The students were holding the party in Kivumu Village, Nyanza Cell, Busasamana Sector, where they were found dancing and drinking during curfew hours.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Theobald Kanamugire, the Southern region Police spokesperson, said the group was found in the party at about 7pm.
“Residents reported to the Police about noise pollution in the neighbourhood, where a group of young people had gathered for the party. The dispatched Police officers found nine students of ILPD holding a birthday party for their colleague, drinking and dancing with even all other health guidelines like face masks and social distancing disregarded,” SP Kanamugire said.
The violators, he added, were reminded on the Cabinet measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, including prohibited gatherings.
They were also tested for Covid-19 at their own cost and handed administrative fines, accordingly.
Kagame made the call on Wednesday 28th July 2021 at the US-Africa Business Summit – The Corporate Council on Africa.
Like this year, the previous summit also took place virtually in June 2020 due to COVID-19. The council has been considered the voice for private sector engagement between USA and Africa for a quarter century.
As he addressed participants, Kagame reflected on how COVID-19 has brought unprecedented effects and stressed the need to strengthen partnership further.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to adjust and adapt. We don’t know how much longer it will be with us. That is why we need even stronger partnership between Africa and the United States,” he said.
USA has committed to provide millions of COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX facility where the first deliveries have already begun to arrive in Africa.
Kagame stated that the donations are not a long-term solution to ‘a global health challenge of such a magnitude, nor do they address the issue of equity’.
“It is therefore a good sign that the United States is preparing to join with partners in Africa through the US Development Finance Corporation and other agencies, to support local manufacturing of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals,” he noted.
Kagame highlighted that Africa is doing its part with imminent entry into force of the Africa Medicines Agency treaty, which will create continental regulatory body to reinforce national regulators.
“This presents tremendous opportunity for companies on both sides of the Atlantic. We have already seen examples of how this kind of collaboration can produce innovations that impact the entire world,” he said.
“A few years ago, a small start-up from California called Zipline approached Rwanda about piloting a futuristic technology to deliver blood supplies to remote hospitals using drones,” he added.
Zipline started operating in Rwanda since 2016 with headquarters in Kayinza and Muhanga districts and makes deliveries to 260 health centers.
After proving concept in Rwanda, Kagame said, Zipline expanded not only elsewhere in Africa but also to Japan and the United States itself, where engineers and technicians from Rwanda reinforce the company’s global operations.
“The company is now valued in the billions of dollars. Let us use the urgency of this moment to identify similar opportunities for partnership between Africa and the Unites States, focusing especially on the young men and women on both our continents who see solutions, where others only see problems,” enthused Kagame.
The summit held for the 13th time brought together over 1000 leading US and African private sector executives, senior government officials and heads of state among others.
The theme of this year’s summit is “New Pathways to a Stronger US-Africa Economic Partnership” and will focus on the unique opportunity for the new US Administration and its African partners to reset and redefine their relationship, working together to shape the path for economic recovery needed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One day after the publication, Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) which funded the project has refuted allegations related to mismanagement of funds allocated to the project.
The story reads that Rwanda Development Board (RDB) set up a joint committee in January 2018 to manage the funds and oversee the execution of the project.
It is said that ‘the team would expropriate the then 9-hole Kigali Golf Course and secure funds to hire an international contractor to construct a world-class golf course and a clubhouse with international standards’.
As the story goes; a French firm, Gregori International & Gary Player was awarded a US$4 million contract to design and construct new 9-holes and repair the existing 9-holes.
Later on, RDB handed over the project to RSSB as the beneficiary of the expected magnificent golf course that would add value to Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
It is said that RSSB sought go ahead from the Minister of Finance to invest into the facility where it was authorized to register a private company with RDB that would run the project.
The company dubbed Rwanda Ultimate Golf Course LTD (RUGC) was created on August 9, 2019, three days after the RSSB Board Resolution authorizing its creation with a share capital of Rwf19.6 billion.
Alain Ngirinshuti was appointed the Board Chairman of RUGC while Josue Dushimimana was named the Managing Director.
Other members of the management committee include Ntwali Kevin Habineza, Brian Kirungi and Patrick Gihana Mulenga appointed board members. The committee was supposed to report to RSSB.
Taarifa reported that the committee was dogged by funds misuse, issuing tenders without competitive bidding and releasing payments without documents to back up invoices submitted by suppliers among others.
Towards the end of August 2019, RSSB increased the budget for the project from US$4 million to US$16 million but the course had not yet been completed by June 2020 when the CHOGM was initially scheduled in Kigali.
{{RSSB stand }}
Following publication of this story, RSSB has released a two-page statement providing details about the case.
The statement reads that the project aligns with Rwanda’s vision 2050 to become a tourism destination where ‘Rwandan authorities identified the existing Kigali Golf Course as an opportunity to create an iconic high-end facility which would meet the highest international standards, and which could eventually lead to a significant increase of domestic and international tourism’.
RSSB explained that RUGC was created to manage the project but denied allegations that tenders were offered illegally.
“All tenders were executed in accordance with best practices and value for money,” reads part of the statement explaining that RUGC is a private company that does not need to follow public institutions’ process.
RSSB further stated that key decisions such as hiring the main contractor Gregory International, were overseen by a joint development committee appointed by RDB; composed by RSSB, RDB, Rwanda housing Authority (RHA), Kigali City and Kigali Golf Club (KGC).
“ As the initial budgeting of the project of US$4 million was not sufficient to build a PGA standard course, the scope and the budget were revised to US$11 million and the scope of the initial tender was extended by the technical Committee and the Steering Committee composed by RSSB, RDB, RHA, Kigali City and KGC,” adds the statement.
RSSB has stated that the incredible coordination and collaboration of Rwanda public authorities saw the Golf Course construction completed in December 2020, as confirmed by the Course Architect, the project Supervisor and the Technical Committee.
Construction activities took one year and half, according to RSSB which revealed that the construction of a PGA standard golf course can take more than two years depending on the weather and soil type among other factors.
RSSB says that RUGC has been working on small upgrades and maintenance of the Golf Course as well as further developments around it since December.
It is said that the maintenance contract will be executed in the first years after delivery by Gregory International as the Golf Course construction company.
{{Chemicals destroyed the Golf Course}}
Early June this year, Taarifa published a story that some of RUGC employees negligently sprayed the Golf Course with harmful chemicals which destroyed grasses.
RSSB has revealed that the contractor is liable for damages caused.
“The golf course was scheduled to open at the end of June 2021, but due to an incident by selective herbicide that damaged part of the course, RUGC only opened the practice range end of June 2021, for golfers who provided positive feedback on the work carried out by RUGC and its partners. The contractor is contractually fully liable for all damages caused by that incident,” RSSB explained in the statement.
“After observing significant recovery of the course, RUGC was planning to open the entire Golf Course at the end of July 2021, but it has been postponed following new measures against COVID-19. RUGC will communicate on the official new opening date after the end of the lockdown.”
The current golf course sits on 65 from the initial 17 hectares before expansion.
His new appointment was announced by The White House yesterday where he appeared on the list of nine individuals given new duties.
Peter Hendrick Vrooman presented credentials to President Paul Kagame on 6th April 2018 replacing Erica Barks-Ruggles who had held the position since 2014.
During his tour of duty, Vrooman was particularly admired for friendly interactions with Rwandans and efforts to learn Kinyarwanda where he was heard at different times holding speeches in the language.
Ambassador Vrooman recently served as the Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Prior to that he served as the spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi; Director for Iraq on the staff of the National Security Council in Washington, D.C.; and Deputy Political Counselor in Tel Aviv and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
He also worked at the U.S. embassies in Baghdad, Beirut, and Djibouti, as well as the U.S. Liaison Office in Mogadishu, Somalia.
In Washington, he was a Watch Officer in the Department of State’s Operations Center and the Desk Officer for Algeria in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
A native of New York, Ambassador Vrooman graduated from Harvard College with a B.A. in Social Studies and earned an M.S. in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces, now known as the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy.
Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he worked as the special assistant to the President of the American University in Cairo.
[President Biden Announces Nine Key Nominations->https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/27/president-biden-announces-nine-key-nominations/]
The new CEO of Sanlam appointed by the board committee last month, started her career in Belgium in 2001 as Payroll Consultant. In 2009, Sayinzoga started her career in Rwanda at Banque Populaire du Rwanda, first as an Human Resource (HR) professional and then as the Head of HR, managing more than 1600 staff.
Sayinzoga remained in the HR field for many years as a People and Change Consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and as a Chief HR Officer for Prime Insurance.
She became the CEO of Prime life Insurance in 2015 and moved to Saham in 2017 as CEO of Saham Life Insurance Rwanda. In 2019, Betty spearheaded the integration of Saham with SORAS together with the re-banding of the company into its current brand: Sanlam. Since January 2020, Betty joined the Business Integration Team of Sanlam prior to her new appointment.
“The insurance industry can do much more to increase insurance uptake in Rwanda. We need to improve the reputation of the industry by providing accessible, affordable, transparent and timely solutions to Rwandans,” Sayinzoga said.
As one of largest insurance services provider in Africa, Sanlam eyes into expansion, leveraging technology, bringing innovations and working with other institutions to enhance efficiency in the next three years.
On the second day of his visit, Gen António Egídio and his delegation held bilateral discussions with the RDF Chief of Defence Staff, Gen J Bosco Kazura at RDF Headquarters, Kimihurura. He also paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Defence, Maj General Albert Murasira.
In an interview after his visit, General António Egídio de Sousa Santos said that the purpose of his visit was to strengthen the existing military cooperation between the forces of the two countries in different areas and specialties in operations and training.
“We have the pleasure of being invited by the RDF Chief of Defence Staff and we are going to stay here for some days.”
The Angolan Chief of General Staff paid respect to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi at Kigali Genocide Memorial and visited the Campaign Against Genocide Museum.
He will also visit the RDF Command and Staff College in Musanze and the border post with DRC in Rubavu before his departure on 30th July 2021.
The armed forces launched an offensive on Saturday against positions held by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in Tchabi, in Ituri province, the region’s military governor, Lieutenant-General Johnny Luboya, told AFP.
“We lost seven troops and on the ADF side, 15 rebels were neutralised,” he said.
The operation also led to the release of 150 hostages “who had been used as human shields,” he said, confirming an earlier military report issued on Sunday.
At the end of May, authorities accused the rebels of killing at least 50 civilians in Boga and Tchabi in Irumu territory, where they also attacked a refugee camp.
A historically Ugandan Islamist group, the ADF is the deadliest of scores of armed militias that roam the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The DRC’s Catholic Church says the ADF has killed around 6,000 civilians since 2013, while a respected US-based monitor, the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), blames it for more than 1,200 deaths in the Beni area alone since 2017.
The toll has risen sharply since 2019, when the militia appears to have become more radicalised, carrying out massacres in remote villages and taking survivors hostage.
In March, the United States said the ADF was linked to the Islamic State group and identified its leader as Seka Musa Baluku.
North Kivu and the neighbouring province of Ituri were placed under a so-called state of siege on May 6 in a move aimed at stepping up the fight against armed groups.
President Felix Tshisekedi replaced senior civilian officials there with army and police officers.
The statement released last night shows that 969 people have caught the virus out of 10615 sample tests, 15 recovered while 70 are critically ill.
A total of 432,003 have been vaccinated since Rwanda began countrywide inoculation program on 5th March 2021.
Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.
Rwandans are urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.
The successful operation was conducted by the Revenue Protection Unit (RPU) at about 5am, which also resulted into the arrest of four people in connection with the fraud.
The bales had been sneaked into Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Police said.
The arrested smugglers are identified as Elias Ntamakiriro, 30, Samuel Ndayishimiye, 48, Felicien Ndayizeye, 34, and Aimee Nyirandorwa, 28.
CIP Bonaventure Twizere Karekezi, the Police spokesperson for the Western region, said that the quartet was arrested due to information provided by local residents.
“RPU received prior information that five bales of second-hand clothes had been sneaked into Rwanda through Lake Kivu in Tyazo Sector. Information also indicated that the bales would be loaded on a vehicle and transported to Mugonero market in Gishyita Sector, Karongi District,” said CIP Karekezi.
“Following this information, RPU mounted a check-point along Nyamasheke-Karongi road and the vehicle (omnibus) was intercepted in Gabiro village, the driver Elias Ntamakiriro and his turnboy Samuel Ndayishimiye taken into custody,” he added.
Ntamakiriro and Ndayishimiye disclosed to the Police that they were hired by Aimee Nyirandorwa, who was also located and arrested at Mugonera market alongside his accomplice Ndayizeye.
CIP Karekezi thanked the residents, who shared information leading to the arrest of the suspected smugglers and seizure of the smuggled goods.
He warned against fraud and illegal cross-border, which can also lead to the spread of Covid-19.
The suspects were handed over to RIB at Bwishyura station for further investigation while the bales were taken to Revenue Protection unit (RPU) in Karongi.
In article 199 of the East African Community Management Act, which is also applicable in Rwanda, any automobile used in smuggling and seized smuggled goods are auctioned while the driver is fined US$5, 000.
{{Tax fraud}}
A taxpayer, who commits fraud, is also subject to an administrative fine of one hundred percent (100%) of the evaded tax and a likely imprisonment of between six months and two years.
ENERGICOTEL PLC is a Rwandan based Independent Power Producer (IPP) and an Engineering Consulting Company.
The Issuer sought to raise Rwf3.5 billion in its first tranche, with a 10 – year tenure bond priced at 13.75% per annum.
The first tranche that received approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on 18th June 2021 will enable The Issuer to refinance its existing debt obligations to match its borrowings with long-term energy contracts to optimize its cash flows for further development.
Commenting on the development, ENERGICOTEL PLC Executive Director Ferdy Turasenga said: “Following the approval of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to issue and list our Corporate Bond on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE), it is a great honour for us to have successfully raised the 1st tranche of the investment and we are so excited with the opportunity to bring on board a wider pool of retail and institutional investors, to participate and contribute to the growth of Rwanda’s capital market and to benefit from the reiterated Rwanda’s commitment to providing a conducive business environment.’’
“We hope that the contribution of ENERGICOTEL to the Energy Sector as well as the National Economy will encourage and attract more Energy Private Developers and other companies both locally and internationally to join our market and enjoy the benefits of Investing in Rwanda,” he added.
The Issuer was able to attract a diverse base of local investors, whereby 80% of the funds raised were allocated to Institutional Investors and 20% to retail investors.
The transaction advisors were BK Capital Limited; PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Rwanda Limited as the reporting accountants; Bank of Kigali PLC as the Receiving Bank, Fiscal Agent and Registrar; RR Associates and MMC ASAFO as the legal advisors; Hope Holdings Limited as the media and public relations consultants.
{{About ENERGICOTEL “ECTL” PLC}}
ENERGICOTEL “ECTL” PLC is an Independent Power Producer (IPP) and an Engineering Consulting Company with Power Purchase Agreements and Concessions to upgrade, finance, operate and maintain power plants in Africa. Currently, ECTL operates 3 Hydro Power Plants namely: Keya, Nkora & Cyimbili in the Republic of Rwanda. With a consistent capital outlay, now totaling to over Rwf4 billion, ENERGICOTEL “ECTL” PLC has transformed the Hydro Power Plants (HPPs) to a combined installed capacity of 3.2MW and supplied 17M kWh of electricity to the national grid in 2020.
Given the potential energy resources which are under development in the region, ECTL looks to the future of energy with great hope to exploit the opportunity presented in the region and beyond.
In the pipeline, ENERGICOTEL “ECTL” PLC has various energy power generation projects, all in the Renewable Energy Space, at different stages of the project development cycle of approximately 50MW of Power Generation including the Methane Gas-to-Power Pilot Project in Lake Kivu, a Hydro-power Project in Kenya, DRC, and Solar Power Plant in Zimbabwe and so on in Malawi.
For more information, you can visit ENERGICOTEL website: https://energicotel.com/
