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MINIRENA: Creating awareness on NELSAP program

{The dissemination workshop organized by MINIRENA in collaboration with the Nile basin initiative(NBI) kicked off today on 13th December at Milles Collines Hotel Kigali.}

Participants in this workshop include policy makers from different sectors namely agriculture, water, irrigation, environment, Energy, lands, Finance, Economic planning, and Foreign Affairs, County Government/Local and regional Administration, Social/community and others.

According to the permanent secretary at the ministry of natural resources the key objective of the dissemination exercise in Rwanda is to create awareness of the NELSAP program

Some of other objectives of this workshop is to help identify specific projects that can be considered for country programming within the country expenditure frameworks. .

Hon Caroline Kayonga added that Out-comes that have been produced so far, to enhance collaboration between the Nile basin initiative/NELSAP countries and stakeholders including regional agencies and development partners. However, other expected outcomes from this workshop will include:

· Improved corporate image of the NELSAP in the countries,

· Enhanced knowledge of the value of the NELSAP program to the countries

· Improved understanding of the niche that NELSAP has in regional water resources programming

· Strengthened collaboration between NELSAP and relevant stakeholders.

The project area that is expected to be covered will include Akanyaru marshland, the lakes Cyohoha and Rweru and there watersheds, located respectively in the akanyaru sub-basin and the downstream Nyabarongo sub-basin, both being part of the akagera sub basin shared by Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania.

Akagera Marshland is a vast drowned valley which forms a natural border between Rwanda and Burundi.

It also covers a range from 200 to 3,000m wide and 70 square kilometers long, while its surface area is estimated to be 200 square kilometers.

Lake Rweru and Cyohoha are located at the border between Rwanda and Burundi, and they cover over 80 square kilometers and 60 square kilometers respectively.

These lakes are fed by groundwater from the river Nyabarongo and constitute freshwater reserves which are easily accessible to the local population and offer great potential for fish and aquaculture development.

December 13, 2013
Pretoria: President Kagame pays his last respect to Mandela

{Rwandan President Paul Kagame has today, 13th December 2013, paid his last respects to departed anti-apartheid icon Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, a week after the revered statesman passed on after months of illness.}

President Kagame together with other mourners honored the body of Mandela at the Union Building in Pretoria today

Earlier this week, President Kagame also ordered that the Rwandan Flag fly at half-mast for five days from Tuesday through Sunday, when the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize laureate will be laid to rest in his ancestral home of Qunu in Eastern Cape Province

December 13, 2013
Ingabire sentenced to 15 years in prison

{Rwanda Supreme Court sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison Ingabire Victoire, the embattled Rwanda opposition politician – ending her legal battle}

The Supreme Court of Rwanda confirmed the judgment convicting Ingabire different crimes including “conspiracy against the government, terrorism and war” among other crimes.

Ingabire was initially sentenced by high court 8years in jail.

December 13, 2013
Kwita Izina makes it to the top finalist list of 2013 UNWTO Ulysses Awards for Innovation

{The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is pleased to announce that “Kwita Izina” has been selected among the finalists for the UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance.}

In 2005, Rwanda’s tourist board introduced an annual public gorilla naming ceremony now known as Kwita Izina which comes from Rwandan baby naming tradition that entire community is involved in naming a newly born. The event is in line with the effort to create and raise awareness for the conservation of mountain gorillas, as a tool to distinctively position and promote Rwanda as a must-see tourism destination and empower communities surrounding Volcanoes National Park, mountains gorillas’ habitat.

Following the UNWTO call for nomination in June this year, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) submitted the application for the UNWTO Ulysses Awards for Innovation with the key project of KWITA IZINA on October 1st, 2013. After consideration, the UNWTO Awards Jury Committee recommended the KWITA IZINA Programme as one of the finalists in the category of UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance.

Other finalists in the same category are Interactive System of Tourist Information, Office of the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship (Poland) and Responsible Tourism Project at Kumarakom, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala (India). The winner will be unveiled during the International Tourism Trade Fair – FITUR to take place on the 22nd of January 2014 in Madrid, Spain.

Commenting on the UNWTO announcement, Valentine Rugwabiza, RDB CEO said,
“We are delighted for the recognition of being finalists in innovative projects by UNTWO. This nomination is a global recognition of Rwanda‘s leadership in innovative, communities’ focused and sustainable tourism”.

As Rwanda is home to about one third of the Mountain gorillas only left in the world, 173 baby gorillas during Kwita Izina celebration have been named among others by the President of Rwanda and the First Lady, prominent personalities in tourism, ambassadors, international conservationists, Hollywood stars, renowned journalists and performing artists.

The Head of Tourism and Conservation at RDB, Rica Rwigamba recognised that it is good news as Rwanda gears up for the 10th Edition of Kwita Izina celebration.
“This recognition is a great opportunity to market Rwanda further in the tourism industry and specifically Kwita Izina as a flagship event that continues to attract thousands of people. I undoubtedly believe it will figure among the important dates of global conservation calendar” She Furth more added, “we are on the right track and can form the basis for continued positioning of our country as a high end destination that puts at its chore sustainable tourism development that integrates both biodiversity conservation and community development”.

Every year since 2003, the UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism have honoured tourism initiatives that contribute to advance tourism through knowledge and innovation, in line with the principles of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Since its inception in 2005, Kwita Izina has evolved from a one day celebration to a week celebration. Along with the main gorilla-naming ceremony, a number of exciting events take place during the week preceding the naming ceremony among which emphasis in conservation and community welfare based. From 2005, an amount of 586,838,751 Rwf (978,065 US$) from RDB’s Tourism Revenue Sharing Scheme was allocated to community development.

December 13, 2013
Kigali: Alpha’s visit surprises girl friend

{Rwandan TPF3 winner arrived in Kigali from the U.S on a surprise visit that shocked girl-friend.}

The surprise of girlfriend Esther uwingabire came as his arrival in the country was unexpected on 12th December 2013.

On his arrival at Kanombe international airport the R&B singer and song writer alpha Rwirangira was received by his father, friends and journalists.

Speaking to IGIHE Alpha Rwirangira confirmed he is in the country to celebrate Christmas and the new-year with his family and Rwandans at large.

Alpha is expected to perform for children on 25th December on Christmas day at La-palisse Club Nyandungu.

On his performance, he will be supported by Alpha Band, Peace and other popular singers.

However, it’s the 3rd time this program is taking place and was established by Alpha Rwirangira in support of young children around the country annually.

Alpha Rwirangira won the 2011 pearl of Africa music Awards as Rwanda Best male artist and also winner of Tusker project fame season 3

December 13, 2013
Zambia: MISA Saddened by Arrest of Daily Nation Editor

{MISA Zambia expresses its grave concern at the arrest and detention of Daily Nation Newspaper proprietor Richard Sakala, Production editor Simon Mwanza and FODEP Executive director MacDonald Chipenzi over an article that appeared in the Newspaper on Monday.}

The offence of publishing false information likely to cause public alarm and despondency in the country contrary to section 67 subsections (i) and (ii) of the penal code cap 87 of the laws of Zambia that Sakala, Mwanza and Chipenzi have been framed with is not only draconian and archaic but retrogressive, colonial and an affront to media freedoms
As MISA, we note that the Daily Nation published the information regarding the secret recruitment from a source and this would not warrant their persecution.

We demand the release of the journalists and that the charges leveled against them be dropped because this we feel this is a threat to Zambia’s democracy, curb freedom of expression and gag the media.

Zambia police should have refuted this claim instead of harassing the media personnel who are supposed to provide checks and balances to the ruling Patriotic Front government.

We appeal to all well- meaning Zambians to rise up and denounce the barbaric and draconian action and therefore challenge government to state its position on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists in the country.

MISA Zambia
Acting Chairperson
Hellen Mwale
12 December 2013

December 13, 2013
Gishwati case: Over-52-Families storm prime Minister’s office for defense

{Over 52 residents of Karago sector in Nyabihu district have approached the prime minister’s office seeking for support on retaining their land for agriculture.}

This approach came as a result of poverty that has dominated the village after losing land in Gishwati for farming, as it was confirmed by residents.

Speaking to IGIHE, these people were stopped from using the land in 2008, whereby financial controllers came and made property evaluation but up to now no feedback were given to them.

Apart from the feedback awaited from the financial controllers on their property, they were not also given authority to continue with the land utilization.

According to information from the source, poverty has led a few of them migrating to the eastern province and even the neighboring Uganda.

However, residents of this village confirm they are unaware of the reason to stop them from using the land.

In an interview with IGIHE, Twahirwa Abdulatif the mayor of Nyabihu district confirmed,” the people of Gishwati village are aware of the reason to why they were stopped from using the land”.

Asked about the compensation, Twahirwa said, they first compensated people who were staying in Gishwati and owned property in that area.

Currently, 30 residents have been accounted and are expecting to be compensated very soon. Said the mayor

Since 2008 the government of Rwanda started a program to relocate, and also protect people from settling in areas affected by natural hazards and that’s what happened to the habitants of Gishwati.

December 13, 2013
American missing in Iran ‘worked for CIA’

An American who went missing in Iran six years ago worked for the CIA and was not in the country on a business trip as U.S. officials had claimed, U.S. media reported Thursday.

In a case that had long been shrouded in secrecy and vague official accounts, The Associated Press and The Washington Post published lengthy reports revealing how retired FBI agent Robert Levinson had been paid by the CIA to gather intelligence around the world.

Levinson flew to an Iranian resort, Kish Island, in March 2007 to investigate corruption in the country, with hopes of also gleaning information about Tehran’s suspected nuclear program, the reports said.

But he vanished, and U.S. officials have publicly said that he was a private citizen traveling on private business.

Months later, information surfaced through emails and other documents that Levinson had, in fact, been hired to go to Iran by the CIA — but by a rogue team of analysts with no authority to run overseas operations.

In violation of CIA rules, the analysts had hired Levinson — a seasoned FBI agent with expert knowledge about Russian criminal circles — to gather intelligence, the AP and the Post wrote.

When Congress finally learned what had taken place, the agency sacked three analysts and seven others faced disciplinary action.

To pre-empt a potentially embarrassing lawsuit, the Central Intelligence Agency also paid Levinson’s family $2.5 million.
Whereabouts unknown

Levinson’s whereabouts are still unknown, and investigators say they don’t know if he is even alive. The last proof of life came about three years ago when his family received a video and pictures of him shackled and dressed in an orange jumpsuit.

“I have been held for three-and-a-half years,” he said in the video. “I am not in good health.”

If Levinson is still alive, at age 65, he has been held in captivity longer than any American citizen, longer than AP reporter Terry Anderson — who was held for more than six years in Beirut.

As a result of Levinson’s case, the spy agency introduced new restrictions on how analysts can work with outsiders.

But the scandal and the agency’s response had remained secret until Thursday’s reports. The Associated Press first learned of Levinson’s CIA ties in 2010 and continued reporting to uncover more details.

The news agency agreed three times to postpone publishing the story because the U.S. government said it was pursuing promising leads to secure his return.

The AP, however, said it had chosen to report the story now because efforts to find and free him have failed.

Senior U.S. officials also say the Iranians almost certainly know about Levinson’s CIA association by this time.

Photos and video in 2010 and 2011 led to a brief diplomatic exchange between Washington and Tehran to secure his release but there have been no promising leads since, according to the reports.

Iran has denied any knowledge of Levinson’s whereabouts.

The AP story was reported by Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, who recently began work at the Post. Goldman’s byline also appears on the Post’s article.

The CIA was not immediately available to comment on the report.

Wire services

December 13, 2013
Rwanda welcomes a WTO- Trade Facilitation Agreement

{{The New Trade Facilitation Agreement will cut red tape and reduce barriers to trade as well as transaction costs, boost competitiveness of Rwandan SMEs, contribute to the existing favorable investment climate and help in creating jobs.}}

On 7 December 2013, Hon. Minister of Trade and Industry François Kanimba, concluded his participation at the 9th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC9) held in Bali, Indonesia, from 3 to 7, by warmly welcoming the “Bali package”, in particular the adoption of the Trade Facilitation Agreement aimed at improving the movement of goods across regional and international borders.

The TFA is a binding Agreement for all countries to speed up customs procedures; make trade easier, faster and cheaper; provide information on all trade laws and regulations in a transparent manner; reduce bureaucracy and corruption, and use technological advances to improve port and border efficiencies.

This agreement will help landlocked countries like Rwanda to improve cross-border trade. It is worth mentioning that developed countries agreed to provide technical and financial assistance to help developing countries implement the Agreement.

For Rwanda, the importance of the new Agreement on Trade Facilitation is twofold. First, the TFA will reduce border transaction costs for Rwandans doing business abroad hence directly benefiting small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), for whom NTBs, red tape and delays can be particularly burdensome during the transit journey. Secondly, the TFA will contribute to improving the existing favorable national investment climate.

The 2014 global Doing Business report shows that Rwanda is ranked 32nd worldwide in terms of overall ease of doing business. This is a testimony of Rwanda’s commitment for continuous reforms for a viable and sustainable investment climate. Evidence shows, however, that the Trading across borders indicator has been lagging behind in terms of ranking despite continuous efforts. The TFA will help address this gap and will at the same time stimulate investment for trading locally, regionally and internationally.

As Rwanda and Regional Countries embark on strengthening the Common Market at EAC level as well as the implementation of the EAC-COMESA-SADEC tripartite Free Trade Area, the TFA certainly creates an opportunity for investors, both national and foreign, to reap benefits arising from this wider regional market, free of barriers (Tariffs and NTBs). In this context, the TFA is a vehicle for driving trade and investment as twin engines for growth and job creation.

For the local and foreign business community, investing in Rwanda, trading regionally and internationally becomes a viable business option given the premium investment service facilities offered by Rwanda and the expedited movement of goods across borders that will follow the implementation of the new Agreement.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry will in due course be engaging the private sector and all trade support institutions for awareness raising on the new WTO Agreement and opportunities it creates.

{{Press Release}}

December 13, 2013
Twitter backtracks on block feature after users revolt

{ Twitter Inc was forced to nix a change to its “block” feature on Thursday after attracting a wave of protest from users who said the new policy empowered perpetrators of online abuse.}

The humbling reversal on one of the most sensitive policy issues facing the social network came as Twitter encountered user revolt for the first time as a public company.

Under the short-lived change on Thursday, a blocked Twitter user could view or tweet at the person who blocked him or her, but that activity would have been rendered invisible to the victim as if the offending account did not exist.

Under the re-instated policy, users could prevent their harassers from following them or interacting with their tweets. Users are also explicitly notified if they are blocked.

Before it backtracked, Twitter had said Thursday that the change was meant to protect victims of harassment who wanted to filter out abusive messages but feared that the act of blocking a user would prompt retaliation.

“We have decided to revert the change after receiving feedback from many users – we never want to introduce features at the cost of users feeling less safe,” vice president of product Michael Sippey wrote in a blog post.

Chief Executive Dick Costolo initially sought to address the mounting criticism by saying on Twitter that the new features were widely requested by victims of abuse.

But many were not convinced. Within hours, the service was flooded with angry users, including many who did not understand the nuances of the new policy, and hundreds had signed an online petition to reverse the change.

“New @twitter block policy is like a home security system that instead of keeping people out puts a blindfold on YOU when they come in,” said user @edcasey.

“‘Just ignore them & they’ll stop’ is a dangerous thing to say to bullied kids & a dangerous thing to say to stalked/harassed Twitter users,” wrote @red3blog, another user.

Keeping abuse in check is a key issue for the company, which needs to keep hold of existing users and attract hundreds of millions of new ones to justify the stratospheric valuation that investors have placed on its stock.

Twitter shares have risen 35 percent to $55.33 the past two weeks on investor expectations that the company can sustain its growth for years and mature into an internet powerhouse.

The changes were announced Thursday after the market close.

The company’s swift about-face similarly drew an outpouring of relief.

“The people have spoken and Twitter listened, thanks,” said user @samar_ismail.

The controversy highlighted Twitter’s dilemma over how it should police the freewheeling service or stamp out abuse.

Twitter, which once espoused a radically hands-off approach to moderating content, was pressed in August to strengthen its “report abuse” functions after two high-profile women in the United Kingdom, feminist and journalist Caroline Criado-Perez and Labour Party politician Stella Creasy, were subjected to a deluge of death and rape threats.

Twitter’s top executive in the U.K., Tony Wang, and Del Harvey, the head of its trust and safety team, issued personal apologies to the women after revising Twitter’s rules.

Twitter said Thursday that the company’s policies were still evolving and that the block feature remained problematic because some users were fearful that their harassers would be notified when they become blocked.

“Moving forward, we will continue to explore features designed to protect users from abuse and prevent retaliation,” Sippey, the Twitter executive, wrote.

“We’ve built Twitter to help you create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers. That vision must coexist with keeping users safe on the platform.”

The backlash was a rare event for a company that for the most part has been hailed for championing its users, who now number more than 250 million worldwide.

Although Twitter has made unpopular design tweaks, it has maintained a better policy record than social media rival Facebook Inc, which has repeatedly upset users with abrupt changes to its privacy policies.

Reuters

December 13, 2013