Right Council, of which the country accepted to implement 160 over the next five years and took note of 75.

    Busingye urged journalists to model good values and reminded them of their role in implementation process.

    “The media plays a critical role during this process and is considered to measure moral virtues. I believe such subjects are covered at schools of journalism. Even though you might not have learnt it at school, it should be made clear that practicing journalists are like priests. Usually, a priest has a critical role in the society because he is not supposed to advise people against theft and later do the same after removing his clergy robe. A journalist also falls under this category of people highly expected to practice what they preach. When he/she is reporting and digging deeper into story details, the journalist should be modeling moral virtues,” he said.

    Busingye highlighted that the media can help the Government to review achievements that no one should ignore its contribution to the society.

    “It is not only the duty of our superiors to hold us accountable but also citizens should be involved. The media is a powerful tool to bridge us. It is considered the catalyst of positive transformations bringing together all concerned parties for common understanding which is a crucial aspect globally,” he said.

    Taking an example of Rwanda’s dark history which led to the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, Busingye reflected how media houses including RTLM and Kangura served as tools to spread propaganda mobilizing Hutu to kill Tutsi and urged journalists to foster positive change.

    The training sought, among other things, to know/understand and exchange ideas on the place and role of the media in the implementation of recommendations, increase the capacity of media professionals on the UPR process; informing and involving the public.

    It also aimed at raising awareness of the media professionals on the general outcome of Rwanda’s third review under the UPR; discuss and adopt strategies for the implementation of the recommendations relevant to press and media freedoms.

    The Minister of Justice and State Attorney General, Johnston Busingye has urged journalists to be agents of positive transformations.
    Some of journalists attending the training.

  • Rwanda collected 69,000 blood component units in 2020

    These figures were released on Monday 14th June at the celebration of World Blood Donor Day held in Ruhango district at national level.

    Ruhango is among top districts of Southern Province where a large number of blood units were collected.

    This year’s World Blood Donor Day was marked under the theme ‘Give blood and keep the world beating’.

    The mayor of Ruhango district, Valens Habarurema urged residents to continue supporting the good cause to save people’s lives.

    “We are excited to see the World Blood Donor Day celebrated in Ruhango district at national level. It is not by coincidence but rather a result of residents’ generosity and commitment to donate blood. We should strive to do more,” he noted.

    Dr. Swaibu Gatare, the Head of Biomedical Service department at Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) urged Rwandans not to lend ears to rumours about blood donation exercise.

    “Some people spread rumours that donating blood once results into health complications like blood pressure among others. It is untrue,” he noted.

    Dr. Gatare demystified such rumours adding that a blood donor recovers donated blood within 24 hours.

    Benoit Munyemana, a resident who has donated blood 76 times emphasized the need to participate in the exercise to save lives and encouraged people to follow the suit.

    “I am convinced that donating blood is a kind act to save lives of people in critical condition. Everyone should donate blood willingly because it has a far-reaching impact to the community,” he enthused.

    A total of 203 blood units were donated in Ruhango district at the celebration of World Blood Donor Day.

    According to the 2020 annual report of the Blood Transfusion Department of RBC, Rwanda needs approximately 288 blood component units every day. Most transfusion cases are due to Malaria, pregnancies and birth complication cases and cancer cases followed by road accidents.

    The demand for blood components from health facilities were 100,935 units in 2020. Of these, RBC supplied 93,993 units which is 93.12 % hospital satisfaction.

    World Blood Donor Day, an initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO), is observed every year on June 14. This day is celebrated to spread awareness about the significance of blood donation and to recognize the contribution of voluntary unpaid blood donors in saving lives.

    The first World Blood Donor Day was observed by WHO in 2004 and was declared as an annual global event in the 58th World Health Assembly in 2005. The day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Austrian biologist and physician, Karl Landsteiner. He is considered to be the founder of modern blood transfusion.

    A total of 203 blood units were donated in Ruhango district at the celebration of World Blood Donor Day.
    The National Center for Blood Transfusion (NCBT) has revealed that 69,000 blood component units were collected from 47,000 people last year.

  • MINEDUC launches Teacher Management and Information System

    The platform dubbed Teacher Management and Information System (TMIS) was officially launched on 1st June 2021.

    Developed by Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) in collaboration with UNICEF, the TMIS, developed for Rwanda’s primary and secondary education, will support the monitoring of teachers’ licensing, appointments, placements, transfers, evaluations, promotions, and terminations as well as provide an accurate and timely overview of the teaching workforce in the country.

    Gaspard Twagirayezu, the Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education at MINEDUC has observed that embracing technology in teachers’ management is of crucial relevance noting that they will stay closer to them to boost quality education.

    “This constitutes a significant innovation in this space. The TMIS will provide us with a list of active teachers, which will help us with planning and budgeting,” he said.

    “We thank UNICEF and the Mastercard Foundation who have taken a bold step forward to support the improvement of teacher management in Rwanda. The TMIS delivers a real solution to a problem that has been affecting the education sector for some time in our country,” added Twagirayezu.

    The TMIS, which has recently been upgraded to ensure its alignment with the new teacher statute, can be accessed by more than 14 categories of users in the National Education System. These categories range from the Senior Management of the Rwanda Education Board to the teams in charge of teacher placements, incentives, and trainings, as well as the directors of education in all districts of Rwanda.

    Commenting on the system, Julianna Lindsey, UNICEF Representative in Rwanda said: “This TMIS will ensure that the education system has state of the art technology to support the administration and management of teachers thereby increasing efficiency and performance.”

    This holistic approach will provide the Rwanda education system with an opportunity to not only better understand its human capital allocation resources, but also to improve the quality of teaching by providing teachers with more time to focus on their students.

    Rica Rwigamba, Rwanda Country Head at the Mastercard Foundation commended the partnership that yielded fruits to enhance efficient teachers’ management and subsequently boost quality education.

    “Quality education has always been at the center of our interventions and the TMIS provides a more automated as well as robust back-end to the education system, which helps to improve the qualitative aspects of the teaching workforce,” he said.

    To date, UNICEF has officially transitioned the TMIS to the Rwanda Education Board but will continue to provide technical support as required during the maintenance period which will end in December 2021 – later on, TMIS will be integrated with the broader Education Management Information System as part of the 2nd phase of the project. The Rwanda Education Board will soon provide professional licenses to teachers who have fulfilled their requirements, as per the teacher statute.

    A teacher can access the system through provided website link www.education.rw/tmis/ , click ‘existing teacher’, nationality and fill identifications in provided table.

    Then, she/he clicks to ‘check’ whereafter a specific table to be filled appears immediately.

    TMIS will provide the Rwanda education system with an opportunity to not only better understand its human capital allocation resources, but also to improve the quality of teaching by providing teachers with more time to focus on their students.

  • COVID-19: Close to 20 caught praying in forest

    Police and local leaders found the group at about 9am, congregating in Ikadeshi forest located in Nyirabadugu Village, Gihembe Cell, Kageyo Sector.

    Worshippers belong to Catholic and Pentecostal churches and had come from Burera, Rulindo and Gicumbi districts.

    Felix Ndayambaje, the Mayor of Gicumbi District, who was part of the enforcement team, warned the believers against such prohibited practices.

    “Behaving in such a manner during this critical moment… no one should entertain it. It is disregarding and hampering government efforts to contain the virus and putting other people at high risks of catching and spreading the virus,” Ndayambaje said.

    “Real christians prayer for good health… for good life but not putting people in danger,” he added.

    He advised them to go to churches which were allowed to resume rather than exposing their lives and those of others at risks.

    Gicumbi District Police Commander (DPC), Superintendent of Police (SP) Jean Bosco Minani said that the violators were arrested due to a tip off by concerned residents.

    “We were called in by residents who spotted a gathering in Ikadeshi forest. When Police and local leaders arrived there, we found 19 people praying and close to each other with no one wearing a face mask,” said SP Minani.

    He urged the public to adhere to the government directives to protect themselves from the deadly virus.

    “This is the second time in just two days that we have arrested people in these prohibited gatherings. Two days ago, we caught 30 people, now these 19; it is unfortunate that we can still observe people behaving like this,” the DPC said.

    He warned that Police will not tolerate such behaviors and practices and called upon the public to continue reporting such violations.

    The violators were taken to Byumba stadium where they were educated on health measures, government directives and handed administrative fines.

    Worshippers arrested holding a prayer gathering in the forest contrary to Government directives on preventing the spread of Covid-19.

  • Rwanda records two more COVID-19 deaths, 241 new cases

    The deceased include a woman aged 57 from Rubavu and 73-year old man from Kigali.

    The statement released last night shows that 42 have recovered.

    Rwanda confirmed the first Coronavirus case onn14th March 2020. Since then, 28 614 people have been tested positive of whom 26 383 recovered, 1859 are active cases, 11 are critically ill while 372 have succumbed to the virus.

    The majority of new cases were found in Kigali: 66, Musanze: 48, Rutsiro: 27 and Muhanga: 21.

    A total of 389,658 people have been vaccinated since Rwanda began countrywide inoculation program on 5th March 2021.

    Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

    Rwandans are urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.

  • Police recovers stolen money in Gicumbi

    The money was recovered from the prime suspect identified as Pacifique Tuyisenge, 20, who was located and arrested later the same day in Gatete Village, Kamushenye Cell, Kisaro Sector in Rulindo District.

    Tuyisenge, a turnboy for one of the brewery depot vehicles in Gicumbi, allegedly stole the money from the truck at about 7pm as the driver was supplying drinks to customers in Gicumbi town.

    Superintendent of Police (SP) Jean Bosco Minani, the District Police Commander (DPC) for the Gicumbi, said that following the alleged theft, the victim reported to the Police and the search for the suspect was immediately commenced.

    “With Tuyisenge named as the prime suspect, the search for him was commenced swiftly. We later established that he had fled to Rulindo District where he was located and arrested at about 11pm in Gatete Village, Kamushenye Cell in Kisaro Sector. Police also managed to recover all the Frw2,477,000 from him and returned it to the rightful owner,” SP Minani said.

    Bonifrida Mupenzi, the victim, thanked the Police for the quick response to recover all his money.

    “I reported the theft to the Police at about 7pm. Although I hope that the suspect would be traced and arrested, I had no hope that all the money would be recovered. To my surprise, Police called me at about 11pm that they had the suspect in custody and all my money had been recovered. Such swift response makes us and our businesses safe,” Mupenzi said.

    Tuyisenge was handed over to RIB at Byumba Police station for further investigation.

    Article 166 of the law determining offenses and penalties in general provides that any person convicted for theft is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than two years and a fine of not less than Rwf1 million and not more than Rwf2 million, community service in a period of six months or only one of these penalties.