Author: Publisher

{{For the first time, Indashyikirwa Craft Association Rwanda (ICAR) composed by winners of the annual Handicraft Excellence Award Program (HEAP) will take over the organization of HEAP competitions.}}

During a press conference organized at MINICOM, Members of ICAR have vowed to make successful this year’s HEAP Edition scheduled to be held from 16 to 20 June 2014.

The program was initiated by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) in 2011 in order to boost innovation and creativity within craft industry and increasing craft exports.

Speaking at the press conference jointly organized by ICAR and the Ministry of Trade and Industry , the President of ICAR, RUGERO Paulin has announced that the association is going to own this program with a special focus on handicraft value addition leading to increase access to international markets.

He said “this year’s HEAP competition is open to individual/cooperative handicraft producers, designer-producers and other handicraft organizations legally registered that produce commercial handmade craft products and capable to maintain adequate stock levels to fulfill orders in 8 sub-sectors including leather, tailoring, jewels, ceramics and pottery, carpentry, weaving, decoration and home accessories, and food processing.”

Selection of talented handicraft artisans at the provincial level will be conducted on 16 and 17 June 2014 at Ikaze Showroom located at “Cathedral Saint Michel” in Nyarugenge District -Kigali City.

The final evaluation is scheduled to be held on 20th June 2014, and will be based on a live practical test to all selected artisans.

Mr. Paulin Rugero also made clear that Handicraft products that will be granted the “Award of Excellence” will have to meet the highest level of craft quality and be distinguished as a benchmark for craft production.

In his remarks, the Minister of Trade and Industry François KANIMBA noted that this program has not only increased the number but also the quality of products available on the market.

“In 2011, the Ministry introduced Handicraft Excellence Award Program- HEAP not only to recognize innovation and talent among Rwanda’s crafts sector but also to stimulate competition for quality products capable of accessing regional and international markets to boost exports from the handicraft sector and improve the welfare of those active in the sector” .The Minister said.

The Minister confirmed that MINICOM will continue to support ICAR in order to enhance the artisans’ ownership of the competition and make it more fruitful.

All 30 districts of the country participated to last years’ competitions. Contests were held in 11 categories as stipulated in Law number 19/2010 of 09/06/2010 related to the organization of handicraft sector.

Competitions at district level attracted more than 13,500 artisans, around 450 per District on average. Of these, 217 received awards at the national level.

In addition, talented Rwandan artisans (HEAP winners) from countrywide with high quality products have been linked to both regional and international markets.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has also supported artisans to establish a permanent showroom (IKAZE Showroom) in Kigali City to help artisans market their products, especially those from remote areas.

Within this year’s HEAP, series of seminars related to market access, design, intellectual property rights, taxation law for SMEs and standards are expected to be conducted in partnership with MINICOM, RRA, WDA and RBS among others.

{{Africa will have 760 million urban residents in 2030 and the figure is expected to multiply to 1.2 billion by 2050.}}

If this population explosion is not matched with growth of megacities across the continent, urbanization is certainly set to suffocate infrastructure, as well as usher in challenges like inadequacy of clean water, sanitation, electricity, public transport and healthcare.

During the recently concluded Annual Meetings of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) in Kigali, Rwanda, experts on urbanization shared ideas and solutions to the persistent problems facing Africa’s emerging cities.

During a session titled “Africa’s Cities of the Future”, the Director of Development Research at AfDB, Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa, said that African governments must put urbanization and its challenges squarely on their development agenda.

“Planned urbanization can improve living conditions for the majority, help in the expansion of the middle class, and create conditions for economic transformation.

However, many African cities have developed haphazardly, resulting in the decline of public services, in slum proliferation, and increases in poverty,” said Kayizzi-Mugerwa, who co-authored the book “Urbanization and Socio-Economic Development in Africa – Challenges and Opportunities”, which was launched during the session.

“With careful policies and planning, the situation can be changed. If the recent natural resource-led economic boom that we have seen in many African countries is used for structural reforms and urban renewal, African cities could become centres of economic opportunity.”

Sir Paul Collier, the Director of African Economies at the University of Oxford, UK, added that in spite of reform attempts across Africa, many governments have failed to create enabling environments, with adequate infrastructure and institutions to sustain markets that support economic growth.

“Urbanization challenges provide an overview of what has been done so far by governments and their development partners. The work done so far is simply not enough.

It is sad that many African cities still thrive on activities characterized on low productivity from the informal sector – thus, many urban dwellers are poorer than countryside dwellers,” said Collier, who has published several books, including the development classic, “The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are failing and what can be done about it”, and “Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places”.

Much as urbanization is important, Ivan Turok from Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) warned that development must always take into account environmental concerns that sustain the future of development.

“The challenge now is for African policymakers to ensure that urban development is orderly and that the process is inclusive and emphasizes ‘green growth’ through the protection of the environment,” Turok said.

Urban growth rates in Africa are among the highest in the world, averaging about 7% annually, while some cities have growth rates exceeding 10%.

Associated to urbanization in Africa has been an influx in urban unemployment which exceeds 10% of the labour force in cities – and largely consists of the youth.

The high population growth rates in Africa are largely due to rural-urban migration, which accounts for over half of the growth of most cities on the continent.

{{The Use of French Language in Rwanda has declined tremendously and people able to speak English language have accumulated over the years owing to the use of English as a medium of instruction in schools.}}

According to statistics from the 2012 Population and Housing Census in Rwanda, Persons aged 15-59 years are more literate than those aged 60 and above and there is a greater probability to meet person who knows English or French in the first age group of the population than in the second one.

Among the category of persons aged 60 years and above, 3.3% knows French against 12.1% of those aged 15-59 years and 15.9% of the first category knows English against only 1.0% in the second one.

Using English as a medium of Instruction in schools increases rates of awareness and literacy among the students than the impact of using French language.

Statistics indicate that 68% of Rwandan population aged 15 years and above were literate while they were 64.4% in 2002.

A person is qualified as literate if he/she is able to read, write and understand at least one language. In 2012, males were more literate (72%) than females (65%).

The Improved literacy in Rwanda is a result of increasing number of persons who attend various levels of education, from primary to university.

In Rwanda, the official age of primary school is 7–12 years and 13–18 years for the secondary one.

The percentage of persons with a secondary education level rose considerably from 6.1% in 2002 to 12.4% in 2012, all domains and both sexes grouped according to the 2012RPHC statistics.

In general, the percentage of persons who have never attended the school dropped from 31.9% in 2002 to 18.7% in 2012.

The percentage of females who have never attended schools was higher than the one of males who have never attended schools (27.9% against 22.8% respectively) and the percentage of persons with primary education level is higher in rural areas than in urban ones (58.4% against 48.1% respectively).

There is hope that the literacy will increase in the future considering the fact that almost all children with primary school age, girls and boys, were in schools in 2012.

Only 5.1% of females aged 7-18 years and 6.2% of boys with the same age have been declared never attended the school.

{{The 49th Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the 40th meetings of the African Development Fund (ADF) closed on Friday, May 23, 2014 in Kigali, Rwanda, after five days of exhaustive deliberations on key African and global development issues.}}

The Governors approved major Bank initiatives and programmes, its 2013 Annual Report and audited accounts as well as future operations and programmes.

The Governors, usually Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors representing their countries, also adopted a number of resolutions. In line with the theme of the meetings, the Governors expressed their fervent hope for a prosperous and peaceful Africa at home with itself in the next 50 years.

“This is critical to harnessing the ‘demographic dividend’ of Africa’s youth, maximizing the opportunities in agriculture and natural resources, for economic transformation and industrialization of African economies and developing timely solutions to the challenge of jobs creation,” the Governors said in a statement released at the end of the meetings.

The Board unanimously approved the establishment of “Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF)”, a US $2 billion trust fund created by China to enable the Bank respond to the growing needs of its regional member countries and private sector clients.

At the same, the Governors urged the Bank to finalise and implement its resource mobilization strategy to help generate internal resources for the development needs of the continent.

The Governors commended the Bank’s management and staff for the many policies, initiatives and innovative activities put in place in the past year.

They also emphasized the importance of strategic leadership in tackling the challenges facing the continent in the realization of the dreams of its people.

These challenges can be tackled through economic integration and conflict resolution as suggested in the Governors’ dialogue.

They resolved to reduce physical and non-physical barriers to economic integration, and committed to work with the private sector to promote productive employment.

The Board applauded the efforts made by the Bank towards region al in Africa. It resolved to work with the African Union Commission to remove key barriers to the free movement of people as well as increase intra-African trade which can also help to address unemployment in Africa.

Stressing the importance of gender as the cornerstone of inclusive growth, the Governors urged the Bank to implement its Gender Strategy fully through its country, regional and sector operations in budgeting and programming.

There is a dire need to implement policies that can help end conflicts, they said, urging the Bank to implement its strategy for addressing conflicts.

They called for concerted efforts with the international community to restore peace and stability on the continent and condemned the abduction of schoolgirls in Nigeria.

The Board commended the Bank’s President, Donald Kaberuka, and Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the commitment to assist fragile states which led to the establishment of the High Level Panel on Fragile States.

The Governors welcomed the implementation of the roadmap for the return to the Bank’s headquarters, and thanked the people and Government of Tunisia where the Bank relocated in 2003 and Côte d’Ivoire for facilitating the processes.

They also expressed gratitude to the people and Government of Rwanda for their hospitality during the May 19-23 meetings, attended by an estimated 3,000 people including many Heads of State, Ministers, development experts, researchers, civil society and the media.

Turkey has become the 78th member of the Bank following the completion of the adhesion process. Luxembourg has also applied to join the Bank Group.

The next Annual Meetings will take place in May 2015 in Côte d’Ivoire which will also host the final celebrations of the Bank’s 50th anniversary in November 2014.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), on May 26, donated three vehicles to Rwanda National Police (RNP), Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDMAR) and Immigration Services to back their acts of assistance and rescue missions to refugees.

The vehicles, Toyota 4WD-type were handed over to Minister Séraphine Mukantabana of MIDMAR and DIGP Stanley Nsabimana by Niemah Warsane, UNHCR country Representative in a function held in Kacyiru.

Warsane also handed over four computers to Police and MIDIMAR.

“These three institutions work closely in rescuing, serving and assisting refugees. The donation is just a humble gesture to back their usual acts of coming in aid to the refugees,” Warsane said.

Minister Mukantabana thanked UNHCR for the donation adding that it will strengthen activities of assisting and handling refugee affairs.

DIGP Nsabimana also said the vehicles will also enhance the Rwanda National Police community policing programmes in refugee camps and transit centres.
Currently, there are five refugee camps in the country, comprised of majority Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) nationals, who fled clashes in the eastern part of the country.

The camps are Gihembe in Gicumbi District, Nkamira in Rubavu District, Nyabiheke in Gatsibo District, Kiziba in Karongo District and Kigeme in Nyamagabe District.

“Rwanda National Police is engaged in various community activities in these camps to prevent gender and domestic violence, child abuse and drug abuse, and this is a boost to these awareness programes,” DIGP Nsabimana explained.

Rwanda National Police conducts periodic awareness in these camps, like in all other parts of the country, to enhance the crime prevention strategies.

Last year, the force conducted awareness programmes in these camps where Community Policing Committees (CPCs) were also established.

Community policing strategy brings the general public in solving localized problems or makes specific improvements that enhance the overall quality of life in the community.

This crime prevention approach increases a sense of responsibility for personal safety and problem solving among citizens and shifts from a predominantly reactive response to service calls, to proactive problem solving and increases effectiveness at resolving community-wide problems.

RNP

{{Defence and Security officials from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda are in a five day meeting in Kigali discussing on implementation framework for Mutual Defence Pact and Mutual Peace and Security Pact.}}

The meeting of experts was officially opened by the Rwanda Defence Force Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Patrick Nyamvumba who reminded the participants that security challenges that the region is facing need a collective action.

“Regional countries are facing security threats ranging from FDLR, LRA, ADF NALU, Al Shabab and other terrorist groups. One can only emphasize that all these threats requires our collective action”, he said.

The CDS underlined that the defence and peace and security pacts are meant to safeguard the development of various infrastructure projects that the region is undertaking.

He mentioned the railway line, the single customs territory to facilitate free movement of goods and the single tourist visa among others.

Gen Nyamvumba welcomed Burundi and South Sudan that recently joined this initiative.

“Your association to this mutual defence and mutual peace and security pacts is vital as we are people with a common destiny,” he said

The RDF spokesperson, Brig Gen Joseph Nzabamwita told Media that for implementation of defence and peace and security pacts two steps are needed, the ratification by respective countries now under process and putting out implementation framework.

Gen Nzabamwita told Media that the regional security is not alarming but one single terrorist attack is one too many as it scares tourists, a sector that contributes to EAC economies.

Gen Nzabamwita said that the regional countries are working together to solve their own problems and not rely on external solutions.“We want to guarantee our people that we can sort out our own problems, security inclusive” he said.

The meeting of experts will be followed by other meetings of the chiefs of defence, chiefs of police, chiefs of intelligence and chiefs of correction services and culminating into Ministerial meetings.