The documentary was presented by Peter Greenberg, an Emmy Award-Winning Investigative Reporter and one of America’s most recognized travel news journalists often referred to as “The Travel Detective”
The one hour documentary on a Royal Tour in Rwanda was presented yesterday with the presence of different guests.
Also present was the Rwanda Development Board, Chief Executive Officer, Clare Akamanzi.
A multiple Emmy-winning investigative reporter and producer, Peter Greenberg is one of America’s most recognized, honored and respected travel experts.
President Kagame became the ultimate guide, showcasing the visual gems that Rwanda has to offer. Together, they went gorilla trekking through Volcanoes National Park, jet-skied in Lake Kivu, explored Nyungwe Forest National Park on an elevated canopy walkway and saw a variety of wildlife during on a safari through Akagera National Park.
The one hour documentary is the latest edition of the Royal Tour series, in which Peter journeys to a select country to offer audiences access to extraordinary locations, historic landmarks and cultural experiences, and gets guided by some of the most dynamic and powerful Heads of State around the World.
Details of the report will be one of the key discussions at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), which the Kenyan government recently announced will return to Nairobi, in October this year.
Marriott International currently has a development pipeline of 93 new hotels comprising 17,708 rooms in Africa. Almost 50% of those rooms – 8,587 – are already under construction.
The Hilton chain is ranked second, with 6,352 rooms under construction, and the Radisson Hotel Group is third with 4,840 rooms currently being built.
Most of fourth-placed AccorHotel’s deals are fairly new, signed in 2016 and 2017, and therefore it is not surprising that only 36 per cent of rooms in its pipeline are under construction. Best Western has just over 91 per cent of its pipeline rooms onsite. Louvre and Meliã, both have all their pipeline rooms under construction, which prompts the question: where are they looking to go next?
The W Hospitality Group ranking for individual hotel brands has Radisson Blu with the largest number of rooms under construction – beating the Hilton brand by over 300 rooms. Hilton has two other brands in the Top 10, Hilton Garden Inn and DoubleTree by Hilton – boosted by the chain’s US$50 million Hilton Africa Growth Initiative.
According to Matthew Weihs, Managing Director of Bench Events and AHIF’s organiser, the report was a good source of opportunities to serious and committed investors.
“This report from W Hospitality Group contains the sort of hard data that serious investors want to see. It, and other analyses from numerous expert advisers to the industry, will be the core content that makes AHIF a must-attend event, alongside with unrivaled networking opportunities.”
This year’s pipeline report, now in its 10th edition, has 41 contributors, reporting 418 deals with over 100 brands. Year-on-year performance for Africa in 2018 shows growth, but more muted than in recent years – 25% growth in the number of pipeline rooms in 2015; 19% in 2016, and 13% in 2017, much the same as the 13.5 per cent growth in 2018.
The overall pipeline for hotel chains in Africa looks healthy for the future. Notably, Mangalis, a new hotel brand launched in 2011, has already managed to build a significant pipeline, with 1,746 rooms in 14 hotels, growing the existing portfolio of 425 rooms in 3 hotels by more than four times. Currently five of the 14 hotels in the pipeline are under construction.
AHIF, which is supported by the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, is attended by leading international hotel investors, business leaders and politicians. It has a proven track-record of driving investment into tourism projects, infrastructure and hotel development across Africa.
The absence of the official doctor and a second ambulance at the race level pushed the commissioners to make this decision in application of the UCI regulations, explains the statement of referees.
Before the cancellation of the stage, the organization had already fallen behind. While the fictitious start was scheduled at 9am, the teams arrived at the starting point at 9.30am and their vehicles at 10.30am.
The 17th Edition of this race is made up of eight stages across different parts of Senegal. It has attracted a record 19 teams, twelve national teams and seven Continental Tour teams, including Team Rwanda, the National Cycling Team, which is making her first appearance in the competition since 2008.
The Rwandan team is comprised of Bonaventure Uwizeyimana, Jean Paul Rene Ukiniwabo, Didier Munyaneza, Janvier Hadi, Uwiduhaye and Rwanda Cycling Cup champion Patrick Byukusenge.
Jean De Dieu Ndacyayisenga, 23, was at the time found with over 40 kilograms of cassiterite allegedly stolen from Rutongo concession in Rulindo District.
The suspect was transporting the stolen minerals on a motorcycle registration number RB 794J, which was also impounded, Police said.
“Security personnel at Rutongo mines reported a motorcycle which left the concession with stolen cassiterite. The motorcycle was trailed to Kigali where it was intercepted by motorcycle security personnel and handed its rider over to Police,” Senior Supt. Emmanuel Hitayezu, the Police spokesperson for the City of Kigali, said.
“The suspect, the motorcycle and the recovered minerals were yesterday handed over to Rwanda Investigations Bureau in Rulindo where he committed the offense,” Senior Supt. Hitayezu added.
Article 438 of the penal code, stipulates that; “Any person who undertakes illegal research or illegally carries out commercial activities in valuable minerals, shall be liable to imprisonment of six months to one year and a fine of up to Rwf10 million.”
Last month, Police in Rulindo District also arrested two men, who were intercepted transporting about 800 kilograms of cassiterite, also stolen from Rutongo Mines.
They were transporting the minerals in a vehicle, which was also impounded.
The “Reading for Change” project was launched this Friday, 20th April by Afflatus Africa, at Kigali Public Library. The Project will be focusing on how reading for purpose influences achievement of one’s dreams.
“We all know that it takes a lot to unveil one’s potentials. Contrary, as Afflatus Africa, we believe that with this project, Rwandan youngsters will become more aware of the culture of reading and be able to transform lives and to allocate people to their dreams”, said Ganza Kanamugire Bertin, Founder and CEO of Aflatus Africa.
“Through this project, we’d like to create a platform where writers work together to polish their skills. Readers also will have the opportunity to link and thus transform “the usual reading” into “impactful reading” that could engender grand changes”, he added.
He also noted that the youth could do great things, given enough time and proper attention and coaching.
Rising Author Karen Bugingo, popular for ‘My name is Life’, a story that tells about her struggles, defeats and victories as a cancer patient until her recovery process; was also present at the event. During a panel reading discussion, she urged young writers to test the waters as she did, promising them a twist of chances and opportunities waiting for them out there.
“In Rwanda, sadly, we don’t harbor a culture of reading,” says renowned Author Yolanda Mukagasana, who was also at the event. She believes that an emphasis should be put on promoting a reading and writing culture in Rwanda. She said it was unfortunate that some Rwandans read their own history written by foreign writers.
Mukagasana commended the project, saying that it’ll help bridge the gaps that the younger generations face in literacy.
The project also offers free subscriptions to 20 youngsters at Kigali Public Library for a whole year, starting from May 2018.
The suspensions went into immediate effect on Saturday, according to state-run KCNA news agency.
The US president greeted the news in a tweet. “This is very good news for North Korea and the World – big progress!” Trump wrote.
The news comes less than a week before Kim meets the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, for a summit in the demilitarized zone that divides the peninsula.
It goes a long way towards meeting US demands for denuclearisation, as Pyongyang and Washington work to agree on when and where Kim will meet Trump for historic talks that barely seemed possible just a few months ago.
The decision to suspend nuclear tests and missile launches came at a plenary meeting of the ruling party’s central committee, which had convened on Friday to discuss a “new stage” of policies – prompting speculation that the regime would move towards denuclearisation.
“As the weaponisation of nuclear weapons has been verified, it is not necessary for us to conduct any more nuclear tests or test launches of mid- and long-range missiles or ICBMs,” Kim told the meeting.
“The northern nuclear test site has completed its mission,” he added at the meeting, according to KCNA.
North Korea has conducted all six of its nuclear tests at the same Punggye-ri test site in the country’s north-east. It tested its first nuclear weapon in 2006, while its last – and most powerful – test came last September.
Those tests, plus a string of missile launches ordered by Kim over the past year, at one point appeared to be taking the peninsula to the brink of conflict.
The North’s quest to develop a deterrent against what it has long described as US hostility resulted in an extraordinary exchange of insults between Kim and Trump, and frequent warnings from Washington that it would not rule out military action to end Kim’s nuclear ambitions.
Saturday’s announcement came the day after a hotline between Kim and the South Korean president went live.
The hotline connects Moon’s desk at the presidential Blue House with North Korea’s state affairs commission, which is headed by Kim, Yonhap news agency said.
Earlier this week Moon, a liberal whose election in May raised hopes of a detente on the Korean peninsula, said that Pyongyang had expressed a desire for the “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula without attaching preconditions such as the withdrawal of US troops.
The two countries are due to hold a summit next Friday on the southern side of the demilitarised zone.
The meeting is to be followed in May or June by a meeting between Kim and Trump. The US president on Wednesday pledged to meet Kim “in the coming weeks” but said he was prepared to walk away if the talks were not fruitful.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii,” his publicist Diana Baron said in a statement. “He was found dead in Muscat, Oman this Friday afternoon local time, April 20th. The family is devastated and we ask everyone to please respect their need for privacy in this difficult time. No further statements will be given.”
Bergling started out releasing music on Laidback Luke Forum in the late ’00s, where DJs and producers would post music and seek feedback from budding peers. In 2011, he broke through to an international audience with the progressive house track “Levels,” which hit No. 1 in his native Sweden and on the U.S. Billboard Dance Club Songs chart — and earned him a Grammy nod. His 2012 David Guetta collab “Sunshine” earned him a Grammy nomination as well, and that same year, he became the first electronic artist to headline New York City’s storied Radio City Music Hall.
Avicii’s health issues were known to the public for several years prior to his death. He suffered from acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking. In 2014, he canceled numerous shows in order to recover after having his gallbladder and appendix removed.
Eventually, he decided to retire from touring entirely in an emotional letter penned in March 2016.
Twenty four years after the genocide, Kigali city is recognized by many as a monument to modernity. Where there was destruction and poignant hurt, you now discover peaceful areas with a vibrant undercurrent.
Even in the previous years, no one could deny the pristine and reserved beauty of Kigali City. Several parts like Kacyiru, or Kabuga charmed many with its uniform architecture, where they would leave Kigali, telling the story of a “luminous, musical city, as optimistic and welcoming as any in Africa”.
At present, new skyscrapers and office blocks have been built, many roads have been widened and adorned with tarmac, and public spaces are meticulously maintained by professional gardeners.
A lot of emphasis has been on boosting business. From 20 business people in 1909 to more than 6000 in 1962, Kigali went overboard in the business sector in a very short span of time.
The City of Kigali has huge potential in terms of its growth trend, tourist arrivals, infrastructure development, growing financial sector and other aspects that strengthen investor confidence.
Besides, Rwanda is safe, secure, and one of the most investor-friendly economies in the region, which facilitated Kigali in marketing itself as a top meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) destination. This in turn, landed some of the biggest conferences in the region, including the World Economic Forum, African Union Summits, Global Africa Investment Summit, and others.
By hosting these big events, Kigali brought together entrepreneurs, business leaders, global leaders and other high calibre people who are key-persons in the future growth of the nation.
The government’s efforts succeeded in making Kigali the go-to city for regional conferences and a high tech hub in the Continent.
Also, grand Hotels like Sky Hotel, Mabara Umubano, in Kacyiru, Hôtel des Milles Collines, Hôtel des Diplomates and Rebero Horizon, adorn the city like gems. Moreover, recent ones like Marriott Hotel, Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre gave the city its authentic essence of an optimistic and welcoming nation.
Although Rwandans still remember the 1994 genocide against Tutsis, with tears in their eyes and tell of terrible suffering and loss. No one wants to forget, and no one will. The desire to construct a more positive and united future forged the city to the fabulous home of modernity it now is.
The trip is expected to inculcate better practice from the players in the three sectors by borrowing a leaf from Rwanda.
Nairobi County director of operations, Peter Mbaya yesterday said the trip will include 100 members from each sector to learn order in Kigali.
Speaking at a press conference at City Hall, the director was clear that the operators especially bodaboda riders will have to engage in self- regulation, if they are to continue operating in the Central Business District.
“The costs of the trip and learning exercise will be catered for by the County government. The benchmarking riverside will hopefully see translation of best practice from Rwanda to Nairobi, “said Mbaya.
Since time immemorial, hawkers and bodabodas have been engaged in frequent run it’s with the County authorities.
This is even as governor mike sonko is keen on delivering his post -campaign pledge to identify areas to house the traders who voted for him overwhelmingly. Mbaya further spoke on the on-going demolition of illegal structures, saying that City Hall would issue timely notices to areas set to be demolished.
“We do not just demolish structures haphazardly. The County gives adequate notice before carrying out the demolitions. A notice of three months, a month and finally a 24-hour notice is issued,” he emphasised. Clogged drainage systems which are also a thorn in the flesh especially when it rains are also set to be repaired.
“We have engineers on the ground working to not only unblock the drainage but come up with lasting solutions to prevent the problem from re-occurring, “added Mbaya.
Last month, Governor Mike Sonko banned hawkers and bodaboda operators from operating in the CBD. The clampdown, however, elicited mixed reactions among Members of the public forcing him to now use a more humane approach in addressing the issue.
Some of the complaints from the public were that the police and county askaris were using excessive force to remove women with children strapped to their backs from the streets.
The young entrepreneur featured twice in a row, in Forbes magazine – an American high end business magazine’s prestigious list of 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs.
Nzeyimana’s success comes from his habit of wanting to solve people’s problems. For him, Entrepreneurship became a viable path to achieve that.
“My greatest inspiration is that every little thing I do makes an impact in somebody else’s life. This makes me feel responsible for all the lives I am impacting, and those I can potentially impact,” he acknowledged to Forbes.
Habona Ltd doesn’t stray that far from firewood. It majorly operates in Nyamagabe district, where Gasarenda and Gasaka alone produce more than 1500 tons of waste every year, and the Kigeme refugee camp that resides in Nyamagabe also generates roughly 500 tons. It offers affordable and environmentally friendly services and energy fuels in the form of biomass briquettes and biogas waste.
“Our briquettes are efficient substitutes to wood charcoals and help cut over 30% of household fuel spending every year. Throughout briquette production, the by-product is fresh nutrient organic matters that are composted to make organic fertilisers for farming”, he says.
The company is also diversifying into the installation and operation of clean power plants, ranging from waste to energy, such as solar, biomass, hydro, and wind, as well as climate-smart farming.
His work has paid off. Nzeyimana employs 25 people, and to top it off, he was also part of a five-member high profile panel discussion at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit that involved former US president Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg the founder and CEO of Facebook in June 2017.
