The court explained that Uwamurera has no experience qualifying her to become a senator.
The development has been confirmed to IGIHE by the spokesperson of NFPO, Christine Mukabunani.
“It is true that she has been disqualified from entering the senate citing inadequate experience. The next thing on the agenda is to vote for another one. We are preparing for a meeting on Thursday this week,” she said.
Nkunsi Juvénal from Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Uwamurera Salama from Ideal Democratic Party (PDI) were elected on 19th September 2019 to take up senatorial seats representing NFPO at the senate.
Uwamurera is the executive secretary of PDI and assumed different functions in Rusizi district for 10 years.
Mukabunani said that disqualification doesn’t mean things have fallen apart because what the Supreme Court did analyzing the latter’s expertize falls under its attributions.
She further stated that all members of the forum are eligible to propose a candidate during the next elections not necessarily seeking a replacement from PDI.
Selling off premature harvests is common in sectors neighboring with DRC where farmers sell crops yet to be harvested to be reaped by buyers.
According to district officials, this has deprived the farmers of huge profits that they would have reaped, if they had sold the produce during the harvest season.
Some merchants say the sale of premature crops leads into a chaotic market that cooperatives encounter loss over failure to obtain enough commodities.
“We often face the shortage of commodities because Congolese buy premature crops before harvest. Many of us got bank loans but failed to pay because the market is chaotic,” said Bahati Jacqueline, a vendor of fruits in Bugarama sector
The sale of premature crops was reported in Rusizi district since 2015.
The mayor of Rusizi district, Ephrem Kayumba has told IGIHE that farmers should not rely on such trade noting that whoever caught red handed shall be penalized.
“We have instituted regulations that everyone should sell mature crops. Selling them prematurely incurs losses to farmers. Whoever found bleaching the regulation shall be subject to appropriate penalties,” he said.
Some of cross border commodities grown in Rusizi district include maize, mean cassava, vegetables and fruits like mango and oranges.
Fifty-eight Police officers from nine EASF member countries, including 22 females, are taking part in the ninth intake.
Participating countries are Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda, the host.
The theory and practical course are also in line with the EASF mission to maintain and sustain a fully operational and multidimensional integrated standby force ready for peace support operations.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Administration and Personnel, Juvenal Marizamunda, while opening the course, said that part of the African continent continues to be tormented by intrastate conflicts.
“Such conflicts, coupled with international and organized crimes seriously hamper our continent’s development efforts; peacekeeping remains one of the most effective tools available to AU/UN in their efforts to respond to such threats to peace and security,” DIGP Marizamunda said.
In a bid to find ‘African solutions to African problems’, especially in relation to peace and security, the AU established a standby force–African Standby Force–with five regional standby forces. The EASF is one of the five regional multidimensional forces with a mandate to enhance peace and security in the Eastern Africa region.
“Drawing lessons for her recent past, Rwanda is determined to be an active and responsible member of the international community. Rwanda has a firm conviction that there cannot be sustainable development without peace and security,” DIGP Marizamunda said.
He emphasized that attaining and maintaining regional and international peace and security requires concerted efforts and commitment from member states.
Rwanda has been participating in peacekeeping missions in the last 15 years and currently ranked the second troops and Police contributor to UN peacekeeping operations.
DIGP Marizamunda further observed that peacekeepers, today, are deployed in increasingly hostile and dangerous environments, which necessitates future peacekeepers, individually and collectively, to be well equipped with attitudes, skills, and knowledge required to competently and efficiently discharge their tasks.
The Head of Police component at EASF, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Dinah Kyasiimire, said that the role of Police has increased in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, early recovery and stabilization, post-conflict reconstruction and development, security, rule of law and the creation of a basis for development.
This, she said, requires Police officers to be deployed for peace support operations to understand their roles in the multidimensional setting.
The objective of the course is to introduce participants on the concept and mandate of peace support operations, multidimensional nature of peacekeeping, EASF, AU and UN organs’ relations in line with peace and security as well as challenges in peace support operations.
Vision City has a variety of homes including multi-floored buildings with 3 to 5 rooms and apartments.
The buildings are built in a way that gives ultimate luxury and comfort.
The village is served with infrastructures, entertainment, and sports grounds and lush green gardens all designed for the comfort of dwellers.
This follows the previous announcement where the developer had reduced prices by 60 percent exclusively for public servants who seek to own their first homes and are at a grade not above the head of department or equivalent.
Under this arrangement, the opportunity has been extended to non-public servants where a 2-bedroom apartment will be sold at Rwf63,000,000 down from the standard price of Rwf108 million
An apartment of three bedrooms, which normally goes for Rwf163 million will go for Rwf94,000,000 while a 4-bedroom apartment, that ordinarily goes for Rwf187 million will cost Rwf108,000,000.
UDL revealed that interested buyers transacting with banks find it easier to own the home.
“Usually, the bank requires the owner to have at least 10% of the desired loan but it is not mandatory. The bank will offer the loan at the interest rate of 11% to be paid within 20 years in monthly installments,” reads a statement from UDL.
The executive secretary of the Cyanzarwe sector, Heritier Kazendebe attributed the death to drunkenness.
“It was around 8 pm when the duo shared a drink but the deceased was drunk at the time. The bar owner forced the drunk person to get out because we instituted regulations to close any bar found serving alcoholic drinks to drunk people,” he said.
Kazendebe went on to say that the bar owner took the drunk person outside and pushed him, hitting his head on the ground. His colleagues came to take Vuganeza home without knowing that he had sustained head injuries after falling down.
“He was seen around midnight with foam coming out of his mouth, taken to hospital and died along the way,” he explained.
Kazendebe said that the bar owner escaped after learning that the person he pushed had died.
The event that took place respectively on Saturday and Sunday was characterized by performances of Micho Band, children games, enjoying foods and drinks while participants participated in a raffle draw during which lucky winners walked away with different gifts among others.
Participants ranged from Rwandans and foreigners, especially from Germany.
Having started in Germany in 1810, Oktoberfest has become popular in different countries where people organize a two-week party from the end of September until the first week of October celebrating achievements.
The event started in Munich city and spread to other towns later.
During such celebrations, people enjoy drinks, visit touristic attractions, play different games and cook traditional food among others.
Kigali Marriott Hotel is one of the hotels with the exclusivity of serving clients with great perfection on a daily basis maintaining their loyalty in return.
It has introduced an initiative aimed at entertaining clients at the end of every week bringing iconic artistes and Deejays for their excitement.
It also organized competitions like “Battle of the Bands’ bringing together legend live bands to promote music talents in Rwanda.
“UNHCR estimates that US$10 million will be spent on initial investments and to run the Emergency Transit Mechanism between Libya and Rwanda through the end of the year. This includes initial costs of construction and renovation works and basic aid and services for evacuated refugees. UNHCR is using flexible funding for the Rwanda ETM, which was not budgeted at the beginning of the year, and is actively soliciting additional donor support,” he said.
A group of 66 vulnerable refugees was evacuated from Libya to Rwanda on Thursday night last week on a UNHCR-chartered flight. They are the first to benefit from the Emergency Transit Mechanism, recently agreed and set up by the Government of Rwanda, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the African Union.
The group which landed at Kigali international airport around 9:30 pm local time included a baby born in Libyan detention just two months ago. In total, 26 of the evacuees were refugee children, nearly all of them unaccompanied, without a family member or parent.
One evacuee had not been outside a detention center for more than four years. All evacuees were Sudanese, Somali or Eritrean.
Upon arrival, refugees were registered and provided with documentation, before being taken to a transit center in Gashora some 60 kilometers south of the capital, Kigali, where UNHCR will provide them with accommodation, food, water, kitchen sets, blankets, mosquito nets, and other core relief items.
A team of nine health professionals, including a psychologist, will work alongside counselors specialized in working with children and survivors of sexual violence to provide health care and assist evacuees who survived torture, sexual violence, and human rights abuses during their time in Libya.
The entire group has been granted asylum-seeker status, pending an assessment of their refugee claim by UNHCR. They have the same rights as other refugees in Rwanda, including access to education and healthcare, and freedom of movement and to work.
All evacuees will be invited to attend language and vocational training classes to help them integrate with local communities during their time in Rwanda.
Further solutions will then be pursued for refugees, including resettlement for some. Other solutions include voluntary return to countries where they had previously been granted asylum, return home if safe and voluntary, or integration into local Rwandan host communities.
Anyone found not to be in need of international protection will be either assisted to return home or given the possibility of regularizing their status in Rwanda.
A second evacuation flight is expected in the coming weeks as UNHCR continues every effort to get vulnerable refugees in Libya out of harm’s way and to safety.
According to UNHCR, faster and increased evacuations and initiatives such as the Emergency Transit Mechanism, are urgently needed and urges the international community to support Rwanda’s gesture of solidarity with refugees by providing financial support and resettlement places.
They were joined by other Juba Sector Contingents and Officials from Juba City. The community work was done on different roads in Juba City Council.
While addressing the media after community work, the Deputy Mayor of Juba City Council, THIIK THIIK Mayardit said that Juba City leadership is thankful for what Peacekeepers in general and those from Rwanda, in particular, are doing in terms of protection of civilians and helping South Sudanese people particularly Juba residents to clean and protect their environment.
The UNMISS Sector Juba Commander, Brig Gen Eugene Nkubito thanked the Juba city leadership and all participants for sparing their time to carry out such an activity that aims to protect the environment. He urged Juba residents to adopt the community work concept as a solution for a clean and safe environment.
The Juba Sector leadership has opted to conduct community work in Juba City every last Saturday of the month.
This was initiated in order to share with brothers and sisters of South Sudan the idea of homegrown solutions as Rwandans often do back home.
The participants included members of Chinese Battalion, Rwanbatt3; Ethiopia Battalion; Nepalese High Readiness Company and officials from Juba City.
According to figures, 630 teens were impregnated in nine months of 2019 raising the number to 3035 within three years.
This was revealed yesterday in an executive meeting organized by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion bringing together leaders of all district in Western Province.
The mayor of Rubavu district, Gilbert Habyarimana attributed the numbers to domestic conflicts and urban migration.
“These cases are attributed to domestic conflicts and youth’s growing number migrating to town,” he said.
Habyarimana further stated that the latter is additional to inadequate knowledge on reproductive health.
He, however, explained that they have strengthened measures against the issue with an emphasis on teaching reproductive health among schools.
Western Province Governor, Alphonse Munyantwari said they are going to increase awareness on reproductive health and hold accountable those who impregnate teens.
Among others, Nyabihu district has 418 impregnated teens while Rutsiro has 404. Western province records 2873 impregnated teens out of 15 696 countrywide.
The partnership will build critical links between young job-seekers and employers, work with employers to develop skills training programs for young employees, and identify skills gaps in Rwanda’s tourism and hospitality sector.
Hanga Ahazaza is a US$50 million initiative from the Mastercard Foundation to create work opportunities for 30,000 Rwandan youth over five years.
Hanga Ahazaza, meaning “create the future”, is a consortium of 12 partners from the education, development, and private sectors.
Working together, they are supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs in the tourism and hospitality sector through increased access to financial services and training, and by connecting them to young people with the skills needed to be successful employees.
Since its launch in 2018, the Hanga Ahazaza initiative has enabled 2,607 Rwandan youth to access dignified and fulfilling work and supported 183 youth-owned businesses.
Commenting on the partnership, Belise Kariza, Chief Tourism Officer of the Rwanda Development Board said that the Government believes in promoting tourism and hospitality and has tirelessly supported the creation of a conducive environment for the sector to prosper and benefit the people.
She, however, observed: “We require a skilled workforce to cope with the growing trends of the industry. The Mastercard Foundation Hanga Ahazaza initiative is playing a significant role in addressing this challenge.”
Rica Rwigamba, the Acting Country Representative and Senior Program Manager of the Mastercard Foundation said: “Our partnership with the RDB is a significant step in the right direction for ensuring the success of the Hanga Ahazaza initiative and supporting young people to thrive in Rwanda’s growing tourism and hospitality sector.”
Growth in Rwanda’s tourism and hospitality sector is a key national priority and is growing at a rapid pace, with ripple growth effects in other sectors, such as agriculture and food processing.
However, challenges remain for young job-seekers and entrepreneurs, including gaps in skills development, work placement and experience, and access to financial services.
Gisele Ikuzwe, a student at Vatel Rwanda observed that hospitality is an open-door opportunity that provides youth with the skills and goals they need to thrive while at the same time contributing to Rwanda’s economic development.
“As a youth, we need to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset and not only think of becoming job-seekers – you also need to have the mindset and responsibility to create jobs,” she said.
Partners collaborating in the Hanga Ahazaza initiative include Cornell University, Dalberg, partners, GIZ, GroFin, Harambee, Horwath HTL, I&M Bank Rwanda, Inkomoko, Question Coffee, and Vatel Rwanda.
{{About the Mastercard Foundation}}
The Mastercard Foundation seeks a world where everyone can learn and prosper. The Foundation’s work is guided by its mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion for people living in poverty.
One of the largest foundations in the world, it works almost exclusively in Africa. It was created in 2006 by Mastercard International and operates independently under the governance of its own Board of Directors. The Foundation is based in Toronto, Canada.
{{About Rwanda Development Board}}
The Rwanda Development Board is responsible for tourism and conservation, as well as the entire investor experience. The Rwanda Development Board manages the tourism industry in Rwanda and ensures that the tourism and conservation goals of the Government of Rwanda are successfully implemented.
