“Effective from 08.08.2022, the booster dose will be administered at all vaccination sites focusing on members of the elderly aged above 60 and others with low body immunity,” reads a statement released by the Ministry of Health.
Figures from the ministry show that a total of 8,870,113 people (97.9%) have so far received two doses of COVID-19 while 5,269,254 (58.1%) received the first booster dose.
Among others, the country has registered 1466 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic emerged in March 2020.
The types of vaccines used to administer booster doses include Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna among others.
The supposedly leaked report of UN Group of Experts indicates that it has “solid evidence” that Rwandan troops have been fighting alongside the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and providing it with weapons, ammunitions and uniforms among other support.
The Government of Rwanda released a statement announcing that it cannot comment on an unpublished and unvalidated report.
Reuters has published a story featuring findings of the supposedly leaked report that Rwandan troops and the M23 jointly attacked the Congolese army camp in Rumangabo in May.
“When the M23 took control of the strategic border town of Bunagana in June, Rwandan soldiers were either present or had provided equipment to the rebels,” reads part of the report’s findings published by Reuters.
The report reads that the target of the M23 and Rwandan operations in Congo has been the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a terrorist group which Rwanda accuses Congo of using as a proxy.
It also indicates that some members of Congo’s army have supported and fought alongside a coalition of armed groups including the FDLR.
These allegations were not part of a recent experts’ report submitted to UN Security Council in June 2022.
On the other hand, it is said that the mid-term report will be released in December where the Government of Rwanda considers the allegations as a tactic to distract people from the real issues.
“Until the problem of FDLR, which operates in close collaboration with the DRC army, is taken seriously and addressed, security in the Great Lakes region cannot be achieved. This is happening in full view of MONUSCO, which has been present in DRC for more than twenty years, but with no solution in sight,” reads part of a statement released by Rwanda.
Meanwhile, Rwanda reported different incidents where rockets shelled on its territory from DRC injured civilians and destroyed houses.
It is said that investigations were made and were part of UN Group of Experts’ report in June.
“Rwanda has a legitimate and sovereign right to defend our territory and citizens, and not just wait for disaster to unfold,” adds the statement.
It also indicates that the presence of M23 and its origins are well-known as a problem of the DRC, which they seek to make a burden of other countries yet Rwanda hosts tens of thousands of Congolese refugees, some of whom stayed there for more than 25 years.
“As regional frameworks are trying to manage the situation in Eastern DRC, Rwanda has consistently raised the alarm with the United Nations and other international actors about this infringement of the security of our country. Rwanda is working for peace and stability, from which Rwanda and all our neighbours can benefit,” reads the statement.
Among others, the beverage’s revenue increased by 28.2% to Rwf72.9 billion in the first half year of 2022 from Rwf 56.8 billion of 2021. The revenue growth was driven by the increase in volume and pricing to mitigate rising input costs.
Bralirwa’s operating result also increased to Rwf20 billion from Rwf12.6 billion of the same period last year resulting from good topline performance and strict cost management.
In the second half of this year, Bralirwa expects continued increase in volume and revenue in line with the trend of the first half of 2022 even though further impact of input cost increase is expected.
Commenting on the performance, the Vice Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of Bralirwa, Etienne Saada said: “Bralirwa Plc has been able to perform well in the first half of 2022. Both volume and revenue increased driven by the relaxation of COVID-19 related restrictions on trade, events and gatherings and continued execution of Bralirwa’s commercial strategy. This promising first half top line performance, translated to a favorable operating result further improved by a continued focus on cost management.”
{{About Bralirwa}}
Bralirwa Plc is a Rwandan company producing and selling beers and soft drinks.
The Company’s beer brand portfolio includes Heineken, Primus, Mützig, Legend, Amstel and Turbo King produced in the Gisenyi Brewery. Primus, the Company’s largest selling beer brand has been available to consumers since 1959.
Since 1974, the Company has been producing and selling soft drink brands under a licensing agreement with The Coca-Cola Company. These include Coca Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Krest, Tonic, Stoney, Pineapple and the Company’s own brands Vital’O and Cheetah – energy drink.
The Company was founded in 1957 with the construction of a brewery located in Gisenyi. Since 1971, Bralirwa is a subsidiary of Heineken N.V., which holds 75% of the shares of Bralirwa with the remaining 25% listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange. As a socially responsible company, Bralirwa supports a variety of projects from Health to Environment.
Blinken is awaited in Kigali next week for the first visit of US top official since the incumbent President Joe Biden took office.
MINAFETT has through statement disclosed that Rwanda looks forward to further strengthening the relationship with the United States and discuss partnership in the areas including peacekeeping, global health, global food and energy security, trade and investment, counterterrorism and climate action.
Discussions with Blinken are also expected to address security challenges in the Great Lakes Region where Rwanda remains committed to various regional mechanisms in place to find durable solutions.
“Rwanda looks forward to a robust exchange of views on governance and human rights, as has always been the case in the Rwanda-U.S. relationship,” reads the statement in part.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee recently told the media that Blinken will meet with President Paul Kagame on his visit to Rwanda where the arrest of Rusesabagina will be part of topics of discussions.
She said that the State Secretary has been expressing concerns that Rusesabagina was illegally arrested.
Rwanda and US enjoy cordial relations but some of its officials have been exerting pressure on Rwanda over the arrest of Paul Rusesabagina, the former President of MRCD-FLN terrorist group who was handed 25-year jail term.
Some US lawmakers proposed sanctions against Rwanda accusing the country of having kidnapped Paul Rusesabagina.
As the statement released by MINAFFET reads, Rwanda will make clear that the arrest of Rusesabagina was lawful.
“On the case of Rwandan citizen Paul Rusesabagina, on which we had engaged with the United States for more than a decade, Rwanda welcomes the opportunity to once again make clear that his arrest and conviction for serious crimes against Rwandan citizens [alongside 20 other accomplices in the same trial], while residing in the United States, were lawful under both Rwandan and international law,” adds the statement.
The transport company has confirmed the development to IGIHE following concerns raised by passengers over long queues at bus stops.
The company has already placed an order for 20 large buses expected to have arrived in Rwanda by the end of December this year.
Jali Transport is among transport companies operating in Kigali City since 2013.
At the time, the company which was operating as RFTC was given five-year license to carry passengers to different destinations which have been increased to 30.
The license was recently renewed and extended for three more years. As of today, the company has 202 buses including 59 with the capacity of 70 passengers and more 143 that can carry up to 30 passengers.
The management of Jali Transport has disclosed that the company is under process to solve transport problems.
The Managing Director of Jali Transport, Innocent Twahirwa has said that the 20 buses to be imported is part of a broad plan to improve services.
“We plan to import 20 large buses expected to arrive in the country in December this year,” he noted.
According to Twahirwa, the number of buses with the capacity of 40 seated and 30 standing passengers will be increased gradually.
As construction of the bridge began in April this year, passengers and traders with businesses in the surroundings welcomed the infrastructure that was expected to contain floods and accidents occasioned by Mpazi drainage channel overflow.
The bridge was expected to be operational by June this year but has not yet been inaugurated.
Kigali City Engineer, Emmanuel Asaba Katabarwa has said that the duration of construction activities was extended due to different considerations including the great relevance attached to the project and the extent at which it would affected by floods.
“It is a project that requires due diligence to be executed smoothly. The duration was extended but we are glad that fruits of our efforts are coming out. Recently, it rained heavily but the structures were not affected,” he noted.
Katabarwa said that the bridge has been completed pending road maintenance and other minor works to be finished in the near future.
He made the disclosure on Monday 1st August 2022 as he presented achievements in the education sector under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) to both chambers of parliament.
Hiked water and electricity tariffs particularly for schools are among issues raised by residents during a recent visit by parliamentarians held between 12th to 30th March 2022 to all districts.
“The water and electricity tariffs in schools are higher compared to their means where catering for this cost becomes a huge blow,” said Parliamentarian Veneranda Uwamariya.
Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) last announced revised power tariffs in 2020. The prices increased depending on consumers.
At the time, RURA maintained lifeline tariffs for residential customers who consume below 15 kilowatts (kWh) per month at Rwf89 per kWh while those consuming between 15 and 50 kilowatts saw the price increasing by 15% from Rwf182 to Rwf212.
Residential customers who consume beyond 50 kilowatts per month are charged Rwf249 per KWh from the previous Rwf210.
For non-residential customers with monthly consumption of 100 kilowatts, the price increased to Rwf227 per kWh from Rwf204, while the tariff for customers consuming more than 100 kilowatts went up to Rwf255 per kWh from Rwf222.
The price for small, medium and large industries also increased from Rwf110 to Rwf134; Rwf87 to Rwf103 and Rwf80 to Rwf94 respectively.
Tariffs for water treatment plants and water pumping stations were also maintained at Rwf126 kWh.
Commenting on the issue, Premier Ngirente said that it will be solved soon.
“Only schools in the city can be affected by water tariffs because they use water from WASAC. However, we recommend the same low price charged to residents for schools in rural areas,” he said.
“We are aware of the issue of electricity where some health posts claim that the tariff is high. To this end, we are currently revising all electricity tariffs in Rwanda,” added Premier Ngirente.
He assured that new tariffs are set to be announced in the near future following citizens’ concerns on electricity.
“We will announce new prices not lather than two months. This does not only concern schools but also health facilities will be given special attention lest the budget allocated to feed children or buy pharmaceuticals is spent on electricity,” said Dr. Ngirente.
According to a statement from RDF, the Islamic State in Mozambique (IS-MOZ) terrorist groups were forced to flee to Nkoe and Nguida localities of the same district as they are still being tracked down by the joint forces.
Abdulahim Abrugo, a 59-year-old man who was held by the terrorists for a year in Catupa forest, thanked the joint forces who rescued him and applauded the courage of Rwandan Security Forces who assured him to bring back his daughter who was left in hands of terrorists.
Rwanda started the deployment of 1000 troops of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and the Rwanda National Police (RNP) to Mozambique on 9th July 2021, to fight terrorist groups, honoring the request of Mozambique. The troops had increased to nearly 2000 by the end of the year 2021.
The situation in the country had worsened since October 2017 when armed extremists launched an insurgency in the Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique.
Mozambique Defence Armed Forces battled the extremists but many civilians were killed and displaced by the fighting.
Before Rwandan troop’s intervention, terrorists had killed 3000 civilians while more than 800,000 were displaced. The insecurity had also put to halt all development projects in the area controlled by insurgents.
The joint operations between Rwandan and Mozambican troops yielded big where different regions were seized from rebels.
The company has continued its journey of accelerated progress shown over the last three years. This is despite global and local inflationary pressures, resulting from the Ukraine-Russia war, which has placed strain on supply chains globally and resulted in an increase in commodity and fuel prices.
In the first half of 2022 (H1), total company revenue increased by 20.4% compared to the same period last year. H1 saw MTN Rwanda increase its customer base by 1.7% year-on-year (YoY) to 6.6 million, growing its leadership in customer market share by 2.7 percentage points (pp) to 65.6%. Active data and mobile money subscribers also grew by 23.9% and 9.1% respectively.
Commenting on this business growth; the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Rwanda, Mitwa Ng’ambi, said: “We are pleased to present our half year results to our shareholders. We have continued diligent execution of our Ambition 2025 strategy which has yielded these positive results. Leading in connectivity, has been of great focus for us in the first half of the year, where we invested Rwf28.8 billion in technology, including the roll out of 57 new sites across the country.
Transformation of our distribution footprint and product offerings has also contributed greatly to the commercial momentum that the business has experienced. Voice, data and mobile money have performed particularly well and our engagement in various Environmental, Social and Governance initiatives has further cemented our commitment to the communities we serve.”
MTN Rwanda’s key revenue streams, voice, data and fintech increased by 7.1%, 14.6% and 52.4% YoY respectively. The voice and data results are mainly attributed to a rise in strategic customer value management campaigns, increased active data subscribers and usage.
The company’s financial report is a consolidation of both MTN Rwanda and its subsidiary company, Mobile Money Rwanda Ltd (MMRL). In driving the company’s platform strategy, MMRL made encouraging strides in H1, growing the volume of transactions by 38.3% YoY and the value of transaction by 22.8%, while volume of merchant transactions also grew by 36.4% YoY. MMRL continues to drive growth in the mobile financial services sector with a focus on advanced services in line with the Ambition 2025 strategy.
According to MTN Rwanda Chief Finance Officer, Mark Nkurunziza, a sustainable approach to business growth has been the focus.
“MTN Rwanda’s dual focus on top line revenue growth as well as cost efficiencies resulted in our Earnings Before interest tax and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) growing by 17.8%. While our contribution to the Community Health insurance scheme increased from 2.5% to 3.0% of turnover in 2022, and an increase in 4G uptake resulted in a higher data cost of sales, we are pleased to have closed the period with an EBITDA margin of 49.3%. This margin has grown by 8 percentage points over the last 3 years, and we’re encouraged by the strides we have made thus far,” he said.
As part of its Environmental and Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, MTN Rwanda saw to the implementation of several initiatives in the first half of the year. The most notable being the introduction of solar power in the main data centre, further advocacy for the adoption of green energy solutions by donating solar panels to 700 families through the Cana Challenge and with the annual staff community service initiative, 21 days of Yello Care, conducted digital skills training for students at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village.
In the remainder of the year, the focus remains primarily on the expansion of connectivity for full population coverage in the near term and diversification of Mobile Money products to unlock new opportunities with a focus on advanced services. It also remains the company’s focus to drive for cost efficiencies to sustain healthy margins and continue to invest in capacity to meet its commitments to customers and stakeholders alike.
As this was the last time that Mitwa Ng’ambi would present results to the shareholder community following her appointment as CEO of MTN Cameroon, effective 1 September 2022, she concluded by saying: “It has been a great pleasure serving the people of Rwanda as CEO of MTN. I am immensely grateful to have worked with such an amazing team and also to have received great support from the Government of Rwanda.
I would also like to thank the Board of Directors and various stakeholders who have had a hand in our success over the years. I wish my successor, Ms Bodibe and the entire MTN Rwanda team nothing but the best, as they continue to lead digital solutions for Rwanda’s progress”.
{{About MTN Rwandacell Plc}}
MTN Rwandacell Plc (MTN Rwanda) is the market leader in mobile telecommunications in Rwanda. Since 1998, it has continuously invested in expanding and modernising its network and leading digital solutions for Rwanda’s progress.
The telecom offers various services to subscribers, including innovative propositions such as personalised voice and data offers for individuals and corporates with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold, new digital world to customers.
Rwanda’s Presidency has revealed that Kagame met with the CEOs on Wednesday 3rd August 2022.
In 2016, Kagame received another delegation of 17 CEOs from the organization who spent days in Rwanda engaging in discussions with investors and representatives from public institutions to explore areas of investment.
At the time, the then CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Francis Gatare said that some of the young leaders invested in different projects in the areas of solar energy, technology and value addition for agricultural produce among others.
YPO is the largest global network of business leaders which comprises 30,000 members from 130 countries committed to improve lives and businesses.
In 2003, YPO bestowed the Global Leadership Award on President Kagame for his role in Rwanda’s transition to democracy and peace.
