IGIHE

Category: Opinion

  • Speaker Calls For Public Opinions

    The Speaker of the lower chamber of deputies Rose Mukantabana has advised the public to always submit in their opinions and at the same time follow parliamentary proceedings saying it was their right.

    Speaker Mukantabana was speaking at the open day that saw hundreds of Rwandan citizens converge in the parliamentary building with members of parliament to discuss national issues.

    “You see the back sits in red, they belong to the public, and we try our best to give you time to express your views, to be honest there is always few people who sit on those seats and we would like this to change,” Mukantabana said in an open day which ended a few minutes ago.

    Present was also Prosper Higiro the vice president of the outgoing senate who informed the public of what the senate has accomplished in its eight year mandate.

    Higiro said they’ve managed to amend 378 laws which represent 72% of all the laws endorsed by both chambers of the parliament.

    He added that the laws focused on improving the economy by encouraging investments in the country.

    “This is one of the reasons why Rwanda has been performing well given the recent doing business report and its business climate praised by many,” said Higiro.

    Other categories of law centered on social welfare, good-governance, justice, human rights saying “In regard to social welfare for instance, the education sector has improved especially on the free primary and lower classes in secondary schools,”

    “My name is Jackson Tuyizeye, I would like to know how parliament monitors the implementation of laws as well as government programs,” one of the members of the public asked.

    “I won’t say who my MP is but since we voted him I’ve seen him thrice in our sector, really we would want you to visit us more frequently and hear our problems,” said another person only identified as Clare on an aggressive tone.
    Other queries from the public zeroed around non-satisfaction of the alleged less participation of parliamentarians at the grass root level.

    In her response to the queries, Speaker of Parliament said there were several sub-committees set up to follow both implementation as well as evaluation of approved programs while those inactive are questioned and warned before the parliament recommends their expansion.

    Outside the parliament were several stands explaining to the participants the parliament’s activities and the uniqueness of this year’s open day that had invited women and youth council representatives at the district level plus those living with disability.

    This the second the parliament has held its open day with an aim to encourage the public’s participation in some of the essential activities that take place in the assembly.

  • Fuel Prices Fall

    From 1st October 2011, the price of petroleum products will cost lower. This follows an announcement by the Ministry of Trade and Commerce.

    According to the ministry announcement, Kigali fuel price for super and diesel must not exceed Frw1000 per liter. MINICOM had always attributed the trend to the international oil prices, which are governed by the forces of supply and demand.

    The current status of petroleum products has been frw1025per litre in Kigali but some taxi drivers say that in suburbs it costs more .

    Pump prices for both petrol and diesel went up by 5%, recording the highest hike in pump prices the country has ever experienced early this year where petrol rose by 5% (Rwf965 to Rwf1,015 per litre) and diesel, 6%(from Rwf958 to Rwf1,015).

    This has come again after the pump price for gasoline in Rwanda was last reported at 1.63 in 2010, according to a World Bank report released in 2011. The Pump price for gasoline in Rwanda was reported at 1.37 in 2008, according to the World Bank. Fuel prices refer to the pump prices of the most widely sold grade of gasoline

    The Minister of the trade and commerce informs the general public, that the reduction of the pump prices reflects the current dynamics in the international oil prices as observed during the month of September.

    Rwanda being the fastest country growing economies in central Africa has recorded sustained and widespread economic growth on the African Continent, a senior official at the World Bank in a report.

    90% of Rwandan population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, new industries such as tourism, cut flowers and fish farming have been gaining importance. The major source of foreign trade is coffee, tea, tin cassiterite, wolframite and pyrethrum.

    It said in a statement released in May that growth would slow to 7% this year due to the adverse impact of higher food and fuel prices, which would also push the inflation rate to 7.5% by the end of 2011.

  • Furniture Fabricator Says ‘Minds Matter More Than Money’

    Andrew Dukuzumuremyi 32, a Rwandan furniture and interior designer urges youth to save a little they earn for the better future, “Starting out with a solid design isn’t necessary, but neither is tying your shoes after you put them on.”
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    Andrew Dukuzumuremyi (pictured above) is the proprietor of Malina Interior Sarl. His company deals in home and office furniture’s, carpets, curtains, vertical blinds, cleaning services, construction and general supplies. He says every project has a starting point and desire to see its success.

    Dukuzumuremyi started with frw 500,000 however, has accumulated between Frw 20-25 million. He says the most important thing is not money, it’s the mind, even it does not require much time, what matters it how you manage the little time you have got.

    Dukuzumuremyi developed interest in decoration at the age of 17 while in Uganda. He lived with his uncle. When he returned Rwanda, he started with hanging and selling curtains and pillows, doing interior designs in rooms and painting homes and the hardest part of the project was to know how to save and invest, he says.

    I like modern and beautiful furniture that’s why I got the idea of making L shape sofa affordable compared to other places, the 7 seat of Malina sofa costs almost Frw 700,000, he told Igihe.com

    Dukuzumuremyi says his success depends on the trainings he acquired from USA and China for an 8 month period that gave him knowledge of how to find nice fabrics and supply better qualities to Rwandan, he says.

    “No matter how you approach the development of your business, there will always be issues to deal with”, Andrew noted.

    Malina interior Sarl trust in what they produce and place importance on design which has given the company a strong foundation with a unified goal.

    Dukuzumuremyi urges youth to desist from old fashion mindsets and embrace the vision the government wants to put the citizens while creating and innovating.
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  • Macadamia Nut Essential For Economic Growth

    A study released by the Belgian development agency, BTC shows that Rwanda has a great potential for macadamia production.

    The Belgian development agency, BTC, mobilises its resources and its expertise to eliminate poverty in the world.

    Introduced in the country in early 1980’s, macadamia had not attracted a big interest from various stakeholders whether public or private sector operators or even international development partners.
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    According to current findings, estimates are that between 85,000 and 200,000 macadamia trees in Rwanda that produce 700 metric tons of nuts-in shell or the nuts after the husk has been removed annually.

    The estimates put the production at about 16,000 metric tons over the next 15 years to generate more than USD 30 million annually by 2020.

    Currently, production is largely organized through farmers’ cooperatives.

    Furthermore, the data generated by the study, anticipates that production growth calls for the setting up of a primary and secondary processing factory to add value for the local production in order to maximize returns.

    However, this fact makes it difficult to have a large body of knowledge about this cash crop especially on diseases and parasites, economic and business opportunities and available transformation technologies.

    Commissioned by Kayonza District with support of the Belgian – Rwandese Study Fund, the feasibility Study for Macadamia development and processing in Rwanda, aimed at promoting modern and cost effective technologies to develop macadamia plantations and a processing factory to ensure an export oriented economic growth in the district.

    The study also gathered data and information around the country to assess current state of production and project potential growth as well as economic significance of the development of Macadamia as a cash crop in Rwanda.

    “The climatic condition in Rwanda is ideal for high quality macadamias and high yields.Trees will produce much nuts for a year from multiple flowerings. This will keep a processing plant operating for longer and give farmers a more consistent income,” The report reads in parts.

    “Moreover, the introduction of new and appropriate varieties and a proper post harvest management remain key guarantees for high quality product,” Preliminary findings indicate.

  • Products Manufactured for Local Sale on Rise

    Products manufactured for sale on the local market increased according to recent statistics at National Institute of Research of Rwanda.

    The latest publication on national statistics official website indicate that the index for products manufactured for local market stood at 168.58 June this year, which is a slight increase of 0.66% compared to the index of May 2011 (167.48).

    It is also indicating that on annual basis, the index for June 2011 was 3.25% higher.

    “This increase is mainly attributable to price increase in the subgroups of Food products, beverages and tobacco (+1.47 %),” the information on the website reads parts.

    The increase is due to price changes of the food products of which the manufacture of bakery products, pastry, and biscuits (+10.92%), grain mill and animal feeds products (+22.86%), dairy products(+10.44%) and Processing and preserving of fruits and vegetables (+3.96%).

    “This increase is mostly attributable to the overall effect of price changes in the manufacture of textiles, wearing apparel, paper and paper products, chemical products(+10.89%), fabricated metal products(+1.65%) tanning and dressing of leather (+26.48%) and publishing of books, newspapers (+1.60%),” NISR indicated on its website.

    Nevertheless, manufacturing of plastic products, tubes, retreading and rebuilding of rubber tyres (-10.30%) have partially offset the positive trend of this subgroup.

    The index for goods mainly produced for exports stood at 275.62 in April, 274.61 in May and 281.90 in June 2011.

    Prices fetched for tea exports registered a decrease of 4.95% in April 2011 and increases of 1.32% and 3.00% in May and June 2011, respectively.

    On the other hand on an annual basis, the index of export products registered an increase of 43.93% in June 2011 compared to the index of the same month of the previous year.

    This is the twenty sixth publication of monthly Producer Price Index for the Manufacturing sector.

  • Rwanda’s Inflation Rising

    Like other countries in East African region, Rwanda is suffering from a sharp rise in inflation this year, accompanied by a weakening of its currency against the dollar.

    Rwanda’s inflation increased to 7.07% as of July up from 5.49% in the previous month, according to National institute of Statistics of Rwanda.
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    However, Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, John Rwangombwa (pictured above), told Igihe.com that government wished to contain inflation to single digits and boost economic growth to at least 7% in the 2011/12 financial year.

    The latest publication on its official website shows that all Rwanda’s general Consumer’s Price Index(CPI) is established at 108.0 which stands for an increase of 0.28% over the previous month which was 107.7 of consumer’s prices indices.

    The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time of goods and services purchased by households.

    As of July this year the all urban general index has been established at 110.8 showing an increase of 0.40% over 110.4 of the previous month.

    The urban annual change increased by 7.14% compared to 5.82% in the previous month that gives a general inflation rate by an annual average of 2.8% during the month of July this year.

    “The underlying inflation rate excluding fresh food and energy is increased by 0.46% if compared to the previous month and increased by 7.04% on annual change. The annual average underlying inflation rate is + 2.4 % in July 2011 up from the previous month 1.9 percent,” The report reads in parts.

    In rural areas it has been established at 106.5 standing for an increase of 0.26% over the previous month which was 106.3 and its annual change increased by 7.03% compared to 4.80% in the previous month.

    It is indicated that the increase in the consumer prices index of 0.40% is attributed to primarily the increase in Food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.14%).

    Additionally it has been noted that the increase of 1.14% in prices of Food and non alcoholic beverages is primarily attributable to the increase of 1.87% of vegetables, 2.55% of Non-alcoholic beverages and 0.45% of meat.

    This brings an annual change of increase in the general index of 7.14% mainly due to the rising prices of Food and non alcoholic beverages(10.55%), Transport (11.85%) and Education (20.85%) which contributed +3.70%, +1.54% and +0.71%. respectively.

    The local goods increased by 6.62% on annual change with a monthly change of 0.47%, while prices of the imported products increased by 9.20% on annual change with a monthly change of 0.12 percent.

    The prices of the fresh products had a positive annual change of 8.25% between July 2010 and 2011.

    The CPI uses a Modified Laspeyres formula to calculate the index. The reference population for the CPI consists of all households, urban and rural, living in Rwanda.

    The household basket includes 1,136 products observed in many places spread all over the administrative centers of all provinces in Rwanda.

    All kinds of places of observation are selected: shops, markets, services etc and more than 29,200 prices are collected every month by enumerators of the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda and of the National Bank of Rwanda.

    The index reference, or base, for the CPI is February 2009. The weights used for the index are the result of the Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV II) conducted in 2005-2006 with a sample of 6,900 households.

    Meanwhile, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics(UBOS) indicated that Uganda’s year on year inflation jumped to 21.4 percent in August, the highest since February 1993 mainly due to a rise in food prices.

    Uganda’s inflation rate climbed from 18.8% in July, as the impact of a severely weak shilling currency added to inflationary pressures through imports. Uganda is a major trading partner with Rwanda.

    “During the month, food prices rose by 2.4% due to increases in prices of sugar, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, bread and pineaples. The increase in prices of these food items is mainly attributed to low supplies to the markets,” UBOS said.

    The inflation rate in Kenya was last reported at 15.5% in July of 2011.
    Tanzania’s inflation rate was last reported at 13% in July of 2011.

    Burundi’s year-on-year inflation rose to 9.1% in July from 8.6% in June, partly due to high transport costs, the country’s statistics board.

    “The transport index increased by 25.3% over the last twelve months to July, up from 19.9% in June,” said Elie Ndiririkirirenza, an official at the Institute of Economic Studies and Statistics (ISTEEBU).

    In mainstream economics, “inflation” refers to a general rise in prices measured against a standard level of purchasing power.

    Previously the term was used to refer to an increase in the money supply, which is now referred to as expansionary monetary policy or monetary inflation.

    Inflation is measured by comparing two sets of goods at two points in time, and computing the increase in cost not reflected by an increase in quality. There are, therefore, many measures of inflation depending on the specific circumstances.

  • Best Song Artist To Get MINICOM Rwf2M

    The ministry of commerce and trade has encouraged the youth to be business oriented after their studies; this will be conducted through songs competition organized by MINICOM.

    “The youth should be aware of programs that the ministry plans for their better future,” Albert Bizimana told Igihe.com.

    The best way to suggest business to youth, is to first study their likes and dislikes, that is why MINICOM prearranged a music competition to gather youth, the competition will bring onto stage Masamba, Dieudonne Munyanshoza known as Mibirizi, Augustin Mwitenawe, Butera, Alphonse, Samputu Jean Paul and so many more.

    Albert further told igihe.com, “a small project by Rwandan youth to be supported and implemented is our aim. We support and supervise their activities. The victor will scoop Rwf2 million, the second Rwf1million whereas the third will take Rwf500,000.”

    Asked on the conduct of nominations, Albert said all artists would record songs from various studios and submit on CD from which judges will determine the best one for the award.

    Albert urges artists to register for the reason that prizes are good and this will also improve their ways of living and create awareness with their fans and also facilitate some in setting up small business.

    The winners will be awarded at the end of this month.

  • Frw 140M Lost in Police Crackdown on Moto Taxis

    More than Frw140million has been lost by the Moto taxi business in the month of August alone following the Police crackdown on motor cycles on the roads. According to motor taxi men, in a period of two weeks, a motor taxi earns over Frw70,000.

    According to National Police report, over 70% to 80% of the road accidents arise from Moto taxis and therefore a result of putting much effort to reduce on the problem.

    Chief Supt. Vincent Sano (C/o) of Traffic Police recently impounded over 1000 Moto taxis in August due to lack of full requirements.
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    However, the Moto Taxi men are unhappy with the operation saying that it is not fair and that instead, police should devise other possible ways of handling the issue.

    Robert Imanishimwe, a moto taxi man working in the zone of Nyabugogo said, “We know well the police is doing its work but most of these bikes you see on the road are acquired through credit from the bank and if taken, that means you might even fail to raise money to repay the bank loan and end up in prison something that will hinder development.”

    “I think the best way is to issue to defaulters a contravention notice and then continue with the business in order to be able to pay the fine asked and the loan as well.” Imanishimwe has all requirements and was speaking on behalf of his colleagues.

    Martin Nihabose of Remera zone also noted, “When a Moto is impounded and taken, there is no security for it; that is during loading it on the lorry and offloading it because the police has no mercy at all, and that means it can be damaged in the process.”

    Another Moto taxi man who declined to reveal his names but operating at Nyarutarama with incomplete requirements for his motorcycle said, “police these days has no mercy on us and I don’t know why, any small requirement missing; the bike is taken and kept for over two weeks which I think is not fair at all because most of us depend on this business.

    This means that wherever I see police, I speed past the checkpoint or make a U-turn immediately something risky to the passengers.

  • Employers trained on Relations with Employees

    The Private Sector Federation (PSF) has started training employers on negations in industrial relations which will enable them to interact well with their employees.
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    One of the trainers, Dirk Joosse, a senior consultant in the Association of Employers in Netherlands believes that employers ought to be flexible towards their employees if they wanted to improve their business productivity.

    “In salary negotiation for instance, an employee might want a rise in order to cope up with the inflation which has affected the cost of living and in such a cases the employer should freely negotiate on the amount to be added despite the terms in the contract,” he said.

    He added, “I mean if the employee is working in good conditions he will be motivated and work better”.

    For bosses who are big-headed that also take lightly matters affecting their workers, a solution for such situations can be found in trade unions.

    However, Joosse advised Rwandan employees to form themselves into vibrant trade unions since it facilitates advocacy for some of the issues affecting them.

    “In some institutions you may find there’re no safety tools for those working in risky areas and likewise companies where employees don’t have medical insurance, the reason advocacy is essential, especially in pushing for the changes,” said.

    His fellow trainer Jean Mukunzi who’s also an expert in industrial relations was quick to note that Rwandan labor laws suggest that in a company where there are more than eleven employees, there should be at least one representative to voice their concerns to the employer.

    “Normally, the employees’ representative is a worker nominated by the employees and should communicate any problem his colleagues are facing,” he remarked.

    Mukunzi also commended Rwandan laws but criticized a slow pace in implementing some of the policies which are essential.
    He referred to the 80% salary insurance cover given to women who extend their maternity leave for extra six months.

    “In Rwanda maternity leave was reduced from 12 to 6 weeks, where in the latter case, they get 100% of their salary while those willing to extend for 6 more weeks get 20%.

    “That’s why there was a law meant to have an insurance cover for the remaining 80%, if this is implemented even those wishing to extend their maternity leave will receive their full salary,” he advised.
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  • Rwanda has Favourable Labour Market

    Besides heightening competitiveness in tourism, wildlife conservation and emerging among the top ‘Doing business Reformers, Rwanda is most attractive destination for workers from the East African Community (EAC) compared to the 4 member states of the bloc, a new study has shown.

    According to the study, conducted by M.A Consulting Group, Rwanda has the highest labour market efficiency, the survey carried out in 2009 to assess the impact of the EAC Common Market protocol on an economic comparative study in terms of conduciveness to the labour force.

    The other significant aspect is the attractive professional remunerations and timely payment by the Rwandan employers in both public and private institutions compared to the other member states where demoralized workers repeatedly demand for arrears in vian.

    According to the Minister in charge of East African Affairs Monique Mukaruriza, The findings in the report will enable government to initiate development strategies to guide negotiations on the regional market protocol.

    The minister said this while making keynote at the validation meeting of the final report where she emphasized the need to prepare the Rwandan labour market for competition against their counterparts from neighboring states.

    “Workers in the services sector should become innovative and tap the better skills from the other EAC partner countries,” Mukaruliza observed.

    The study highlighted the impact of the Common Market Protocol on other sectors, especially free movement of goods, services, capital within the regional five member states, a bloc that analysts believe has a serious socio-economic development potential.

    The report also indicates that EAC trade regime has a net positive welfare effect on the Rwandan economy compared to the other members.

    The Minister in charge of Trade and Industry Francois Kanimba who is former Governor of Central Bank said that much emphasis should focus on diversifying domestic production to widen export base as member countries advocate for free movement of goods and services.

    The Common Market Protocol was signed by the EAC Heads of State on 20 November 2009 but economic pundits believe the common market protocol is taking snail’s pace to due to unnecessary bureaucracy.