Author: IGIHE

A statement signed by Congo Minister of Interior and Decentralization, Raymond Zephirin Mbourou says that effective from October 9, 2018, the date the statement was signed, “Rwandan nationals and citizens of the United Arab Emirates are authorized to obtain their entry visa at the borders of the Republic of Congo.”

Other delegates are; Minister of Spatial planning and Housing, Ms. Ana Paula Chantre de Carvalho and governors of the five Angolan provinces among others.

Members of the delegation are in Rwanda for a field visit to learn and engage with Rwandan leaders on the decentralization policy, which is based on the Government of Rwanda’s commitment to empower its people to determine their own future.

The Decentralization policy has its foundations in the fundamental laws of Rwanda as well as in the political and administrative reforms the government has already implemented.

The Government of Rwanda adopted a decentralization policy and a strategy for its implementation in May 2000.

Rwanda’s Minister of Local Governance, Francis Kaboneka received and welcomed the delegation. He explained to them why Rwanda chose to adopt decentralization in its leadership system and the benefits the Rwandan population have got following the system adoption.

Minister Kaboneka said that “the visit is a good opportunity to share the two nations’ experiences which can help both sides keep improving the population’s development and welfare.”

Angola’s Minister of Territory and State Reform, Mr. Adão Francisco Correia de Almeida who is the delegation head, said they chose to visit Rwanda due to both nations’ histories of wars which are almost the same.

While Rwanda’s history was marked by the divisions that led to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi that claimed more than a million lives, “Angola also experienced wars and rebellions that followed its independence and ended in 2002,” as Minister Adão Francis said.
Located in in southwestern Africa, After the Angola’s war of independence from Portugal in November 11, 1975 through the Alvor Agreement, Angola later entered a period of civil war that lasted up until 2002.

The Electronic Billing Machine (EBM) project coordinator at the Rwanda Revenue Authority, Emmy Mbera said that owners of the shops closed were first trained and advised to use the machines at least twice before their shops are closed.

“This activity was to verify those who issue the EBM-generated receipts and those who don’t issue them to clients and thus avoid paying taxes. Sanctions for traders who don’t offer EBM receipts include the closing of their shops for 30 days,” he said.

One shop owner whose shop was closed in Nyabugogo told IGIHE that traders have already got used to issuing EBM-generated receipts but they sometimes forget to give them to clients due to a big number of clients coming at the same time.

“We usually issue the EBM receipts but sometimes you can forget due to many clients you have. In order to not delay them, you let them go with no EBMs,” he said.

The VAT law stipulates that any person required to use an EBM who sells goods or services without issuing an electronic invoice is liable to an administrative fine of 10 times the value of the evaded VAT.

In case the offense is repeated, the punishment is doubled to a fine of 20 times the value of the evaded VAT.

Rwanda National Police intervened to save lives of the victims using excavators but the four builders were found dead.

The Spokesperson of the Rwanda National Police in Kigali City, SSP Emmanuel Kayigi said the victims’ bodies were taken to Kacyiru Hospital for autopsy.

The identities of the deceased had not been released by police by the time of filing this story.

64% of the loan will be used to increase household on-grid connections, 28% to improve power supply, 4% for off-grid solutions and 3% for capacity building.

Speaking after the signing of the agreement, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana said that the loan was given to Rwanda under the second phase of Scale up Electricity Access Program (SEAP II) that will help Rwanda achieve its National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) goal of providing sustainable, affordable and reliable electricity services and achieve universal electricity access by 2024.

He said the loan “will positively impact our economic growth and promote our private sector-led job creating growth and private businesses, particularly for the youth and reduce poverty adding that “this is a crucial and huge sum of money.”

The African Development Bank Country Manager to Rwanda, Martha Phiri said that the program that the AfDB financed today is using the Results Based Financing instrument aimed at fast tracking the energy supply in Africa and ‘due to its results culture, Rwanda is the first country on the continent to pilot this instrument for the Bank.’’

Martha Phiri said that the Bank’s energy portfolio will increase from Euro 158.96 million to Euro 388.74 million, supporting eight operations, three of which are being implemented jointly with neighboring states.

She explained that the loan aims at enabling attaining the AfDB’s desire to march Rwanda’s ambitions to achieve national economic transformation where all households, schools, health centers and other productive houses will have full access to electricity in 2024.

She also said the Bank to address and end frequent power outages in Rwanda.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Energy Group (REG), Ron Weiss said that the power outages experienced by Rwandans when it rains and which raised multiple complaints by the population on social media “will be a different situation two years from now”.

Currently, 46% of the Rwandan households are connected to both on-grid and off-grid electricity.

A report of activities by the Rwanda’s National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) presented to parliament indicates that there are genocide convicts still at large within and outside the country.

The Chief Commissioner at the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide, Dr. Emmanuel Havugimana said that the information collected by the Commission showed that more than 1500 genocide convicts are free.

“The list has already been done and it is in four categories. There are 167 genocide convicts living in known places across Rwanda who never served their court sentences. Those who fled to other local districts are 1072 and 95 of them reside in known areas while 204 convicts fled to foreign countries,” Dr. Havugimana explained.

Dr. Havugimana says that arresting the convicts is made difficult by the tactics they use to change names and when they get known relocate to different areas or flee the country.

The Gacaca convicts walk and work free in different parts of the country particularly in the City of Kigali and the Eastern Province according to Havugimana.

“Most of them live in Kigali City having changed identities. Names in their identity cards and places they live in today differ from what they were called during the genocide against Tutsi,” he said.

Between 2017 and 2018, CNLG handed 358 files to judicial organs so that the genocide convicts who did not serve their sentences could be persecuted.

Honorable Eugène Barikana, a Member of Parliament, urged CNLG to unveil a list of genocide convicts still at large to government institutions and the public to search for them.

Dr. Havugimana however noted that this would not be easily possible because the search for the convicts should be done secretly that they not flee the justice to neighboring countries.

The Gacaca jurisdictions which ended in 2012 closed after having passing 1.2 million judgments.

Shyira Hospital in Nyabihu District in West, Ruli Hospital in Gakenke in North and Kacyiru Hospital located in Gasabo Disctrict of the Kigali City have recorded no maternal death during the past seven months according to the Minister of Health, Dr. Diane Gashumba.

In a tweet, Minister Dr. Diane Gashumba wrote: “Shyira, Kacyiru and Ruli hospitals have managed to reduce #maternal deaths to zero in the past seven months. Congratulations! We encourage others to do the same.”

Minister Gashumba made the revelations after a quarterly meeting that brought together leaders from the Ministry of Health, the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) and all public hospitals to follow up the implementation of strategies put in place to keep improving service delivery in health facilities and avoid any maternal or child death.

In 2015, Rwanda achieved the fifth among the Millennium Development Goals (MDG 5) which had two targets; to reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio and to achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health.

Rwanda is one of only nine countries to have achieved this goal of reducing their maternal mortality rates by at least 75% by 2015.

The call was made by the CMA Ag. Executive Director, Mr. Bundugu Eric during the ,World Investor Week 2018. During the Week, CMA guided current and future investors on how to make informed financial decisions.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) prepared the second annual World Investor Week (WIW) 1st to 7th October to promote investor education, protection and highlighting the various initiatives of securities regulators around the globe.

As the aim for this year’s World Investor Week was to create general awareness about investor rights with respect to retail investors on the Rwandan Capital Market, CMA targeted retail investors at Cogebanque.

Bundugu highlighted the importance of investor education, protection and fostering learning opportunities for investors, given today’s rapidly changing environment of online and technological innovations.

Throughout the 2018 World Investor Week, CMA engaged retail/individual investors across the country on various investment products on the capital market through social media and broadcast media.

CMA has committed to facilitate interactive and educative forum to enable potential investors save and investing through local capital market.

The culprits aged between 25 to 35 years admitted having engaged in drug sale and abuse getting all of it from Uganda and explained that they chose to sell drugs to survive.
They apologized during an event held in Rwimiyaga Sector of Nyagatare District, where Police and local leaders burnt illicit drugs worth Rwf 2.6 million.

Handcuffed, Protogene Munyaneza said that he used to sell drugs which he brought from Uganda. “I ask for forgiveness for having got involved in selling drugs. I promise never to sell drugs again,” he said.

“I apologize for selling drugs and I commit to never engage in drugs trade and will share information on time whenever I see drugs,” said Emmanuel Hakizimana, a former drug dealer residing in Rwimiyaga Sector.

Nyagatare District borders with Uganda and Tanzania. District officials say Rwimiyaga Sector is the most affected by drug trafficking and use.

The Nyagatare Ditrict Police Commander, SP Pierre Tebuka said that, “All people we arrest in drug dealing get them from neighboring countries. We ask the people for rapid information sharing to Police when they suspect someone dealing in drugs. These drugs are destroying our youth’s future, economy and order of the country,” he said.

“The most saddening is those who sell drugs are the young people who abandon schools and spend nights and days looking for drugs in neighboring countries. They come and sell them to their fellow youths that it is difficult to find a university graduate in this sector due to the drug abuse,” he added.

After apologizing publicly, SP Tebuka announced the five drug dealers would be released soon. He warned the other drug dealers saying that they are already known and mentioned the secret code names they use and said “we will never forgive everyone else we catch in drug dealing.’’

During the 15th National Dialogue, last year, President Kagame said that the fight against drug abuse is very urgent than ever before because it has become a worrying concern not only in Rwanda but in the whole world.

He said the abuse is high among the youth and can destroy the country’s future.

“When you send a child to school, you pray that he returns home safely but the issue is no longer among the children only,” he said.

“There is absolutely nothing good in associating with drugs. You have to say I am not doing drugs but neither should my friend, my relative. You make it your responsibility,” Kagame said as he addressed thousands youths at ‘Meet The President’ event held at Intare Arena Conference Arena, in August this year.

“If you see a friend or relative take this route, why don’t you stand up and tell your friend, it is not just that it is bad, it is killing you, our family and our country. The family needs you, the country needs you,” he advised.

The call was made by the Rwanda Defence Force First Division Commander, Maj. Gen. Mubarak Muganga, during a meeting that brought together Kirehe District local authorities that included village, cell, sector and district leaders.

Kirehe District local authorities that included village, cell, sector and district leaders.
Kirehe District is located in Rwanda’s Eastern Province bordering Tanzania.

Maj. Gen. Mubarak Muganga warned Rwandan citizens who cross through porous borders to Tanzania to hunt wild animals and collect firewood and timber and said they disturb both the neighboring and their country’s security as the animals hunted may be infected by diseases that could be introduced to Rwanda.

“There are Rwandan citizens who go and disturb the neighboring country. They go hunting the wild animals there and others go looking for firewood. We will not tolerate that because they are causing chaos in the other country,’’ he said.

“Those animals they go hunting usually have different diseases which they may be infected with and later transmit them to our population. Another thing, you do not have a right to go to hunt and burn timber in another country. Whoever is caught will be punished, we will no longer tolerate those behaviors,” he added.

Maj. Gen. Muganga reminded residents of Kirehe District that they have a good and prosperous country and what they go looking away can be found in Rwanda.

The Spokesperson of the Rwanda National Police in the Eastern Province, ACP Benoit Kayijuka said tougher punishments await those who sell drugs in Rwanda imported from foreign countries and asked them to stop it.