Category: News

{{A delegation of Eight senior officers of the Tanzania Police Force were in Rwanda yesterday, a visit aimed at further strengthening cooperation between the two forces.}}

The visiting police officers had come to learn best practices in the field of traffic and capacity building, including training.

They also met the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Emmanuel K. Gasana at Police General Headquarters in Kacyiru.

IGP Gasana told the Tanzanian delegation that Rwanda National Police is committed to fighting cross-border crimes.

“Criminals are so active which requires joint operations, joint information sharing and capacity building of our forces to detect and arrest law breakers.”

The delegation also toured several facilities including; Dispatch Centre, Police Ethics Centre, Traffic Police and Joint Operation Centre (JOC) which is a joint centre for all security organs.

Tanzania’s Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police, Thobias E.M. Andengenye noted, “There is a lot to learn from Rwanda National Police, especially on mechanisms to prevent crimes.”

{{Rwanda has emerged the least corrupt country in East Africa with lowest levels of bribery in East Africa, according to the East African Bribery Index 2012, a survey by Transparency International.}}

The survey carried out in Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the survey revealed that, at 40.7%, Uganda has the highest bribery levels in the region, followed by Tanzania (39.1%), Kenya (29.5%), Burundi (18.8%) and Rwanda (2.5%).

According to the survey, Uganda has not improved. Last year, Uganda polled at 38%.

The respondents (1449) drawn from central, eastern, northern and western Uganda strongly believe that bribery levels will increase in the coming years.

The Uganda case means that bribery will gravely add to the cost of doing business, which in turn affects production. At a regional level, bribery will adversely affect trade between nations with countries.

There is, therefore, need to address the issue.

On the current state of corruption, 82% of respondents observed that corruption levels either remained as bad or increased in the last one year.

The biggest reasons given for this trend were the lack of political will to fight the vice and the fact that government officials in Uganda are too corrupt to effectively fight corruption.

{{The New World Bank President Jim Yong Kim heads to the Ivory Coast and South Africa next week on his first trip to Africa since taking the reins of the global development lender two months ago.}}

The visit comes at a time when African economies are among the fastest growing in the world although their development is constrained by shortages of roads, ports, power supply, water and sanitation.

Despite high rates of growth, rising youth unemployment and inequality are a growing concern.

“Africa is truly taking off and I look forward to hearing directly from governments and people on the continent on how the Bank can help drive more inclusive development throughout Africa,” Kim said in a statement.

During his trip to the Ivory Coast, starting on Tuesday, Kim will meet President Alassane Ouattara and his economic team, which have managed to turn around a stagnant economy within a year since the end of a civil war that claimed more than 3 000 lives.

The government has launched several major infrastructure projects and restored security across most of the cocoa-growing country.

He will also visit an industrial park for small and medium-sized agribusinesses, which will highlight the push for more investment in agriculture amid increasing volatility in food prices.

On Thursday, the World Bank said global food prices had jumped 10% in July as drought parched crop lands in the United States and in Eastern Europe, and it urged governments to shore up programs to protect the poorest.

Kim will end his trip in South Africa where he will hold talks with South African President Jacob Zuma and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, as well as local entrepreneurs.

A wave of labour unrest and violence in South African mines has highlighted frustrations over rising poverty, inequality and stubbornly high unemployment.

“South Africa is a key factor of African growth and a leading voice for the African continent in the G20 and other global forums.
It is also an important driver for trade and investment,” said Kim, former president of the Ivy League college Dartmouth in New Hampshire.

{{South Sudan announced intentions to begin using Internet delivered through Submarine cables like the rest of East African Countries.}}

Juma Stephen Lugga, the South Sudan Undersecretary in the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services said, “We want to connect South Sudan to the submarine cables through Mombasa or through Ethiopia to Djibouti.”

He added, “Fibre optic is the solution for the internet services. It will reduce the cost. The internet cost is very high because they are using VSAT. The issue of VSAT is the [limited] bandwidth.”

The country’s internet service providers currently use VSAT satellite, which is expensive for the consumer.

The government, for instance, has been paying 20,000 Euros every month for access.

Sub-sea cables will cut down the high internet-related costs. The cost for the new internet connections would be met from a loan from China.

South Sudan can be connected to the submarine cables along the coast of the Indian Ocean. The first would lead from Juba, the capital city, to Kenya through Lokichoggio to Mombasa.

Another will be from Juba across the border in Nimule to Uganda, where it would then be connected to Tanzania.

The third would have South Sudan connect another cable from Juba to Gambella in Ethiopia and finally to Djibouti.

{{From 1 to 3 September Burundi will host the first-ever EAC Child Rights Conference 2012 at the Royal Palace Hotel Hotel in the capital Bujumbura.}}

The coference will be held under the theme ‘Addressing the Issues that Negatively Impact on the Realisation of Child Rights in the EAC’.

The conference is expected to attract over 150 participants drawn from all the five EAC Partner States.

It is organized by the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Working Group (Save the Children, Plan International, World Vision, African Child Policy Forum, Elisabeth Glaser), UNICEF and African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (RIATT).

According to the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors Hon. Jesca Eriyo, the EAC Child Rights Conference has four key objectives namely participants to share experiences on the progress made in the realisation of child rights in the EAC.

The conference will also address the challenges; to identify and raise awareness on issues that negatively impact on the realisation of child rights in the EAC; to provide a platform for facilitating children participation in the EAC integration process; and lastly to lay the foundation for the development of an EAC Children Policy.

Hon. Eriyo says, “the conference will enable representatives from children, governments, the EAC, CSOs, NGOs, and Development Partners to develop innovative and creative solutions to problems impacting the realisation of the child rights in the Community”.

She said as “the EAC consolidates implementation of the Customs Union and the Common Market protocols, moves towards realisation of the Monetary Union and the Political Federation, it is imperative that we assess the impact of these processes on the realisation of child rights and put appropriate policies to ensure that all children benefit from the regional integration process”.

She added, “The timing is right because we will have the opportunity to comply with the EAC Development Strategy (2012-2016) which addresses the issue of child rights”.

{{The Burundian government has said it will hire lawyers in its bid to obtain the repatriation from Switzerland of the remains of the country’s last monarch, King Mwambutsa IV.}}

Burundi wants the remains of the former king buried in the country, with all the dignity the attendant dignity of an ex-head of state, the country’s Youth and Culture Minister Jean Jacques Nyenimigabo said Tuesday.

Mr Nyenimigabo said it was unacceptable that the Burundian king, who ruled the country from 1915 to 1966, could be cremated in a foreign land in 2017, the year when the Swiss cemetery is likely to be closed. The king was buried there in 1977.

The minister said the Burundian king must be buried honorably at his former Muramvya palace in central Burundi, which has been renovated as a museum.

The remains of Mwambutsa IV were meant to be repatriated to Burundi on May 26 during the celebrations of the country’s Golden Jubilee of independence.

However, the exercise was suspended and postponed to a later date following a ruling by a Swiss court over a case filed by Princess Esther Kamatari, a niece to the king.

The princess had filed a case in which she spoke of Mwambutsa IV’s “will” in which he had expressed the desire to be buried in Switzerland, a country that had been his land of exile for over three decades.

The Burundi government is challenging Princess Kamatari’s claim.

{XINHUA}

{{Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is expected Friday in Khartoum, Sudan to consult with government officials ahead of the final round of negotiations between presidents of South Sudan and Sudan on post-secession issues in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 4 September.}}

Mbeki is the head of the Africa Union (AU) panel mediating talks between Sudan and South Sudan.

During his visit, Mbeki will put forward new conciliatory proposals on the remaining issues which include the establishment of a demilitarized zone along the borders and disputed territories.

The UN Security Council extended until 22 September the three-month deadline it stipulated for the conclusion of the talks.

This follows previous talks that culminated in a much-welcomed deal to resume South Sudan oil exports via Sudan at an average rate of US$10 per barrel plus US$3.028 billion in transitional financial assistance to Khartoum over the three-year period of the agreement.

{{In an effort to create awareness towards fighting illicit trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in the country, the Prime Minister Dr. Pierre Damien Habumuremyi today urged Nyanza residents to actively participate in the fight against possession and illegal use and possession of arms among residents.}}

The premier was addressing residents during the campaign to fight against possession of illegal arms in Gisagara District, Nyanza Sector.

During the occasion, those incharge of security in cells and villages were given mobile phones for better community policing and improving communication when there occurred insecurity among residents.

Internal security Minister Moussa Fazil added that “3512 is a toll free line to call when one meets insecurity, and you get help within 30 min” .

The Premier calls for reinforcement of community policing for a better exchange of information when it comes to where security can be threatened.

“Security is necessary and everyone is concerned” said PM adding that people should avoid family conflicts that results to deaths of citizens in some parts of the country.

He noted that Rwanda is among the best countries with total security in the region and the whole Africa.

“Security is one of the Government Priorities, when there is no security there is no development” said PM.

PM thanks the South Province for its achievements that came above 90% in the last year contacts of Performances.

{{Vedast Ndeze a motorcycle taxi operator has won a laptop in a weekly contest -Sharama na MTN prize on August 29th.}}

In the next five days, MTN will issue the second Sharama car to the winner.

Vedast said, “I have won the laptop today. But I will compete for car”.
Among other prizes given include; “2 motorcycles, 21phones, 5 bicycles, and 5 matresses.

Other 10 winners received 50.000frw each for making transactions through mobile money transfer.

Egide Ntunguranyi who won a phone said,“ it makes me hopeful I may get the car”.