Category: News

{{A Rwandan student Mugabi Stephen Mukarage aged 30 has been elected as Guild President at Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.}}

Mugabi competed for the Guild president post against Francis Korankye a Ghanaian student at the university by the names of Francis Korankye, and the results were announced yesterday evening and I was declared the winner.

Mugabi studied college in Uganda at Ntare School and later joined Makerere University where he graduated with a distinction in Economics.

He served as Vice President and later as Speaker for Makerere University Banyarwanda Students Association (MUBSA).

“I have been working as Labour market information system specialist (LMIS) at Rwanda Development Board (RDB). I have received international trainings in V.V.Giri National Labour Institute (NewDelhi-India) on labour and employment in the globe economy (2008).

He also trained in Germany at Bundesegenture Fur Albert in 2009 on Labour market statistics and also at Pan-African institute in Pretoria in 2010 on Manpower development and sector policies.

Mugabi relocated to Netherlands in September to pursue a master’s degree in corporate strategy and economic policy at Maastricht school of management in the Netherlands.

After announcement of results where Mugabi emerged winner, his opponent Korankye sent an email to Mugabi noting, “I accept the results. Sampson and Co. thanks for your votes. However, the people have spoken so let’s grant them their wish. Bravo Steve!”

{{Eight Passengers died and five were seriously injured in an accident on Friday at about 11:30 Am at Rugarika sector in Kamonyi district.}}

The accident occurred when two vehicles got involved in a head-on collision. One car was heading to Ngororero district and another was enroute from Nyanza. The vehicles are said to be belonging to Horizon Express and Africa Tours both are transport companies.

34 passengers from both vehicles sustained minor or serious injuries. 15 causalities are being hospitalized.

Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent BADEGE said the accident was caused by reckless driving and overspeeding.

Chief. Supt. Badege also calls upon passengers to report to police via SMS cases of reckless driving.

{{Rwanda shall hold a nationwide population census in April 2012. During which House-to-House visits by enumerators will collect information about people living in Rwanda on Census Day – 15 August 2012. }}

The Population and Housing Census (PHC) will generate crucial data for measuring Rwandan Socio-economic progress and for providing an evidence base that can guide national policymaking.

16,500 enumerators, including one for every village (umudugudu), will visit every household in Rwanda. Final results will be published within ten months of Census Day, observing that “data delayed is data denied”.

The previous and 3rd General Census of Population and Housing was held in Rwanda in August 2002 aimed at improving knowledge on the socio-demographic characteristics of the inhabitants of Rwanda in order to ensure a more rigorous integration of the “population” variable into social and economic plans and programmers.

The 2002 census also aimed at updating statistical database on population, especially after the traumatic incidents of the early 1990s which had far reaching effects on the status and evolution of the population.

In other words, on the size, structure and spatial distribution of this population on the one hand, and on its internal dynamics resulting from the interplay of fertility and mortality levels and migratory flows.

{{Rwandan refugees totaling 158 have returned home from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They crossed into Rwanda via the Rusizi Border in Rusizi district.}}

The returning refugees said that their delay to return home has been due to FDLR terrorist group in DRC that has held most Rwandan refugees hostage.

Also among the returnees include a Congolese woman who is married to a Rwandan.

Uwitonze Alfred Safi is the head of the refugee camp at Nyagatare where the returning refugees are hosted after their return to Rwanda.

He says, “The number includes mostly women and children; however, the number of men returning is also gradually increasing. Only 29 are men.”

Most male refugees are recruited into the FDLR.and also the negative sensitization campaign conducted by the FDLR causes most male refugees not to consider crossing into Rwanda.

{{Police in Bugesera district has reportedly arrested a suspected car thief that stole and sold the same car to an unsuspecting buyer.}}

Justin Rwabukambiza, 46 was on Friday arrested for selling a vehicle belonging to one Ben Benzinge, a resident of Gisozi sector, Gasabo District.

Rwabukambiza a resident of Busanza cell, Kanombe sector, Kicukiro District hired car model Land cruiser registration number RAB 260 D from Ben Benzinge a resident of Gisozi sector, Gasabo District.

Annick Uwantege, Benzinge’s wife had agreed to rent out the vehicle at a cost of Frw 750,000 per month for a period of three months.

Rwabukambiza who claims to be the managing director of Urubogobogo Company limited based in Kimironko, Kigali falsified the Car’s documents and changed the ownership into his names.

He then conned one Alfred Niringiyimana a resident of Nyamata Sector, Bugesera district into loaning him Frw 5 million in exchange for the car as collateral.

Through a tip off from one of the witnesses, Police arrested the suspect. He is currently held at Nyamata Police station.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Theos Badege cautioned the public from dealing with swindlers.

“You should be sure of people you are dealing with before you commit to business,” Badge cautioned.

{{The Minister of Health Dr. Agnes Binagwaho would like to make clarifications on some on-going and misleading media reports stating that the ministry has cut salaries for some staff within our health facilities including Doctors, Nurses and Midwives.}}

While we are mindful of the great value and contribution that health care providers render to our people across our country, the Ministry of Health is also at the same time mandated to ensure that rules, regulations and guidelines adopted as a Government are adhered to within the sector.

In light of the above, the Ministry of Health recently issued a circular instructing District Hospital Directors to follow Public service regulations that provide guidance on the approved Salary structure for our sector.

As Civil Servants, Health professionals draw a net pay from Government that is supplemented with a ‘Reward-for-Results’ or Top-Up mechanism, known as Performance Based Financing (PBF) that was approved by Government as a motivation for the Health sector to go an extra mile in producing positive results. This extra package (PBF) is received across the board and is mainly tagged to results.

However, it has been noted that in addition to the Government remuneration and this PBF, hospitals have been using internally generated revenues to again issue another additional top-up onto their Net take home in an uncoordinated manner.

These internally generated hospital revenues are not supposed to be used for any top-ups but rather should be spent on improving the quality of health care services like acquiring more equipment,
maintaining infrastructure and ensuring that more basic needs are available in health facilities.

In addition, the issued circular reminded management of District hospitals to harmonize and align Net Take home for health care providers paid under project resources to those under the Civil Service structure. This is to avoid any disparities that was creating and a feeling of unfairness among clinicians and other health care providers.

However, in light of the above, we are mindful of the great work and personal sacrifice of some health professionals doing a commendable job in remote areas for which the Ministry is currently working on a
mechanism of how to reward them. This will be tabled at the General Health sector meeting for adoption at an appropriate moment.

Once again, the ministry of Health is mindful of the great contribution donne by acdres of this sector, for which we attach value. However, the above decision was taken to ensure a stamp outinequality and ensure a harmonized remuneration structure for our sector.

{{Dr. Agnes Binagwaho

Minister of Health
Republic of Rwanda}}

{{IGIHE has reliably learnt that Ethiopian troops have launched attacks inside Eritrea accusing their suspicious neighbour of training “subversive groups” that were planning to carry out attacks inside Ethiopia.}}

The two countries have had fragile relations which fought a border war from 1998 to 2000.The two countries signed a peace treaty but tensions between them have remained high ever since.

Several Eritreans have reportedly been killed in the attacks and others captured during the attack on three camps.

Eritrea has remained non committal to the incidence.

The attack was launched Thursday night and it is the first attack by Ethiopian troops inside Eritrean territory since the end of the war, in which some 80,000 people died.

Ethiopia accuses its neighbor of backing Ethiopian rebels who staged a January raid in the northern Afar region that killed five Western tourists.

Ethiopian government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said Eritrea is harbouring “hit-and-run terrorists”.

{{Having only Testimonial letter might not enable graduates from the National University of Rwanda (NUR) get employed yet their academic transcripts have been delayed.}}

Employers allegedly reject such testimonials and insist on authentic academic transcripts and certificates.

Dr. Christopher Kayumba the NUR publicist was quoted by the national broadcaster saying that the NUR cannot make any comments in the event that the testimonial letters are still valid.

NUR argues that the testimonial letters have no deadline.

The Public service commission has also been quoted saying that students have the right to apply for jobs provided they have testimonials confirming completion of studies at their respective institutions of learning.

Angelina Muganza the Executive Secretary of the Public Service Commission says every student has the right to apply for jobs, as long as documents presented indicate that they have completed their studies and consequently passed.

{{The 9th issue of the ServiceMag came out in Rwanda this week. It is targeted at the business community and offers many educative articles for managers, employees and customers.}}

Service delivery is still an issue and as says the Prime Minister “We want these things that lag us behind to change. Our desire is that this issue of customer care can be put to rest; we are singling out the banks, hotels, restaurants, shops, the private sector, ministerial offices all the way to the cell level.”

This new issue offers more than 30 different articles and features how far Rwanda has come in improving service delivery and customer care in both public and private institutions.

The cover story on the entry of South Africa Airways into Rwanda’s airspace describes how this will change the game plan in the aviation sector.

Also in this issue, Rwanda Development Boards’ Chief Operating Officer, Clare Akamanzi tackles the issues of customer care in Rwanda and gives more insight on business climate in Rwanda.

The ServiceMag is a high quality free, educative quarterly magazine published in English, French and Kinyarwanda. It is a 5000 copy print and online magazine distributed to over 300 organizations in Kigali and upcountry.

The online version can be read on www.theservicemag.com or downloaded on http://issuu.com/theservicemag/docs/tsm_issue_9

The ServiceMag has been publishing for two years now and has recently added a new section on Women Entrepreneurship that has drawn a great interest from readers especially among the youth.

{{Aimed at eradicating malnutrition from Huye District, on Tuesday, the kitchen for the village initiative was officially launched in Kigoma sector.}}

The joint action between the district and World Vision-a nongovernmental organisation that supports the long program of President of Rwanda to get rid of malnutrition.

The program consists of teaching parents, especially those who have malnourished children in the village, the way they can cook a balanced diet from their harvests such as soya, sweet potatoes, green vegetables etc.

At the beginning, World Vision, the main partner in this activity, offers the food to support this programme.

Kigoma sector where the “Village kitchen” was officially launched in Huye district has 13 children suffering from malnutrition out of 147 found in the district.
Huye district has the target of eradicating malnutrition by June 2012.