IGIHE

Author: Publisher

  • Kagame to Attend 4th Summit of Northern Corridor Integration Projects

    Kagame to Attend 4th Summit of Northern Corridor Integration Projects

    {{President Paul Kagame will join President Kaguta Museveni of Uganda and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya for the 4th Summit of the northern corridor integration projects taking place in Entebbe on 20 February 2014. }}

    The summit is an initiative bringing together Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda to fast track regional development through regional infrastructure, trade and political and economic integration. Other countries expected to attend are Burundi, South Sudan and Tanzania.

    The Summit which will be preceded by a meeting of senior officials and ministers, will share developments, review implementation of projects discussed previously and propose the best way forward.

    The Heads of State will also launch the East African tourist visa. Presidents Kagame and Kenyatta will show their IDs at their point of exit and receive a coupon upon arrival into Uganda. This will mark the official launch of the use of national identity cards, voter/students cards as travel documents.

    At the inaugural Infrastructure Summit in Entebbe, Uganda in June 2013, leaders of Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda agreed to divide responsibilities: Uganda committed to lead the railway development and political federation sector; Rwanda on customs, single tourists and East African Community e-identity card; while Kenya took on the implementation of the oil pipeline and electricity generation.

    The following summit was held in Mombasa, Kenya where the Heads of States attended the commissioning of Berth 19, a project anticipated to increase capacity of the Kenyan port to serve the entire region.

    The 3rd Summit was held in Kigali in 20 October last year where the Heads of State welcomed South Sudan to the initiative.

    There was also the launch of the single customs territory which saw reduced time spent moving goods along the corridor from from Mombasa to Kampala to 18 days to 5 days and from Mombasa to Kigali move from 21 days to 8 days.

  • Anti-crime Awareness Continues to Kiziba Refugee Camp

    Anti-crime Awareness Continues to Kiziba Refugee Camp

    {{The Rwanda National Police public awareness against crimes continued to Kiziba refugee camp in Karongi district on February 17 with a call to fight and report people that could be involved in criminal acts like drug abuse.}}

    There are 16338 Congolese refugees in Kiziba camp.

    Chief Inspector of Police (CIP), Jean Claude Kabandana explained to the hundreds of refugees on the dangers of drug abuse adding that it leads to assault, school drop-outs, theft and unwanted pregnancies, among others.

    He appealed to them to abstain from the vice and other sorts of offenses and always report in time to security organs, anything that may impede their safety.

    Siméon Nsanzabaganwa, the head of the camp thanked Rwanda National Police for extending the campaign to them and pledged continued cooperation with Police to maintain security within the camp.

    The campaign started last week and has also been conducted in Nyabiheke and Kigeme camps and Kiyanzi transit centre.

    RNP

  • Karongi: IPRC Students Successfully Build Clap Switch System at School

    Karongi: IPRC Students Successfully Build Clap Switch System at School

    {{Students of the Technical Secondary School of IPRC-Karongi have successfully completed an innovative project of building electric system where they turn off or turn on the light by clapping hands, thanks to professional courses of electricity.}}

    The project was preconceived by students after realizing that in some schools students touch on Interrupter to turn off or on the light which results from dirtying walls of the classroom.

    Speaking to IGIHE, a senior six student, Nsabimana Callixte, said “This is a very important means because it prevents students from dirtying walls of the classrooms, this also avoids the electrical circuitry during a switch off/on because it was done by linking the clap with the switch system”

  • Rwanda Peacekeepers Rescue 2000 Muslims to Safety

    Rwanda Peacekeepers Rescue 2000 Muslims to Safety

    {{As reported in our previous article, a humanitarian and commercial goods convoy escorted by Rwanda peacekeepers in Central African Republic (CAR) came under attack on the way to the CAR-Cameroon border. }}

    The cowardly attack on the humanitarian convoy left three innocent civilians dead who were among the 2000 rescued civilians along the way. Three civilians were also injured and evacuated to Cameroon Hospital.

    The convoy of seventy vehicles escorted by Rwanda Mechanized Infantry Battalion (RwaMechBatt1) serving in the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) was attacked in a locality called Beloko, near the CAR-Cameroon border, by armed people identified as Anti-Balaka at around 18h30 on Sunday 16 February 2014.

    The criminals, in disregard of human life, opened fire on the humanitarian convoy immediately killing three innocent civilians.

    The killed civilians were among 2000 fleeing civilians rescued along the way that were under attack from Anti-Baraka.

    The peacekeepers, in protecting civilians and the humanitarian convoy fought the assailants in several attacks and killed at least seven of them. Two sub-machine guns and several rounds of ammunition were recovered from them.

    “We condemn in the strongest terms this cowardly attack on the humanitarian convoy. We call upon all armed groups in CAR to lay down their arms and stop violence that is killing innocent people”, said Brigadier General Joseph Nzabamwita, the Rwanda Defence Forces Spokesman.

    The humanitarian convoy escort, for the third time, had started the 700 km long journey from Bangui to CAR-Cameroon border on 15 February 2014 and it is expected in Bangui early this week. RwaMechBatt1 peacekeepers first opened the 700 km humanitarian Corridor on 27 January 2014.

    Bangui and CAR had been cut off from supplies by armed groups controlling the Bangui-Cameroon main supply road that connects it to the sea port of Douala in Cameroon.

    {MOD}

  • Rwandan Grabs 3 Awards at Belgian Victoires de la Musique

    Rwandan Grabs 3 Awards at Belgian Victoires de la Musique

    {{“Formidable”! The title of Belgian musician Stromae’s hit song sums up the success of this young artist, who picked up three awards at the Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of the Grammys.}}

    Other winners included French legends Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Hallyday, but it was the Belgian artist of Rwandan origin who won best album for “Racine carrée” at the 29th edition of the awards held in Paris’s Zénith Theatre on Friday.

    Vanessa Paradis, best know internationally as the face of Chanel, being the ex-partner of Hollywood star Johnny Depp, and for French pop classics such as ‘Joe Le Taxi’, was on hand to accept the prize for best female artist 24 years after first winning the award.

    She is the only woman to have won the prize three times. Only one male artist, Alain Bashung, has achieved that honour before.

    Veteran rocker Johnny Hallyday was not present to pick up his best song award, but he thanked his fans via Twitter.

    Another notable absence was that of French duo Daft Punk, who won big at the American Grammys but kept away from the French awards.

    Stromae, who won best album, male artist of the year, and best music video for “Formidable”, took the stage of the famous Zénith Theatre wearing his habitual bow tie and pastel suit.

    “One doesn’t play music to achieve success,” he told the Zénith crowd. “But if it brings success as well, then so much the better!”

    {{The making of a maestro}}

    Paul Van Haver, 28, best known by his stage name Stromae, was born in a Brussels suburb to a Flemish mother and a Rwandan father. His father soon left the family and returned to Rwanda, where he was later killed in the 1994 genocide.

    Van Haver discovered rap as a teenager and went on to write for several well-known artists, including Anggun.

    In the 1990s, Van Haver was swept up in the eurodance craze, which had a thriving scene in Belgium.

    In 2011, he released his first album (“Cheese”) under the pseudonym Stromae. His nom-de-plume is the inversion of the syllables of maestro, a way of creating words that stems from “verlan”, a Francophone slang born out of the gritty Parisian suburbs.

    His biggest hit, “Alors on danse” (“So we dance”), is about dancing to forget the economic crisis, desperation, heartbreaks and death. In the music video, Stromae lurches around, bleary-eyed, after drowning his sorrows in both dance and drink.

    The song saw unprecedented success and was even remixed by Kanye West.

    On stage, Stromae’s unique style makes him instantly recognisable. He wears knee socks and printed shirts and likes to incarnate different characters. He is impossibly lanky. His ears stick out. His eyes are enormous, green and unsettling.

    “It’s the entire Stromae package that makes him successful,” Olivier Nusse, the head of Stromae’s label (Mercury/Universal), was recetly quoted as saying.

    His lyrics, which tackle difficult subjects like sickness and his father’s disappearance, are nonetheless grimly humorous.

    In the “Formidable” music video, the song’s throbbing beat stops abruptly halfway as a visibly drunk Stromae stumbles through the city streets and bumps into several policemen.

    They ask if he’s had a rough night and tell him they are big fans. Then, after this daydream-like parenthesis, the music starts up again.

    {france24}

  • Sudan Worried of Uganda Army Presense in South Sudan

    Sudan Worried of Uganda Army Presense in South Sudan

    {{Sudan has stated that the Ugandan military intervention in South Sudan is threatening Sudan’s national security.}}

    The Sudanese armed forces (SAF) have further warned that the Ugandan military presence in the south is threatening the whole of East African countries, and is demanding Kampala pull out its forces.

    Talking to media on Sunday, SAF spokesman Col. Alswarmy Khalid Saad accused Uganda of attempting to sabotage the relations between Khartoum and Juba.

    “Uganda has many hostility actions against Sudan; they are trying to convince the government of South Sudan that they are supporting them while [they claim] we are backing Riek Machar’s forces, but that is incorrect” the spokesman said.

    “Our position is very clear that we do not have any intention of militarily intervention in South Sudan” he reaffirmed.

    Col. Saad further dismissed accusations by the South Sudan’s national army that Sudan’s air force have violated the Southern space.

    “We have no military operations on our border with South Sudan and even the protection of the oilfields is the responsibility of the government of South Sudan” he said.

    “We made it very clear that we are supporting the elected government in South Sudan, but we are against any military intervention and concerned of any foreign forces that have been deployed in the south” he added.

  • South Sudan President Admits Forming Private Army

    South Sudan President Admits Forming Private Army

    {{South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, has admitted forming a private army widely believed to have played a key role in ethnic killings after clashes broke out between rival factions within the presidential guard on 15 December.}}

    Kiir made the surprise admission at a political function organised by the youth wing of the governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the capital, Juba, on Saturday.

    The president attempted to justify the formation of the unauthorised army, saying the intention was to have “a reserve force” to help the nation in the event military action was needed.

    “It was on this basis that somebody mobilised and recruited some youth to the national service. Those who thought of mobilisation of the youth to be trained did not have bad intention. It was not a bad idea. Any country which does not have [a] reserve [force] always gets into difficulties”, Kiir told the audience at the meeting.

    He accused some officials of having denied the new recruits their salaries and weapons while undergoing training as they were opposed to the idea.

    “When these people were in the training, they were denied everything. They were denied salaries, weapons and all the things they were supposed to get because some people did not like the idea, but when this thing (the outbreak of violence) happened, they did not think about all that happened to them. Who are now fighting in Unity, in Malakal and Jonglei states?” Kiir said.

    The gathering was attended by high-ranking government officials and members of the SPLM’s leadership council.

    Vice-president James Wani Igga also addressed the gathering, which was attended by the speaker of the national parliament, Magok Rundial, as well as senior military officers and members from other political parties in the country.

    Close to half a million people have been displaced since the conflict broke out in Juba, quickly spreading to other parts of the country as government troops loyal to Kiir and rebels aligned with former vice-president Riek Machar battled for control of strategic areas.

    The conflict divided along ethnic lines, pitting members of Kiir’s Dinka tribe against supporters of Machar, who hails from the Nuer tribe.

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) said a research team had documented widespread killings of Nuer men by members of the South Sudan army (SPLA) in Juba, particularly during the period between 15 to 19 December, including a massacre of between 200 and 300 men in the Gudele neighbourhood, after they were reportedly rounded up and forced into an overcrowded room in a government building before being shot.

    Eyewitnesses and victims gave accounts of soldiers and policemen conducting house-to-house searches in the capital for Nuer men.

    HRW also documented the targeting and killing of civilians of Dinka ethnicity by opposition forces in other parts of the country during the conflict.

    (ST)

  • West African Bloc Plans New Airline Launch in 2015

    West African Bloc Plans New Airline Launch in 2015

    {{The four-member West African bloc, the Mano River Union (MRU), will launch its planned regional airline next year, officials said in Freetown.}}

    Mano Air, as the airline will be officially called, was first conceived last year in Monrovia.

    Officials also say an aircraft could not be put in the air until now because of delays among others in issuing airline licences.

    But at the ministerial meeting of the bloc`s members in Freetown, last week, January 17, 2015 was selected as “tentative date” for the launch, said Leonard Balogun Koroma, Sierra Leone`s Transport and Aviation Minister, who is the current chair of the Ministerial Council on the Roberts Flights Information System (RFIS).

    RFIS is a tripartite agreement among Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Its headquarters is hosted in central Liberia, from where the three countries` air spaces are managed so that aircrafts flying through them pay revenues and, crucially, are identified for security reasons.

    RFIS was established by the founding fathers of the MRU, an association established in 1973 by Liberia and Sierra Leone. Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire joined later.

    January 17 next year will be the 40th anniversary of that landmark occasion, and the maiden Air Mano plane is planned for official unveiling then.

    Accordingly, the Freetown meeting was convened to discuss this issue and also plans to acquire more effective equipment for the RFIS to pick up aircraft flying in the region.

    {{Cheaper option}}

    Air Mano is already being fronted as the answer to the region`s demand for cheaper and accessible airline that links the three countries.

    Officials say it will reduce huge inconveniences faced by the region`s over 15 million citizens while accelerating its regional integration process.

    Minister Koroma said that the union was convinced that with a joint airline, the region could better competed with bigger airlines already present in the region.

    Currently, the Ethiopian Airlines majority-owned ASKY Airlines, launched in 2009, dominates West African skies

    Despite this, the MRU countries are seriously under served.

    ASKY came into being following the liquidation of a number of airlines in the region.

    Besides Cote d’Ivoire, which is only an affiliate member of the Mano union and which is not mentioned in this joint venture, none of the three founding members – Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – have national airlines presently, or domestic flights.

    {{Relaunched}}

    Cote D’Ivoire only recently re-launched its state carrier, Air Cote D’Ivoire.

    And unlike Liberia, both Sierra Leone and Guinea used to own national carriers but which are all defunct. Plans for foreign backed national carriers of both countries have so far failed to materialise.

    There is therefore no direct flight between any of these four countries, except for short stopovers between Monrovia in Liberia and Freetown in Sierra Leone.

    Linking Monrovia to Conakry could take a passenger through two airports in between (Lome and Accra) before your final destination.

    A direct flight between Monrovia and Abidjan should normally take two hours. However, since that is not yet available, ASKY flights through the same route have been reported to take up to six hours due to re-routing through Accra, Lomé, and then Abidjan.

    This has caused a lot of inconveniences, notably even on official visits to neighbouring countries, said Mr Koroma.

    {{Low numbers}}

    A lot of this is also attributed to low passenger volumes travelling out of the countries in the region.

    Therefore, aviation critics have cast doubt about the commercial viability and sustainability of a regional airline of this nature in the prevailing situation.

    The ministerial meeting in Freetown was preceded by aviation experts meeting who set the agenda for the politicians.

    It was later agreed that a delegation be constituted to visit Cote d’Ivoire where modalities for the identification and creation of a logo for the flight could be done.

    Nonetheless, MRU officials see a huge market that can only fully be exploited when major cities in the three countries are properly linked.

    “We have now, since the beginning of the 21st century, been enjoying a relative peace and our cities have changed into bigger ones. And these have to be joined in trade,” said MRU secretary-general, Haja Dr Saraban Kabbah.

    {NMG}

  • Central Bank of Nigeria Adopts SWIFT Infrastructure

    Central Bank of Nigeria Adopts SWIFT Infrastructure

    {{The Central Bank of Nigeria’s high value payment system has gone live on SWIFT
    According to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the move is a key element of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Payment System Vision 2020 (PSV2020), which calls for a ‘nationally utilised and internationally recognised’ payments system and provides a robust platform to support Nigeria’s continued economic growth.}}

    Dipo Fatokun, director of the banking and payments system department at Central Bank of Nigeria, said, “The importance of the payments system in any market economy cannot be over-emphasised.

    “In particular, the link between the efficiency of the payments system, the effectiveness with which monetary policy is conducted, the soundness of the financial sector and, indeed, the overall performance of the economy is very strong. Thus, central banks the world over have a strong interest in the development of payments and settlement systems,” he added.

    The adoption of SWIFT for the infrastructure of Nigeria’s high-value payments – via its Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system – will support improvements in interoperability of the country’s financial infrastructure, helping to improve settlement security and eliminate risk, SWIFT said.

    The society added that SWIFT connectivity ensures Nigeria complies with global standards for critical payment infrastructure as set out by the Bank for International Settlements.

    According to SWIFT, the move is also an important step for Nigeria within the West African Monetary Zone – comprising of The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone – that plan to introduce a single currency and use a common payment system in order to boost regional trade and investment.

    Hugo Smit, head of Africa South at SWIFT, said, “By ensuring that Nigeria’s infrastructure is interoperable with both regional and international platforms, the move to SWIFT means that the Nigerian financial community will be easily able to interoperate within the West African Monetary Zone as this regional harmonisation project matures.”

    Fatokun continued, “The support of SWIFT and all other stakeholders for the development of the national payments system is most needed not only in Nigeria but also in the WAMZ region.”

  • Transparency International Chairperson Visits Rwanda National Police

    Transparency International Chairperson Visits Rwanda National Police

    {{The chairperson of Transparency International, Huguette Labella visited the Rwanda National Police headquarters in Kacyiru on Tuesday and thanked the force for laying tough measures fight against graft within.}}

    Huguette, who was accompanied by Immaculate Ingabire, the chairperson of Transparency International-Rwanda, said the force’s initiatives are a clear indication of its “zero tolerance stand against corruption.”

    The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Emmanuel K. Gasana outlined the establishment of the Anti- corruption Unit, Ethics Centre, force discipline and internal audit as some of the measures that were put in place to keep the officers in check.

    The Ethics Centre, which is located at the Police headquarters, was established in 2012 to maintain professional standards, values and norms of officers and the employees of other public and private companies, among others.

    IGP Gasana also explained that the force works closely with other institutions like Transparency International-Rwanda and the ombudsman’s office to effectively address the issue corruption in the country.

    He further explained that the force has so far extended the Interpol system – I-24/7 – to all outlets to aid in fighting cross-border crimes, including identifying and apprehending officials suspected of corruption.

    I-24/7 is global police network that helps to share urgent police information between Interpol member countries to search for suspected criminals or wanted persons, stolen and lost documents, stolen vehicles, among others.

    Rwanda is the third country in Africa that has the Interpol system (I/247) operating at the border after Botswana and South Africa.

    RNP