ICGLR is made up of twelve countries of Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Angola, South Sudan, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Zambia.
The previous meeting took place in October 2016 in Luanda, Angola where heads of state discussed about DR Congo’s presidential elections which continues to be an issue of concern.
The heads of states summit took place few days after foreign affairs ministers of partner states met to prepare the meeting.
Through the summit, the heads of states will discuss how they can sustain development of the region.
• Calliope Harelimana joined Sabena as assistant aircraft technician in 1979
• He was a farmer who completed primary education only
• His knowledge of French language got him a job
• He started job earning Rwf12,000 monthly, so much money considering then currency value compared to today’s value
• He was able to repair planes after eight years learning from a Belgian engineer
• Sabena was dissolved in 2001 and replaced by SN Brussels in 2002 which re-employed Harelimana as a car driver.
• He is paying university’s fees for four children, owns good house in Kigali
• Brussels Airlines covers his and children’s medical costs 100%
• 38 years working for airline companies, Harelimana has never taken flight despite offer of free flights.
• He plans to have three flights abroad, first to Brussels, before retiring.
Harelimana, then 21 years old, was tilling lands in his area of Muyunzwe, Gishweru, now in Ruhango District when his brother’s friend, Jean Damascene Mwumvaneza, asked for a replacement from Sabena technical dockets to join the staff van driving job.
“Mwumvaneza told my brother to bring him that young man (me) who was always number one in class but never got chance to continue to secondary school. I was able to speak French and that was enough to do the job of assisting the Belgian engineer by doing as instructed during the repairing of the plane,” says Harelimana.
When Sabena, former Belgian national carrier, was dissolved in November 2001, Harelimana waited for awhile before SN Brussels took over using some Sabena’s assets and Harelima was re-employed in April 2002 as a car driver. SN Brussels later changed name to Brussels Airlines, keeping Harelimana in the docket till now.
Father of four, Harelimana says he enjoyed much seeing a plane fly after his and fellow senior engineer’s work on a breakdown. “Eight years of learning from my chief engineer, I was able to work on planes’ technical problems and my supervisor would come after to check on the authenticity of my work. For over 20 years in technical job, we faced around 10 serious plane’s breakdowns which took intervention of a technical team from Belgium,” he says.
Harelimana has always found his motivation in good work environment, timely pay and pride of working for giant companies. He started at a salary of Rwf3,500, plus allowances of Rwf8,500 monthly.
“My supervisor said he would get my salary increased after my probation time but I told him the pay was good enough. Rwf12,000 was a lot of money that time and few people were paid such amount which can be equated to Rwf600,000 currently considering the value of franc in the 1970s,” he says.
{{A journey well travelled }}
Harelimana first extended pride of working with airlines to his family as he put down his father’s old houses and developed new and better ones immediately after getting into the job. He, as well, paid school fees for some family members. He later built his own house near the Kigali International Airport in Kanombe where he currently lives. He got married in 1990 and produced four children before his wife passed away 15 years ago.
Harelimana is able to pay private university’s fees for four children and provide them with all the required materials, thanks to “my good salary and cash from two rented houses.” The job also got him many friends in the country and abroad. “Belgians treat employees well. They pay good salary on time and lend me when I need money for children’s school fees,” he says.
When he started the job in 1979, Harelimana was told he is entitled to free flights for holidays abroad but he has never used the chance.
“I have never been on a plane because I found it better spending some Rwf400,000 on building houses and supporting family members than spending that on tours abroad. I have spent 38 years in this job without making any flight but I want to have at least three flights abroad before going for retirement,” he says.
Harelimana, 59, says he will have put aside all heavy responsibilities by September 2018 and will have his first flight to visit Brussels where he has many friends and former bosses.
Harelimana says the secret to retain a job lies in loving it and avoid misconduct at work and in society. He worked with many Rwandans before 1994 but he remains in the company with one, Mwumvaneza, to whom he sends his gratitude over getting him into the job.
The award is given to change makers in good governance, sciences, arts, sports and industries.
The head of state was awarded Wednesday evening at the International Achievement Summit in London.
Speaking during the summit, Kagame said that true achievement is not individual.
“Alone, none of us can accomplish much. When we apply our talents toward the common good, with those around us, we can transform our world for the better” he said.
Speaking about rebuilding the country, Kagame said; “Today, we have a country that has come together, united as never before, and which makes everyone proud”
He continued to say Rwandans believed that it was possible,despite enormous odds.
“So, we just kept going, until the vision became a reality” he added
Asked to speak about his role model, President Kagame said that he is inspired by Rwandan people.
“Only honest answer I can give is the people of Rwanda who suffered so much, yet refused to be defeated” he replied.
Kagame said that in terms of practical governance, what they did was to ensure everyone felt they were treated equally.
The deceased has been identified as Jean de Dieu Udahemuka from Rwimiyaga sector. When police stopped him for a search of what he was carrying, he, instead, tried to knock one of them.
Speaking to IGIHE, the Police Spokesperson in Eastern Region, IP Jean de Dieu Kayihura said that Udahemuka was transporting illicit gin called Zebra.
Kayihura added that Udahemuka had a machete on the motorcycle.
“He was transporting illicit brew known as ‘Zebra’ from Uganda, When he reached Musheri sector, Police on patrol stopped him but he tried to knock one who was stopping him, but, luckily he dodged the motorcycle. So, the commandant who was also at patrol shot him dead,” Kayihura explained.
Kayihura said that the culprit wanted to fight them using a machete.
More investigations are underway to find out the place where he was taking the gin.
There are several known causes of mouth odour, including poor oral hygiene, poor dieting, other diseases, dry mouth, etc. Dry mouth is when there’s limited saliva in the mouth. Eating too much garlic and onions can also destroy ones breath. Poor oral hygiene is when you don’t prioritise keeping your mouth clean. How can one not brush for two days at a stretch? When you do that, you allow micro organisms have a field day with your mouth.
Now, let’s go to ways to cure and keep bad breath at bay.
{{Avoid certain foods. }}
I mentioned that foods like onions and garlic can cause your breath to have a horrible smell, so it makes sense to advice that you stay away from them. You don’t have to eat these things in their raw forms really. I know they’re healthy and all, but the side effect isn’t great. If you’re so drawn to them, you can’t fight it, at least, brush thoroughly afterwards.
{{Stay hydrated.}}
Stress is a leading cause of dehydration, which often results in dryness of the mouth. Get anointed rest as you can. Drink lots of water, and sleep well.
{{Rid your mouth of plaques}}
Plaques are a leading cause of bad breath. Every now and then, check for them on your teeth, and remove them thoroughly. It’s not every time a brush can do the job, so a visit to the doctor may be your best option. I know people who use office pins to get them off too, but you’ll have to be very careful so you don’t hurt your gums.
{{Brush thoroughly.}}
It’s not enough to brush your teeth alone, brush your tongue and upper mouth. Otherwise, you’ll just allow the materials left by Micro organisms to fester and get worse. Brush your tongue thoroughly until you no longer see the whitish/yellowish stuff on it.
{{Use a mouth wash or minty bubble gum/candy}}
Buy yourself a mouth wash, and use it after every meal or when you feel like you need to. Minty bubble gum and candy, you’ll need because you may not be able to brush always.
Under the report dubbed ‘Worlds Apart’, UNFPA says that gender inequality and inequalities in realizing sexual and reproductive health and rights is still a problem in developing countries.
The report says that the unmet demand for family planning in developing countries is generally greatest among women in the poorest 20% of households.
It says that without access to contraception, poor women, particularly those who are less educated and live in rural areas, are at heightened risk of unintended pregnancies.
According to the report, unintended pregnancies may result in health risks and lifelong economic repercussions.
It says that lack of power to decide whether, when or how often to become pregnant can limit education, delay entry into the paid labour force and reduce earnings.
The report suggests that making information and services more widely available and accessible will lead to better reproductive health outcomes.
“But this is only part of the solution. Unless we start addressing the structural and multidimensional inequalities within our societies, we will never attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health for all” the authors of the report advise.
The report says that in many developing countries, women who are poor, in the bottom 20% of the income scale, and particularly those who are in rural areas, are far less likely to have access to contraceptives and to care during pregnancy and birth than their wealthier urban counterparts.
According to the report, among adolescents, who face the extra vulnerabilities associated with being young, those in the poorest 20% of households in developing countries have about three times as many births as adolescents in the richest 20% of households. Those in rural areas have twice as many births as their counterparts in cities.
{{Rwanda made remarkable progress}}
The report says that Rwanda transformed both access and equality to contraceptive services between 2005 and 2015.
“Rwanda made the fastest progress among about 60 developing countries over a 10-year period in satisfying the demand for modern contraception. The success is attributable to government efforts to make family planning services available in each of the country’s 14,841 administrative villages through 45,000 community health workers. Measures included introduction of long-lasting contraceptive methods, and integration of family planning services in hospitals and health centres” the report reads in part.
The Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), Dr. Condo Jeanine Umutesi said that the reason Rwanda has no disparity problems was due to inclusive health and social welfare programmes the government has introduced.
“The government of Rwanda has done its possibilities to reduce disparity gap among families, those are VUP in terms of welfare. In health sector, child mortality rate has reduced and all pregnant women have access services to medical care” she explained.
In Kigali, Carlson Rezidor manages both Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre Kigali and Park Inn by Radisson Kigali.
Simone is among the continent’s most successful women in the industry and was, last month, awarded in the Top Hoteliers category at the AKWAABA African Travel Market’s African Travel 100 Women Awards as part of the Women in Tourism Programme.
IGIHE talked with Simone on the sidelines of African Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) that ended in Kigali last week and revealed her experience of being a woman in hospitality and the global hotel group’s expansion ambitions.
Simone has been making waves across Africa as a female leader in the business development sector within the tourism industry and consequently added three hotels to Carlson Rezidor’s portfolio within the last 16 months.
“I do not think there is any difference between a man and a woman in this industry. It is all about setting yourself in the right position at the right time and networking with the right people. I also think it is about trusting your gut,” she said.
Simone urged women in the industry to “have a clear goal of what you want to achieve if you are working for a company, don’t let anything turn you away from your focus. If you want to achieve a goal, you have to work hard to do so. It will not just simply be handed to you, make sure you surround yourself with the right people, trust your gut and move forward.”
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Group’s expansion plans
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Simone focuses on the expansion of four Carlson Rezidor’s brands namely Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Park Inn and Quorvus in 10 Anglophone countries including Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia and Namibia, among others, where the global hotel franchise has 28 hotels among the 80 hotels with 17,200 rooms in operation and under development the group currently runs on the continent. The target is to have 125 hotels with over 23,000 rooms in Africa by 2022.
Simone says that over the last three years, the group has signed a new hotel deal in Africa every 37 days and improved its hotel openings to open a new hotel every 60 days. “We are looking at key markets like Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe… and will look into bringing new brands into the market in 2018,” she adds.
Having two hotels under Carlson Rezidor in Kigali, Simone finds Rwanda as a hub in East Africa for hospitality, saying “Every time I come here, I am amazed at the passion of the Rwandan business community. There is an opportunity to come together and grow the businesses here.”
Simone was literally born into the hotel industry as her father served as the General Manager for Sun International Hotels & Casinos under Sol Kerzner for many years. Her career in the industry started in 2000 after being enrolled in an in-house training programme at the Savoy Hotel in London and later held management positions within hotel operations in South Africa and the United Kingdom within Relais & Châteaux and Starwood.
In May 2011, Simone joined Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group which currently features a portfolio of 480 hotels with over 106,000 rooms in operation or under development in over 80 countries.
This launch is part of Tigo Yanjye, a campaign that aims to celebrate the individuality of each Tigo Rwanda customer.
The Imirongo Yose packs, which will range from Rwf100 per day to Rwf500 per week, will allow customers to call all mobile networks for up to 35 minutes per week. In addition, Imirongo Yose customers with be able to send 35 SMS’s a week respectively while also enjoying 35 MBs of data a week.
“The launch of the Imirongo Yose packs is a response to our customers’ need for a communications product that offers great value and a simple way to stay in touch with friends and family here in Rwanda. In addition, with Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority’s (RURA) reduction of the Interconnect rate from Rwf20.7 per minute in August to Rwf15 a minute in September, we believed that our customers deserved to enjoy a tariff reduction that was in line with RURA’S directive to all mobile network providers,” said Tigo Chief Executive Officer, Philip Amoateng during the launch of the pack
To enjoy Imirongo Yose packs, dial *255# select “Imirongo Yose” and choose your preferred pack.
People may exercise for a variety of purposes such as toning or losing weight. But whatever the reason, one can usually see results within three months if one exercises regularly and follows nutritional instructions.
The Huffington Post reports that it only takes consistent exercise at a high intensity to see significant results in a short period of time.
However, regular exercise means more than just visiting the gym; it requires combining different types of workouts in order to break routine and avoid plateauing, according to Elina Bamulanje, an experienced spa services professional and Recreation Supervisor at Kigali Marriott Hotel.
Bamulanje says the Kigali Marriott explored the need for improving workout sessions and introduced fitness classes so that those striving for fitness can have a range of options beyond gym machines.
“Some people can get discouraged and bored if they don’t change up their workouts. To combat this, we designed these classes to help our customers break their routines and shake up their fitness regimen. Classes give guests the chance to experience new, fun ways to get in shape,” she says.
She adds that exercise can not only be fun, but also provides a number of health benefits including increased strength, greater flexibility, a re-energised body and more.
From Tuesday to Friday, there are three different classes: Outdoor Fitness, Aqua Aerobics and Vigor. Guests can pick their favourite class and participate in instructed sessions from 6:30pm to 7:30pm.
While guests can join classes on an ad hoc basis, Bamulanje encourages fitness lovers to enrol in a Saray Spa gym membership which features access to all fitness classes as well as deep discounts on other hotel services. Discounts include 20% off food and beverage, 10% off spa services, and 10% off guest rooms.
Diane Rwigara submitted her candidacy to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in August election, but she did not make it to the final list over lack of some documents.
Among reasons that NEC turned down her candidacy are submitting 34 signatures for PS Imberakuri supporters.
Commenting on the case, Mukabunani said that the register was stolen and no individual on the list was contacted.
Speaking to IGIHE, Mukabunani said that they are yet to open a lawsuit on that case as they are still gathering evidence.
Mukabunani said that the general assembly of the party will decide on whether they will take Diane to court.
“We are still gathering evidence, but we plan to have a general meeting where we shall decide on it. Taking her to court will depend on meeting resolutions after collected evidence,” she said.
