Upon arrival at Nouakchott Oumtounsy Airport on Wednesday 23rd February 2022, Kagame was received by his counterpart of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.
The two Heads of State will hold a tête-à-tête followed by a bilateral meeting alongside their respective delegations.
Following the bilateral talks, representatives from both delegations will sign a General Cooperation Agreement, strengthening opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in various fields. Possible areas of cooperation include defence and security, ICT and digitalisation, mining, agriculture, investment promotion and more.
The Head of State was in Mauritania for the 31st African Union Summit.
In September 2019, both Heads of State met as they attended the United Nations General Assembly.
. Muri Gicurasi 2021, bongeye guhurira i Paris mu musangiro wari wateguwe na Perezida Emmanuel Macron.
In May 2021, they also met in Paris, France during a State Luncheon hosted by President Emmanuel Macron.
The majority of these artistes are from French speaking countries.
Rwanda’s Presidency has revealed that Kagame met with these artistes on Wednesday 23rd February 2022, one day after inauguration of the stadium but did not disclose topics of discussions.
In a picture posted by Village Urugwiro, Kagame is seen in a group picture along with his counterpart of Senegal, Macky Sall and different legendary African artistes.
These include Seydou Koné known for his stage name as Alpha Blondy; Youssou Ndour considered the King of Mbalax music, Salif Traoré renowned as A’Salfo in Magic System crew and Congolese Fally Ipupa, popular for Rumba music among others.
Both Senegal and Rwanda seek to become sports hubs.
The stadium inaugurated in Senegal has the capacity to accommodate 50,000 people.It will bear the name of former President Abdoulaye Wade who accepted the decision taken by President Macky Sall.
The incident happened in the morning of Wednesday 23rd February 2022 as the rain poured down.
A teacher at the school has told IGIHE that lightning struck four classrooms, administration block and destroyed electrical installation.
“The ambulance rushed to take the 30 students for medical attention. Other affected students who stayed at school are attended to by colleagues, educators and the school’s management,” he said.
Four students were receiving medical attention at Rulindo District Hospital in Rutongo by press time.
It is said that one student is critically ill while three others including one from primary and two from secondary school are recovering.
Groupe Scolaire Gihinga has a kindergarten, primary and secondary sections.
As the race was flagged off at 9:00 a.m in Kimironko, cyclists rode through Kigali Special Economic Zone in Masoro, Kagugu, Gitikinyoni and Base before crossing the finishing line in Gicumbi.
Main Kent was the first to cross the finish clocking 3 hours 17 minutes and 40 seconds and maintained 2 seconds ahead of Anatoli Budiak riding for Terengganu Polygony Cycling while the next rivals including Alan Boileau of B&B Hotels, Eyob Metkel and Muhoza Eric arrived three seconds later.
Axel Laurence of B&B Hotels has taken the yellow jersey after clocking 10 hours, 45 minutes and 7 seconds during the four stages.
He maintained a difference of ten seconds between the next rivals on the general classification. These include Madrazo Angel Ruiz riding for Burgos and Natnael Tesfazion of Drone Hopper.
The top performing Rwanda is Muhoza Eric who took the 13th position.
The tournament will continue on Thursday 24th February 2022 with the fifth stage where riders will set off from Muhanga to cross the finishing line in Musanze after covering 124,7 kilometers.
The bodies have been found in the morning of Wednesday 23rd February 2022 floating nearby Lake Ruhondo shores on the side of Gashaki sector in Musanze district.
The executive secretary of Gashaki sector, Munyetwali Jean Damascene has said that the two bodies are to be taken for post mortem.
“We have found the bodies of women that had drowned in Lake Ruhondo. We are working with Rwanda Investigation Bureau to take them to a health facility for postmortem,” he said.
“Finding their bodies might have been delayed because the lake is more than 40-meter deep and contains mud,” Munyentwali added.
The bodies are found five days after the incident happened.
The two women drowned as they went to Gahunga market coming from Kinoni sector in Burera district.
Arriving at the harbour, the usual engine powered boat was not operating that the women were facilitated to cross with a pirogue conducted by a 11-year old child. The canoe was blown by wind and capsized shortly before reaching the destination.
Three people onboard and the sailor survived while the two women drowned immediately.
The incident took place on Tuesday 22nd February 2022. One of residents whose house caught fire is Evariste Ndizeye residing in Irebero village, Nyagatovu cell of Mukarange sector. All items inside were burnt to ashes.
The executive secretary of Mukarange sector, Longin Gatanazi has told IGIHE that no one died during the incident except properties and Rwf574,000 loan that the man’s wife had received from a saving group.
“The incident resulted from poor electrical installation as per information provided by the house’s owner. All items inside the house including mattresses and beds among others destroyed. However, no one lost life,” he said.
Gatanazi revealed that Rwanda National Police Fire and Rescue Brigade rushed to contain the fire before spreading out to neighboring houses.
Neighbors provided emergency assistance and temporary shelter as the family awaits construction of a new house.
Another house that caught fire belongs to Joseph Bizimana residing in Rurambi cell in Nyamirama sector. The trader selling motorbike spare parts lost items worth Rwf4 million.
Local leaders have confirmed that investigation is underway to establish cause of these incidents.
“My deepest condolences to the family and friends of Joe Ritchie. Joe was a friend, who played a big part in the economic transformation of our nation. His fighting spirit and straightforwardness will be greatly missed,” he tweeted.
Joseph (Joe) Ritchie, co-chaired the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) and served as the founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rwanda Development Board (RDB)
His death follows the loss of another friend of Rwanda, Dr. Paul Farmer who died on Monday 21st February 2022.
In 2017, Joe Ritchie was among nine individuals decorated with the Igihango National Order of Outstanding Friendship medals in recognition of their exemplary service to the nation in various capacities.
The two friends of Rwanda whose death was announced in 24 hours were decorated with the medals on the same day.
Joe Ritchie was born in the United States of America in 1947. He is survived by her wife, Sharon Ritchie and 10 children.
The meeting held at the RNP General Headquarters in Kacyiru, was co-chaired by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Administration and Personnel, Jeanne Chantal Ujeneza and his visiting counterpart of Malawi, DIGP Merlyne Yoramu.
The Malawian delegation arrived in Rwanda on Monday for a five-day visit with focus on administrative matters, counterterrorism, and canine management.
While speaking during the bilateral meeting, DIGP Ujeneza reiterated the productive engagements between the two police institutions.
“Rwanda National Police and Malawi Police Service have been enjoying cordial relationships for some time and continue to share experiences and expertise in ensuring the safety and security of our people. Together, we have so far achieved various tangible marks,” DIGP Ujeneza said.
Rwanda National Police and Malawi Police Service formalized their cooperation through a pact signed in March 2019 to partner in various disciplines of policing including training, joint operations, tracking and exchange of criminals, combating terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crimes, and information sharing on security related matters, among others.
Since 2016, seven Police officers from Malawi have attended the Police Senior and Junior Command and Staff courses as well as Police Tactical and Command course at the National Police College (NPC) in Musanze District.
Equally, four RNP senior officers are currently attending the Command and Leadership course in Malawi while the two institutions have also exchanged expertise in canine breeding and capabilities.
DIGP Ujeneza pledged RNP’s commitment to strengthening the cooperation further and open to sharing experiences and expertise in the field of general police administration counterterrorism, dog management, which are top on the agenda of the visit.
“RNP has a department of counter-terrorism… and a Canine Brigade Unit which supports some operations including counter-terror and anti-drug operations,” she said.
On her part, DIGP Yoramu said that Rwanda and Malawi Police have a long standing and successful relations.
“Our two national Police organizations have shared innovations in different departments of policing and learning from you on counterterrorism matters is another important step for us to further build a strong department as terrorism today is a global concern. Our officer in charge of Canine section will share our experience with his counterpart,” DIGP Yoramu said.
The stadium was built by a Turkish company dubbed Summa. The latter also extecuted other mega projects including the construction of Kigali Arena, Dakar Arena among other handball courts.
Kagame is among dignitaries invited to attend the inauguration of Senegal Stadium, a 50,000 seater multipurpose Olympic complex.
The stadium will bear the name of former President Abdoulaye Wade who accepted the decision taken by President Macky Sall.
Other Heads of State who attended the ceremony include Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Erdogan’s visit reinforces his country’s willingness to expand investment in Africa.
Erdogan went to Senegal after visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo. The next destination on his itinerary is Guinea-Bissau.
George Weah, the President of Liberia, Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea Bissau and Adama Barrow of Gambia , FIFA President Gianni Infantino and CAF President Patrice Motsepe were also present.
In 2019, The International Growth Center (IGC) conducted a study on the housing needs of Kigali alone, and it was estimated that there is a need for more than 310,000 new houses by 2032 with majority of those houses being in the affordable housing category.
To fill the current housing gap, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) initiated the Rwanda Housing Finance Project to allow Rwandans to access affordable mortgages for a long tenor.
The World Bank has funded this project to the tune of US$150 million through BRD to support Rwanda’s affordable housing agenda and provide affordable mortgage loans.
The prospective beneficiaries of this project are divided into two categories.
The first includes first time homeowners who earn less than Rwf1,200,000 per month and are looking to purchase a home with a value not exceeding Rwf40,000,000. This category will benefit from a mortgage loan at an interest rate not exceeding 11%.
The second includes first time homeowners who earn between Rwf1,200,000-1,500,000 per month and are looking to purchase a home with a value ranging from Rwf40,000,000 to 60,000,000. This category will benefit from a mortgage loan at an interest rate not exceeding 13%.
The project fund is accessible to borrowers through participating financial institution (PFIs). As of today, six financial institutions namely: Bank of Kigali (BK), ZIGAMA CSS, Bank of Africa (BoA), KCB Rwanda, NCBA Bank and BPR have access to the funds. However, BRD is actively pursuing partnerships with other banks to ensure that the facility is convenient for all.
The RHFP has a digital platform (iwanjye.brd.rw) that will link applicants, financial institutions, and affordable housing developers. Once an application is submitted, the system will verify the conformity of the applicant against eligibility criteria set by the Government of Rwanda to benefit from an affordable housing scheme.
Thereafter, eligible applicants will be notified to proceed and choose their future home in any location of their choice but compliant with the location master plan and consequent mortgage loan processing.
BRD has called upon potential beneficiaries wishing to benefit from the affordable housing scheme to register at iwanjye.brd.rw/
Individuals or real estate developers intending to build or sell affordable housing units can contact BRD at rhfp@brd.rw for further information and collaboration.
