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{{President Paul Kagame has pledged to tarmac the 30 kilometer road leading to Rutongo from Rulindo District and other roads in the area would be repaired to allow easier movement of people and goods in the District and the region.}}

The head of state made the pledge Friday while touring Rulindo district where he addressed and interacted with thousands of residents turned up to receive him.

The pledge was made in support of the central Government to the District in effort to improve the lives of the people.

During the visit, President Kagame also visited a Mini-Expo, where several products derived from economic activities undertaken in the District were on display.

While addressing the residents at Nyamyumba sports ground, President Kagame told the District residents that what they have achieve is proof that they can do even better, and therefore they needed to work even harder and improve their livelihoods”.

“Our development cannot be sustained without stability and security. Security cannot be donated to us; it is up to each of us to build the future we deserve. We have the important responsibility of building our nation and therefore we have to put more effort in whatever we do, be it in improving infrastructure, education, healthcare and others.”

The Mayor of Rulindo District, Justus Kangwaje said one of the success stories in the District was financial literacy where people have taken saving and investing seriously.

He also said that access to electricity and clean water was among the highest in the country.

During the question and answer session, resident presented both outstanding issues, proposals for the development of their District and success stories resulting from good governance.

Agriculture occupies 76.8% on the district’s economic activities grid. The main crops grown in Rulindo districts are Beans, Irish potatoes, Wheat, Passion Fruit, Coffee and Tea.

Rulindo has enormous potential in mining and has the biggest mining sites.

{{The First Lady Mrs. Jeannette Kagame launched the annual Best Performing Girls Campaign on 1st March in Gisagara district. Following the launch, Imbuto Foundation continues the campaign, nationwide. }}

Today, Honorable Albert Nsengiyumva represented the First Lady in Nyamasheke district, where 21 best performing girls were rewarded; while Honorable Stanislas Kamanzi was in Rulindo district where 31 girls received awards.

434 primary and secondary school girls will be recognized nationwide this March.

Nelly Mukazayire, Deputy Director of Cabinet in the President’s office and Mrs. Joyce Musabe, Deputy Director General at the Rwanda Education board were the role models in Nyamasheke and Rulindo districts respectively.

The 2 women leaders, inspired the young girls to achieve their dreams, through their own stories of success. They also interacted with the girls on the challenges women face, on the path to success.

Under the leadership of Her Excellency Mrs. Jeannette Kagame, Imbuto Foundation initiated the Promotion of Girls’ Education Campaign in 2005, to motivate girls to perform well in school.

The campaign mobilizes the community, parents, teachers, civil society, boys and local leaders to collectively support girls’ education.

This year, more girls are being encouraged to develop technical and vocational skills; this is why St. Kizito Technical school in Gisagara district was selected for the launch.

Imbuto Foundation rewards over 400 girls countrywide, at each annual campaign.

They are categorized as follows: the best girl per sector at primary school level; the best girl per district at O level; and the best 5 girls per province at A level. So far, over 3,400 girls have been recognized for performing well.

Girls receive awards such as scholastic materials, ICT training and funds to create savings accounts.

The Senior 6 girls are rewarded with a laptop each and an IT essentials training. The purpose of the training is to equip the girls with basic IT skills, as they continue with university education.

Girls historically faced social, economic and cultural barriers that prevented them from performing as well as they could.

Media messages, promotional material, role models who share inspirational stories, community mobilization and partnerships with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, Rwanda Education Board, Tumba College of Technology and the One UN, provide a platform for these barriers to be broken, so that young Rwandan girls can truly succeed.

{{In an exclusive interview, Senator John McCain identifies several ways the U.S. could respond to Vladimir Putin’s decision to move Russian troops into Ukraine.

President Obama promised Friday there would be “costs” if Russia moved troops into Ukraine, but he didn’t specify what those costs might be.}}

Sen. John McCain has several suggestions for Obama, including the sanctioning of high-level Russian officials; restarting missile defense plans in Eastern Europe; and bringing Georgia, a former Soviet republic, into NATO. McCain plans to push from the Congressional side, he told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview Saturday evening.

McCain wants the administration to expand its threat to pull out of the G8 Summit in Sochi scheduled for June. That limited move is unlikely to convince Putin to give up his control of Crimea, where Russia has its 15,000-man strong Black Sea Fleet and where unmarked but Russian-controlled paramilitary troops control the two main airports.

“I think Obama’s threat is laughable,” McCain said. “But I think we ought to do it and every other international gathering of leaders, because the one thing that Putin enjoys is strutting on the international stage.”

McCain added that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — who inaugurated the Obama administration’s “reset” of relations with Russia in 2009 — had totally misjudged Russia.

“Of course she got it wrong,” said McCain. “She believed that somehow there would be a reset with a guy who was a KGB colonel who always had ambitions to restore the Russian empire. That’s what this is all about.”

Next, McCain wants the administration to more broadly apply a law that enables the U.S. government to sanction Russian officials guilty of human rights violations. The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law and Accountability Act, which Obama signed into law in 2012, has so far only been used against low-level Russian officials.

But McCain said that if top Russian officials were involved in the decision to send troops into Ukraine, they should be added to the list as well, which would subject them to visa bans, asset freezes, and international scorn.

“We must consider legislation to respond to this,” McCain said. “The Magnitsky bill can be expanded for holding people responsible for these acts of aggression.”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking Republican Bob Corker also called Saturday for targeted sanctions against senior Russian officials. McCain said additional economic sanctions against Russia writ large were also called for.

After that, McCain wants the Obama administration to reverse its decision to scuttle missile defense plans for Eastern Europe, plans that Putin objected to strongly.

The Obama administration claimed that its decision to scrap the plans was not a concession to Russia, but it came at a time when Obama wanted to work with Russia on further reducing nuclear-weapon stockpiles. Such cooperation now seems far-fetched.

Lastly, McCain argues that the Obama administration should work with NATO to speed up the process through which Georgia (invaded by Russia in 2008) could move towards joining the defense alliance. It’s an unlikely move, but Georgia has been seeking an interim step called MAP status.

But that effort has been hampered by the fact that Russia occupies two Georgian territories. Ukraine, which voluntarily withdrew from NATO consideration years ago, might now have more incentive to join the alliance, McCain said.

McCain stresses that there is no U.S. military option for responding to Russian aggression in Ukraine, nor should there be. NATO response is not a viable option, and the Ukrainians can’t fight the Russians on their own, he said.

“The reality is that they do not have the military capability to stand up to Russia. That’s just a fact. I’m sure they know that,” he said.

McCain is also amazed at what he sees as the Obama administration’s total lack of foresight that Russia would have moved troops into Ukraine. As of Thursday evening, U.S. intelligence officials were saying they saw no evidence that Russia was planning a military intervention in Ukraine.

On Friday morning, Secretary of State John Kerry said he had received assurances from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Moscow would not do anything that could even be misconstrued as a military intervention.

“Kerry’s statement was laugh out loud ridiculous, if it wasn’t so serious,” said McCain. “This is prima facia evidence of the delusional attitude that the administration had toward Vladimir Putin.”

By Friday afternoon, President Obama was warning Putin publicly to withdraw his forces from Ukraine. (Director of National Intelligence James Clapper held a classified briefing for senators on the situation the same day.) Saturday morning, top members of Obama’s national security team met at the White House to consider policy options for Ukraine. Obama did not attend, but Clapper, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey were seen leaving the White House following the meeting.

“I think it’s very clear that this whole operation took this administration and the intelligence community by surprise, but it shouldn’t have,” said McCain.

The White House put out a statement Saturday afternoon reading out Obama’s 90-minute phone call with Putin on Ukraine from Saturday. The White House statement didn’t specify any “costs” for Russia besides suspending preparatory meetings for the G8 summit in Sochi.

“President Obama made clear that Russia’s continued violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would negatively impact Russia’s standing in the international community,” the White House said. “Going forward, Russia’s continued violation of international law will lead to greater political and economic isolation.”

McCain said Obama has not spoken out strongly enough against Russian behavior.

“He should publicly condemn this behavior which is worthy of the gangster label,” he said. “This is a page out of the old Soviet playbook. Send your paramilitary troops and FSB and foment disorder. And then of course the Russians will say they have to come in and restore order. It’s the old playbook, the old KGB Colonel Putin at work again.”

{businessdaily}