Category: News

{{Rwanda’s successful entrepreneur of Entreprise Urwibutso Sina Gérard has been awarded an International Quality Crown 2011.}}

This recognition is based on the criteria of the QC100 quality model, implemented in over 100 countries, and will be sponsored by ImarPress with 26 publications.

The annual International Quality Crown Convention took place on November 26th and 27th, 2011 in Great Britain, in the Guoman Tower Hotel Convention Hall of London. Companies from 74 countries gathered to receive the International Quality Crown Award.

Business leaders presented their companies for an international audience and participated in conferences regarding quality case studies in companies in search of quality and excellence.

{{The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that HIV infects 50% of young generation between 15 and 24 years, which meant between 5000-6000 new infections every day across the world.}}

According to Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC); the same age group HIV prevalence is estimated to be at the rate of 1.0% which is relatively lower than many other countries.

This figure varies from 1.5% among women to 0.4% among men. This means that 380 women in this category are infected over every 100 men.

The updated statistics were released Monday 28, 2011 by RBC during a press briefing a head of three months World Aids Day campaign which will be launched on Dec. 1, this Thursday.

Speaking to the press, Dr. Anita Asiimwe the Deputy Director General of RBC said that according to the behavioral studies among youth in Rwanda, the proportion of young men and women aged 15-24 years who have had sex, the number increased from 34% to 39% among young men and from 20 to 26% among young women between the year 2006 and 2009 respectively.

The study show different factors as lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, lack of educating and life skills, poor access to health services and commodities, early sexual debut, early marriage, sexual coercion and violence.

Others include human trafficking and growing up without parents or other forms of protection from exploitation and abuse among others has been behind the cause.

Asiimwe said the number in Rwanda was still low compared to other countries in the region and that the government intends to reduce it more to zero point.

“Prevalence in the youth is low in Rwanda and we want to fight new infections to zero maximum,” Asiimwe said.

After the launch, the campaign will be done in different folds, sensitizing youth, in and outside the schools on comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS, and encouraging parent-child dialogue on sexual reproductive health.

Others will include empowering young girls and boys to negotiate safe sex, raise awareness for young people on HIV transmission and sex work, mobilizing the community to provide youth friendly services including availability and accessibility of condoms, carry out VCT activities targeting the youth and educating the general population on HIV prevention among others.

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{{The Nyarugenge court of first instance is slated to try in absentia Nelson Gatsimbazi the Editor-in-chief of Umusingi vernacular tabloid.}}

In the case Gatsimbazi is allegedly accused of propagation of Discrimination and divisionism punishable by law and subject to the provisions of articles 33, 34 of the constitution of the Republic of Rwanda.

“They fixed a date for my trial saying I was nowhere to be seen in the country. All they wanted was to arrest me and detain me,” Gatsimbazi told Igihe.com late Monday.

However, Gatsimbazi further explained that his lawyer earlier appeared in court to represent him to prove to them that they (prosecution) actually planned to arrest and detain his client. They wanted to try me in absentia, yet I was around and they hadn’t informed me that I had a case to answer.

If found guilty, Gatsimbazi is likely to serve a sentence of between one and five years in jail, and pay cash of between Frw500,000 and Frw2million or one of the two sentences.

Meanwhile a local online publication reported that Gatsimbazi is allegedly holedup in Sweden for an unknown duration.However, Gatsimbazi neither confirms nor denys about his present location. On insistance, Gatsimbazi told Igihe that he is in the United Kingdom where he is studying Journalism.

Recently he alleged that his tabloid’s editorial Line had been hijacked and switched to a different editorial line by Stanley Gatera his elder brother currently managing the tabloid.

Gatera told local press that he will not suspend operations of the tabloid despite requests by Gatsimbazi to Media High Council (MHC) to suspend the tabloid operations until further notice.

“We had agreement before Gatsimbazi left the country. The deal was that I would fund the operation of the tabloid. So if he wants to terminate the agreement, let him come and we sit again and see the way forward” Gatera earlier told a local online publication.”

Gatsimbazi contacted the MHC through an email bearing no signature but later accompanied the email with a phone call asking the MHC authorities to suspend the tabloid temporarily.

{{The National Public Prosecution of Rwanda has announced that it has new evidence implicating Paul Rusesabagina a Rwandan living in exile popularly known for the Hotel Rwanda film.}}

In a statement signed by Alain Mukurarinda the spokesperson of national Public prosecution, the new evidence implicates Paul Rusesabagina including other Rwandans living in the United States that have been providing support to FDLR terrorist organization currently based in the DR-Congo. The support comprises of various equipment and other kinds of help.

Prosecution says with this new evidence now available, its ready to present the new evidence to judicial institutions of countries including Belgium, USA where Rusesabagina operates and also in Rwanda.

{{Members of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) have urged the ministry of local government to strengthen reforms in the Vision 2020 Umurenge Program aimed at assisting vulnerable people.}}

Reacting to the auditor general’s report 2009-2010, the PAC parliamentarians chaired by Juvenal Nkusi, grilled the MINALOC permanent secretary Cyril
Turatsinze and his colleagues on the uncountable funds in the project.

However, journalists were denied the statistics. “We are still verifying the figures,” he said.

Meanwhile during the four hour Question and answer session , Turatsinze agreed that a good number of things didn’t go as expected during the program’s inception.

He noted that financial institutions at the local level for example refused to work jointly with MINALOC in issuing credit to those who had promising projects. Hence the project was integrated to Ubudehe a fund used to support common community activities. “The banks were afraid to take the risk that’s why we had to come up with another option”

“Most of the beneficiaries were living in extreme poverty and didn’t have collateral as a requirement for them to get credit but since our aim is to help them we gave them the credit with agreements on how they will pay but it’s unfortunate that some didn’t respect the agreement,” he pointed out.

“However, there have been measures to reduce the non performing loans; they now stand at 50%.”

Also there are those who took credit with specific projects but later changed to cheaper ones in order to save some amount. Others took the loans as a group and later divided the amount amongst them a fact that affected the accountability process.

Illiteracy and lack of awareness also complicated the process, “can you imagine some people were not aware of the bank account to pay the loan and rather deposited in their own accounts thinking by doing so they were paying back the loans,” Turatsinze remarked.

Also some leaders of cooperatives swindled the funds; in Ruganda sector a similar cooperative dealing with agriculture produce was left stuck after their leader ran away with the funds.

This behaviour is believed to be influenced by those who faked to be vulnerable yet they’re wealthy people who wanted to swindle the funds.

Lastly, evaluation of VUP funds was not done competently, that’s why a committee in charge of the program enforced reforms to strengthen the program.

Among the reforms, beneficiaries involved in agriculture activities are obliged to pay the credit within two years.

In terms of issuing credit, priority will be given to cooperatives since groups seemed disorganized. In addition the funds will be given in intervals to verify whether the amount was effectively utilized in each stage of their project proposal.

In regard to enhance transparency and evaluation the fund’s management, district offices will also oversee the implementation of various funded projects. The fund’s committee will be meeting monthly to review progress.

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{{Rwanda’s main telecom service provider MTN Rwanda has innovated a new activity intended to empower the youth and help them earn from their talents through game competitions.}}

Dubbed ‘MTN yellow hoops’, the game competition targets youths particularly the high school leavers and university continuing students.

This weekend in the competitions which was held in Nyamirambo, different young men and women competed in different games including basketball, music dance and drama, and graffiti among others.

According to MTN Publicist Robert Mugabe; the youth game competitions intend to bring closer Rwandan youth bearing in mind that approximately 50% of the population are the youth segments.

“We came up with popular games that are liked by many people across the world and we intend to coordinate Rwandan youth and empower them use their talents as source of income, make them recognized in the community and also to bring entertainment closer to the youth especially during holidays,” Mugabe pointed out.

“We also intend to encourage youth discover their talents and to develop the spirit of ‘I can do’ in them,” he added.

Among the participants, Emmanuel Ndungutse who competed up to the finals in the basketball said the competition motivated him and made him weigh his level in the game.

Ndungutse challenged fellow youth to come and get involved in such games as one way to develop carriers.

Gerald Kanuma who never participated in completion but available at the competition ground recommended the competition as an important initiative to promote the youth. He added that next time he must also be involved in the competition.

MTN brought other products and services targeting to facilitate the youth like using the face book, twitter, please call me and the promotion of getting bonuses to the incoming calls.

{{The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation has honoured President Paul Kagame for his exemplary leadership. The event will take place in Washington D.C.}}

Also honoured by the foundation include presidents Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania,Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia.

Former Heads of state including William J. Clinton and George Bush of the United States and Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo.

Sullivan Foundation will salute the 2011 Sullivan Honours Recipients in a star-studded, international affair with notable performers from the United States and across the African Continent.

US based Leon H. Sullivan Foundation empowers underprivileged people worldwide by promoting the principles of self-help and social responsibility.

Kagame has improved Rwanda through the promotion of education, health, infrastructure, transparency, reconciliation, debt relief, and increased foreign relations among others.

President Kagame’s good governance practices and positive economic policies have been an example of strong positive leadership for the world.

Kagame in 2006 was honoured by the foundation by thanking him for his exemplary leadership in moving Rwanda forward.

Police in Bugesera district on Friday arrested a woman for killing a man using a hoe handle.

Festiannette Mukaminega, a resident of Kagasa cell, Mwogo sector, Bugesera district repeatedly hit Jean Damascene Rutembesa with a hoe handle severely injuring him.

Rutembesa was hit while fighting with Mukaminega’s husband over a domestic dispute.

According to Police the two men had been at odds for sometime over irreconcilable domestic misunderstanding that culminated in a fight.

Rutembesa was rushed to ADEPR Nyamata hospital for medical attention where he later died from severe wounds.

Mukaminega who is detained at Nyamata Police station is likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment once found guilty.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Theos Badege said that such incidences were uncommon and called on society to avoid disputes that end in violence.

He noted that domestic crimes were a result of family feuds that have taken place over long periods of time. “There is always a better option of solving family wrangles rather than taking matters in ones hand. Rwandans should always strive to solve family wrangles amicably and seek outside intervention from courts of law or even local arbitration,” Badege said.

He called on Rwandans to be vigilant and report family wrangles to relevant authorities as a means to avert any grave criminal incidents that may arise.

Rwanda National Police urge families to always seek justice intervention in case of family feuds to avoid committing serious crimes that may arise as a result of rash uninformed decisions.

{{Mr Abdirahin Haithar Abdi the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has expressed deep concern over the slow pace of East African integration initiatives.}}

Mr Abdi argues that unless the governments in the economic bloc change the strategies in implementing major decisions made, the dream of a fully integrated EA would remain a dream for many years to come.

Addressing journalists in Bujumbura, Mr Abdi cited the East African Community (EAC) Common Market Protocol which, he says, has not been operationalised because of failure by governments to swiftly implement what is in the document that its officials ratified.

He said under the protocol signed by all the partner states in November 2009 and which came into force in July last year, regional laws were to be enacted to oversee its implementation but instead the member countries opted to harmonise their legislations for the purpose.

The Speaker wondered if any of the provisions contained in the Common Market Protocol were already operational, saying harmonisation of the laws among the partner states to accommodate the common market provisions was not likely to be completed in the near future.

Mr Abdi, speaking ahead of key meetings of the regional leaders in the Burundi capital next week, said Rwanda was the only state among the five countries in the bloc which had started to change its laws on immigration to conform to the requirements of the Protocol.

Kenya has yet to amend at least 25 laws. Elsewhere, the EAC member states have delayed the process on the pretext of looking for annextures to change the laws but in reality not doing anything tangible on the matter.

“Many people have now started to ask; Do we have a Common Market Protocol in place?”, he queried, noting that in reality the protocol was still on paper because some governments have failed to implement its provisions or were delaying the process for unclear reasons.

He affirmed that failure to implement various protocols and treaties under the Community was denying the nationals of East Africa rights such as free movement across the borders but, more specifically, the economic benefits such as employment and setting up business in various countries within the region.

The Speaker, responding to a barrage of questions from journalists from across the region, defended the manner under which the current members of Eala are elected, saying it was within the laws and procedures contained in the Treaty that established the EAC.

He emphasised that the system would not change unless the Treaty was amended. Under the current structure, Eala members from each partner state are elected by the National Assemblies of the respective countries under the procedures determined by the parliament of each country.

“The procedure would change only when some amendments are made on the Treaty,” he said, insisting that the EAC or Eala in particular, has no powers to interfere with any process deemed democratic in any EAC partner state in picking legislators for the regional Assembly.However, he explained that EAC would prefer an all-inclusive Eala which would serve the needs of the region.

{{On 26th November 2011, the High Commission of Rwanda in the Republic of South Africa held a meeting with Rwanda diaspora community, mainly from the province of Gauteng (North east part of South Africa) which comprises Johannesburg, Pretoria, Centurion and Midrand.}}

The meeting under theme “United we win, Divided we fall” was attended by about 250 people including; Students, professionals, businessmen and refugees in South Africa attended this event.

During the meeting, pertinent issues of Rwanda were raised including; the path of Vision 2020, Rwanda’s development as well as the purpose of the cessation clause were presented to the public.

In his remark to the diaspora community, H.E Vincent Karega, The High Commissioner of Rwanda in the Republic of South Africa, gave a historical background of Rwanda’s tragedy.

Karega called upon the diaspora community to keep at heart their country and ignore their differences urging them to live in solidarity and work together to improve their wellbeing and dignity. He reiterated support of the High Commission in those endeavors.

The event was concluded by colorful dance and rhythms of Rwanda through which the diaspora could not contain their nostalgia.

The High Commission of Rwanda intends to organize similar meetings in Capetown, Durban and Maputo ( Mozambique).