During the ceremony, Ambassador Ernest Rwamucyo conveyed to the Emperor greetings and best wishes from H.E. President Paul Kagame for the Emperor’s good health, happiness and well-being. He also expressed the desire of the Government of Rwanda to further strengthen the already strong relations existing between the two countries.
His Majesty Emperor Naruhito expressed his gratitude to President Paul Kagame for his kind sentiments and requested Ambassador to convey his greetings and best wishes of good health and wellbeing to H.E. President Paul Kagame and Rwandan people for further progress and welfare under His Excellency’s wise leadership. He also wished the Ambassador success in carrying out his duties in a way that contributes to promoting the bilateral relations towards further horizons in diversified areas. The Emperor commended Rwanda for the impressive progress the country has made after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
Ambassador noted that Rwanda overcame post-genocide challenges and is a reconciled, united, peaceful and safe country. He further noted that Rwanda is among the fastest growing economies and added that Japan has been a very supportive and reliable partner in Rwanda’s journey of transformation. He mentioned that Rwanda is also known for mountain gorilla trekking and invited His Majesty to experience this adventure at a time of his convenience.
Ambassador Ernest Rwamucyo conveyed to the Emperor that the people and the Government of Rwanda deeply appreciate Japan’s assistance that has contributes significantly to the socio-economic development of the country.
Also present at the ceremony were the Minister of State for Regional Revitalization, Hon. Seigo Kitamura and Mr. Eric Rubayita, First Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in Japan.
EALA on Tuesday elected 12 commissioners – two from each country – in a technologically advanced election to prevent the Coronavirus pandemic. In the by-elections, four deputies will serve in the Assembly’s remaining tenure after the principal committee’s first two and a half term of office ended on June 19.
Elected candidates include Oda Gasinzigwa and Dr François-Xavier Kalinda from Rwanda and Dr Oburu Oginga and Wanjiku Muhia from Kenya.
Tanzania has nominated new representatives, Dr. Ngwaru Maghembe and Josephine Lemoyaan, Burundi’s Jean Marie Muhirwa, and Mo Mamo Karerwa. It is the same with Uganda and South Sudan that have appointed new commissioners.
EALA’s rules of procedure stipulate that when a country nominates only two people for the post of commissioner in this parliament, it is immediately counted as elected, but when more than two people are nominated, it requires a secret ballot.
Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, and Tanzania have agreed on two candidates for the post of commissioner, but Uganda and South Sudan have given several names, leading to elections.
This commission is an important body as it is responsible for overseeing and organizing the activities and programs of the General Assembly, and appointing members of various commissions related to the work of this Parliament.
The commission also briefed the Cabinet on the need for staff to assist the Assembly in its work. It is chaired by the Speaker of Parliament and monitors the budget of the Parliament.
The EALA is the EAC’s governing body, consisting of 62 people, including 54 MPs elected from member states each giving nine, plus eight others from the EAC Ministers in the Member States, the EAC Secretary-General and their lawyer.
On Tuesday Rwanda’s new State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Prof Nshuti Manasseh, virtually took the oath of allegiance as an ex-officio member of the Assembly.
Gasinzigwa was elected to represent Rwanda at the EALA in May 2017 on behalf of the RPF Inkotanyi, as well as Kalinda François Xavier from the PSD.
President Kagame made the statement, on Tuesday 23 June, while opening the four-day Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) Leaders Forum.
The summit was held under the theme: “Resilient U.S.-Africa business engagement to drive post-Covid-19 recovery”.
The president encouraged American investors to participate in economic opportunities as Africa emerges out of the Covid-19 recovery process for mutual benefit; showing that there are mutually beneficial opportunities emerging as the continent seeks to recover and get past the pandemic.
The African Union launched a medical supply platform pooling the procurement of essential health items implemented, last week, in partnership with the African private sector. The initiative is spearheaded by business magnate Strive Masiyiwa at the AU’s invitation.
Kagame said that there is still space for American private sector participation in the initiative,saying it is ensuring adequate fiscal space for Africa which is essential for a sustainable public health response as well as to preserve jobs and livelihoods.
“The US has been a strong supporter of development through trade such as with AGOA. As these internal trade obstacles continue to fall, we look forward to strong engagement from American companies and investors working together with African firms,” Kagame said.
Highlighting Rwanda’s recovery outlook, the Head of State said that the local economy prior to the pandemic was strong, stable and with growth in the medium and long term assured.
He said that this gives the government confidence in investing in the recovery of the economy.
CCA, which was established in 1993, promotes business and investment between the United States and African countries.
He was sworn in on Tuesday at the EALA General Assembly held online led by Parliament Speaker Martin Ngoga.
“Under the Treaty establishing the East African Community, under article 48 the Minister responsible for EAC Affairs, the Assistant Minister or Deputy Minister or Minister of State responsible for the EAC Affairs from each Partner State is an ex-officio member of the EALA,” a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Under Rule 5 of EALA Rules of Procedure, a member shall not take a sit in the Assembly before taking the oath or affirmation of allegiance to the Treaty.
After the swearing-in, Prof Nshuti was immediately appointed to chair the EAC Council of Ministers.
Seasoned academic and politician Prof. Nshuti Manasseh bounced back in the cabinet on April 30 after over 12 years after he was dropped, replacing Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as State Minister in charge of the East African Community.
Professor Nshuti holds a Master of Business Administration in Accounting, a Ph.D. in Economics [Finance], and a Master of Business Administration in Accounting from Aberdeen University in Scotland. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Makerere University.
Prof. Nshuti has more than 23 years of experience in education and administration of universities and colleges.
Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Sylvestre Twajamahoro, the Police spokesperson for the Southern region, identified the smugglers as Innocent Celestin Bizimana, 32, and Venuste Bagayuwitunze, 64.
He said that the minerals were seized from the duo in two separate operations.
“Bizimana and Bagayuwitunze work together in illegal trade of minerals. Following information that they had brought new mineral consignments, targeted operations were conducted and the 363kgs minerals, combine, were recovered in their respective houses in Nteko Cell, Busanze Sector,” CIP Twajamahoro explained.
It is said that the minerals were sneaked into Rwanda recently from a neighbouring country, through an illegal border point.
CIP Twajamahoro warned people who are involved in illegal mining, smuggling and trade activities.
“These are fraudulent dealings aimed at tax evasion. Minerals are supposed to be tagged before they are transported by licensed dealers or companies,” he said
“The law is clear; for you to deal in mineral trade you have to be licensed or given authorization documents. The vehicle transporting the minerals should also bear supporting documents and minerals must be tagged to trace their originality,” the spokesperson said.
He further observed that such unlawful activities involving “unnecessary movements and illegal cross-border” in this period can be the source COVID-19 infections. Borders are closed as one of the government devised measures to contain the pandemic of COVID-19.
The government also advises against unnecessary movements in this period of the pandemic.
Article 1 of the Ministerial Regulations No 001/Minifom/2011 relating to fighting smuggling in mineral trading stipulates that nobody is allowed to purchase or sell minerals without commercial registration.
Article 3 forbids “importation of minerals into Rwanda without proper documents indicating their origin and the weight at origin, given by the right authorities.”
These minerals have to be with required trade documents, and to be certified and tagged by competent authorities.
Equally, article 4 provides that transportation of minerals outside mining licensed areas—concessions and permits perimeters—is only allowed, when the consignment shows the source mine, its value and when it has the right tag.
Article 54 of the law on mining and quarry operations, states that “any person, who undertakes mineral or quarry exploration, exploitation, processing or trading without a licence commits an offence”
Upon conviction, the offender is liable to imprisonment for a term of between two and six months and a fine of not less than Rwf1 million and not more than Rwf5 million or only one of these penalties.
The court also orders confiscation of any seized minerals or quarry in storage, trading or processing without a licence.
KOTINGOZA was formed in 2007 after bringing together three cooperatives that were growing different crops with the main goal of fighting hunger.
Farmers that were previously using traditional farming methods for the past 13 years were usually hit hard by droughts.
In early 2020, the Rotary Club of Kigali Mont Jali donated three modern irrigation machines to KOTINGOZA.
The Rotary clubs bring together people with a heart to help solve the world’s problems, fight ignorance and poverty, improve access to clean water, resolve conflicts, fight epidemics and eradicate rabies through vaccination, and to help those in need.
Gérard Handika, the president of Rotary Club Kigali Mont Jali told IGIHE that they assisted KOTINGOZA Cooperative through a project to support farmers’ cooperatives known as Africa Development Promise (ADP).
“We chose this cooperative because it has a clear growth purpose. This is part of the Rotary programs among which is included rural development and child and maternal health care, more so in this case since the majority of this cooperative members are women (68%). The method they were using for watering was archaic and difficult. With the machines provided to them, they will be able to increase their productivity with less hardship,” he said
Handika urged them to continue to work together and develop broad and practical projects.
The irrigation machines that were provided by the District 9150 through Rotary Club Kigali Mont Jali to KOTINGOZA, have a value of $ 3,000, equivalent to about Rwf 2.8 million.
Rotary Club Kigali Mont Jali was founded in 1999, with more than 20 members. It is one of the six in Rwanda including Musanze, Kigali Virunga, Kigali Doyen, Gasabo and Butare.
KOTINGOZA’s activities are monitored by the ADP and they are also in charge of training the members on how to use the irrigation machines.
Parfaite Mukeshimana, ADP coordinator said that 15 farmers were initially trained; they will be helping others to use the machine.
“We help farmers by providing them with training and irrigation equipment. Once we get to the field and do needs assessment, we make a report and start looking for people who can help them,’’ she said
ADP started its operations in Rwanda in 2014, working with five women farmers’ cooperatives in Bugesera.
In 2015, the Rukomo Sector Council passed a resolution requiring every household in the sector to pay Rwf5000 for the construction of the new sector office with spacious office room, conference and events facilities. Residents willingly contributed for the cause; financially and in kind with some offering labour. Five years down the road, however, there is nothing to show for the efforts.
Some residents and village leaders who spoke to IGIHE said it was unfortunate that the community came together and did a good job in contributions but have been kept in the dark about the progress, not getting an iota of information as to why there has been a lull in the construction activities.
According to Habanabakize Jean Baptiste, the reason why this issue is unresolved is that this Sector’s leaders are always changed and once a new leader comes in, the issue is restarted.
Rukomo Sector Executive Secretary Karangwa Edouard said they are also disturbed by working in a small office area.
The mayor of Nyagatare District, Mushabe David Claudien, told IGIHE that the construction of the Sector Office began as a community project after the government wanted to help; they conducted a study and they found that the money they had requested for the completion of the building was very little that it had to be reconsidered.
The mayor, however, has not given any concrete explanation to the public that pooled resources to construct the sector offices for better services. The question is, “What is the problem?”
It ranked in the top four in the Report’s political empowerment category, in recognition of the high proportion of Rwandese women lawmakers and ministers.
The country, therefore, seemed a natural fit for a 2018 pilot program of the African Development Bank’s Coding for Employment initiative, with Nigeria, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.
The Coding for Employment flagship program is establishing 130 ICT centers for excellence in Africa, training 234,000 youths for employability and entrepreneurship to create over 9 million jobs.
Hendrina C. Doroba, Manager in the Education, Human Capital and Employment Division at the Bank, explains how Rwanda is empowering women in technology.
{{How has the government of Rwanda enabled women to pursue careers in technology, and STEM in general?}}
The government of Rwanda has been a foremost champion of women in ICT and in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (also known as STEM), by driving initiatives like the establishment of the Carnegie Mellon University-Africa campus, for which the Bank provided funding. Students from 17 different countries pursue highly specialized ICT skills at the Africa campus.
The country also hosts the African Institute of Mathematics (AIMS) which is now recruiting balanced cohorts of women and men. Lastly, the Bank-funded University of Rwanda College of Science and Technology has for many years produced women leaders in the ICT sector in Rwanda and globally.
Rwanda’s government also supports initiatives such as the Miss Geek Rwanda competition, an initiative of Girls in ICT Rwanda, which aims to encourage school-age girls, even those in remote areas, to develop innovative tech or business ideas and to generally immerse themselves in ICT. The Miss Geek initiative has now been rolled out in other countries in the region.
{{What role has the Bank played in supporting Rwanda’s digital strategy, especially in relation to women?}}
The strategy of the Bank’s Coding for Employment center of excellence in Rwanda has been to join forces with the Rwanda Coding Academy through a grant agreement to support the school’s activities, like ICT equipment, teacher training and career orientation. The Rwanda Coding Academy started in January 2019 and has so far enrolled one cohort, which is now going into their second year.
Besides the Rwanda Coding Academy, the Bank’s Coding for Employment program held a two-day masterclass for girls and young women entrepreneurs at the 2018 Youth Conneckt summit, where over 200 beneficiaries were trained in using digital tools to amplify their businesses.
The session was attended by women entrepreneurs as well as students from girl schools in Kigali, including those from White Dove School, which is an all-girl school fully dedicated to training in ICT. The masterclass culminated into a pitching exercise from various groups who presented their ideas to a panel of judges.
{{What lessons can other African countries learn from Rwanda’s approach to the 4IR, in particular the role of women?}}
The government of Rwanda has been a trailblazer in using innovation to improve public services across the country using the e-governance platform Irembo, to bring government services closer to citizens. In addition, the government is driving national digital skilling campaigns by championing digital ambassador programs and platforms such as Smart Africa, which has organized the annual Transform Africa summit since 2013.
Still, gender equality remains a concern, and gender gaps are evident even in schools. Rwanda’s ambitions extend to piloting the Kigali Innovation City, also Bank-funded, to serve as the country’s knowledge and innovation hub by attracting new businesses and incubating ideas.
At the same time, the country has created a business environment which is pro-entrepreneurship and welcomes global inventors to test their ideas and concepts. Zipline, a company which uses drones to deliver medical supplies in remote areas, is one example.
Lastly, Rwanda promotes women leaders in the ICT and innovation sector. The country’s Minister of ICT and Innovation is a woman, as is the CEO of the Irembo platform. Appointments such as these are helping to dispel the myth that women are not as capable as men in ICT.
{Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).}
Minister Ndagijimana said construction of the Mamba-Rwabusoro-Rilima power line will continue, transmitting electricity that is generated from the Hakan power plant, located in Gisagara District.
Construction of the Kigoma-Ngozi power grid that interconnects Rwanda-Burundi, and Shango power grid that interconnects Rusumo-Bugesera will continue.
The government has also committed to providing electricity to 240 development sites and where important services are provided, including markets, educational institutions, and business centers.
In the 2020/21 budget, a project to provide electricity to the people across the country will be allocated Rwf 34.2 billion; the Kigoma-Ngozi power line project linking Rwanda and Burundi is worth Rwf9.9 billion.
Also set on the agenda are a project to build a power line connecting Rwanda to the Democratic Republic of Congo worth Rwf5.5 billion and Mamba-Rwabusoro-Rilima power line project worth Rwf 13.3 billion
Dr. Ndagijimana said that construction work on the KV 220 Mamba-Rwabusoro-Rilima power line with a length of 79.3 km and the 110 KV Bugesera-Gahanga power plant and its affiliates has reached 96.5%.
He added that the construction of a 119-kilometer pipeline with a capacity of 220 KV for Rusumo-Bugesera-Shango construction work is completed at 50%.
