The agreement was signed on Thursday 20th October 2022 between Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Vincent Biruta and Mozambican Minister of Interior, Arsénia Massingue.
As the Minister of Foreign Affairs has revealed, the agreement will encourage free movement and enhance collaboration between the two countries.
Rwanda’s Presidency has revealed that their discussions held on Thursday 20th October 2022, focused on furthering collaboration towards socio-economic transformation.
GiveDirectly works in 17 Districts in Rwanda and has provided unconditional cash transfers to over 170,000 households.
The non-profit organization initiated its interventions in Ngoma and Gisagara districts and later expanded its activities to other parts of the country.
In Gicumbi District, GiveDirectly implemented two projects including one aimed at helping residents to move out of poverty in the sector of Nyankenke, Miyove and Rukomo. Under this project, 5298 families received Rwf4.3 billion funding.
The organization also run another project in the areas that saw over Rwf119 million distributed among residents to mitigate effects of COVID-19.
Born in January 1973, Rory Stewart is a British academic, diplomat, author, broadcaster, former soldier and former politician who served as the Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom.
His organization operates in East African countries including Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya where it helps families living in extreme poverty by making unconditional cash transfers to them via mobile phone.
The commitment was unveiled on Wednesday October 19, 2022 during an event held in Lagos, Nigeria, with over 70 journalists in attendance. It was headlined by the twin singing and dancing sensations, P-Square, and was streamed live with the media and Airtel employees joining from across the 13 other OPCOs.
Speaking at the event, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Segun Ogunsanya, stated that the “decision to sponsor the show was informed by our firm belief in and commitment to empowering the youths to achieve their dreams.”
According to him, “sponsoring The Voice Africa was an easy decision to make because it not only aligns with the philosophy of our brand, but also consolidates on the current dominance of the music world by Africans.”
Dr. Ogunsanya praised the dominance of the global music scene by African musicians, saying The Voice Africa was therefore intended to broaden the opportunities for more of the continent’s talented youths to realize their dreams.
The GCEO recalled the company’s previous sponsorships like the MTV Music Awards and Airtel Rising Stars, which contributed immensely to the emergence of many notable stars in music and football respectively, adding that “at the end of the day, Airtel Africa would have facilitated the emergence of successful musicians who can compete with their peers from anywhere in the world”.
“These investments”, he explained, “were intentional and deliberate to empower our youths and enable them to channel their talents and energies positively for their individual good and the good of their families, communities and indeed Africa.”
Ogunsanya, who was represented by the VP Corporate Communications and CSR, Emeka Oparah, restated Airtel Africa’s commitment to the empowerment of not only the youths but also all Africans to achieve their dreams and succeed in their lawful undertakings.
He commended the media for their unflinching support for the brand. “Your influence in leveraging this sort of opportunity cannot be overemphasized and I trust you will do what you know how to best in Nigeria, East Africa, or Francophone Africa”, he concluded.
Also speaking at the event, Airtel Africa’s Head of Brands, Nandkishor Buty, explained that The Voice Africa aims to showcase the brightest of African musical talents from across our markets, alongside a panel of coaches and TV hosts, and act as a launchpad for global recognition. Seven strongest vocalists from each of the 14 countries will be selected to participate in the programme, with one of them eventually crowned The Voice of Africa.
He announced that The Voice will formally kick off on Friday, October 21, with a call for entries followed by virtual auditions from where the seven contestants will emerge.
The successful contestants will then proceed to a camp where they will be groomed by coaches and participate in competitions for the emergence of the last 10. The overall winner will receive a US$100,000 star prize which will include cash and a recording contract.
Customers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite contestants, when the show airs on television stations across Africa in March 2023, with the grand finale taking place later in the year.
Holtzman made the assurance recently on 15th October 2022 during a ceremony in which he received the award presented to Bank of Kigali as the ‘Best Bank in Rwanda’.
Earlier this year in March, Bank of Kigali was awarded “Best Bank in Rwanda’’ by Global Finance Awards, an international magazine with an experience of 35 years in financial reporting.
The winners of this year’s awards are banks that attended carefully to their customers’ needs in difficult markets and accomplished strong results while laying the foundations for future success.
Selection of the nominees is made by the editors of Global Finance after extensive consultations with corporate financial executives, bankers and banking consultants, and analysts throughout the world.
During the financial contest, banks were invited to submit entries supporting their selection and Global Finance considered factors that ranged from the quantitative objective to the informed subjective.
The Best Bank Awards ceremony was hosted on the 15th October 2022 in Washington DC, during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – World Bank Meetings.
The ceremony attracted a large gathering of senior banking executives and central bank governors from all over the world and presented an opportunity for award winners to collect their awards physically.
Bank of Kigali was represented by Chairman Marc Holtzman who proudly accepted the award on behalf of the bank.
Speaking after the ceremony, Holtzman reflected on BK’s position as a leading bank that aspires to financially transform lives.
“It’s an honor for us to be recognized for our amazing team and the pride they take in serving our customers. At Bank of Kigali, we are continuously developing strategies to innovate and digitize our products to allow our clients to transact seamlessly. Our customers are at the heart of our mission. It is gratifying and rewarding to receive this recognition,’’ he said.
Bank of Kigali has won the Global Finance “Best Bank in Rwanda’’ for two consecutive years.
The Global Finance accolades have become a trusted standard of excellence for the global financial community.
The three-day event was inaugurated by Ahlam Al-Baji Al-Sayeb, chief-of-staff of the Tunisia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, in the presence of experts in the fields of energy and renewable energies.
During her speech, Al-Baji Al-Sayeb stressed that the SITE aims to introduce Tunisia’s energy infrastructure potential to the world.
“It is an opportunity to attract investment in the field of renewable energies in light of the development of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the global trend toward a green economy and clean energies,” she noted.
At least 30 exhibitors from Tunisia, Germany and China are taking part in the fair which is expected to receive over 5,000 visitors.
Former President of FDLR, Ignace Murwanashyaka and Vice President Straton Musoni were respectively handed 13 and 8-year sentence by Stuttgart Court in Germany in 2015 accused of having issued orders to plot attacks in Northern Kivu Province between 2008 and 2009.
Murwanashyaka was found guilty of war crimes in relation to five FDLR attacks in eastern Congo and of leading a terrorist organization. Musoni was found guilty of leading a terrorist organization but acquitted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Germany’s Federal Court of Justice rejected an appeal by Musoni, who was given an eight-year sentence, but overturned Murwanashyaka’s conviction and sent his case back for a retrial.
At the time, the court cited legal errors in the reasoning of the original verdict that could have counted both for and against Murwanashyaka, including doubts about the war crimes conviction and whether he encouraged or facilitated attacks on villages.
The court said that section of the Stuttgart court’s verdict was contradictory in parts.
Murwanashyaka and Musoni lived in Germany where they had been granted asylum and coordinated FDLR.
They were charged with 26 crimes against humanity and 39 war crimes.
The duo was arrested in 2009 in Germany while their trial began in 2011.
Musoni was born in 1961 and settled in Germany in 1986 where he worked as a computer specialist.
Musoni is set to return to Rwanda while his boss Murwanashyaka died in prison in 2019 before completing his sentence.
He made the revelation on Tuesday 18th October 2022 as he appeared before the parliamentary chamber of deputies to provide explanations on different issues including water distribution in rural areas, which raises concerns over hindrances that might impede government’s policy for universal access to safe water by 2024.
The decision to summon the minister was reached on 6th May 2022, following the community outreach visits of parliamentarians to different districts across the country to witness citizens’ livelihood standards and the implementation of development projects.
They established that some districts still have a lower percentage of residents with access safe water.
The problem was mainly noticed in the districts of Burera (43%), Nyabihu (56%), Nyagatare (60,2%) and others including Karongi, Nyaruguru, Ruhango and Rutsiro.
The parliamentarians also identified poor management including hiked water prices imposed by some water administrators, failure to rehabilitate water supply networks or ravaged water kiosks among others.
Some areas are reported to have idle water supply systems. The issue was specifically identified in Gakenke District where only 41 out of 100 similar infrastructures are fully operational while seven are not functional.
In Nyagatare District, it was observed that 33 villages do not have water despite the presence of water supply networks.
The Minister of Infrastructure, Dr. Erneste Nsabimana explained that the old system for water distribution in rural areas has changed.
He said that 90% of water supplied to the areas was from springs that were drained due to increase in human activities including agriculture and climate change as well.
This affected many projects that sources water from springs, but according to the minister, there is a plan to replace old water distribution systems to catch water from rivers and build mini water treatment plants.
“That is why the government has taken measures to build water treatment plants sourcing water from rivers and lakes. This plan will solve these problems. Related discussions with sponsors and relevant stakeholders are on commendable stages,” he said.
“We are left behind in building mini plants. Many northern Africa countries like Morocco and Senegal have applied the system and supplied large quantities of safe water to the population. It does not require advanced technology. Such plants are not expensive like large ones and are promising to get us on desired outcomes,” added Minister Nsabimana.
He explained that a master plan for water distribution has been designed in all districts noting that the remaining challenges are related to financial constraints.
“Inadequate budget is the major constraint where the blueprint is not aligned with our resources,” said Dr. Nsabimana.
Dr. Nsabimana disclosed that the government is aware of the issue of old water supply systems noting that they will be replaced depending on available means.
He explained that an assessment has indicated that 400 water distribution systems need to be replaced where the Ministry of Infrastructure needs Rwf15 billion to implement the project.
“We continue to discuss the issues with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. We will renovate them gradually depending on available means,” Dr. Nsabimana said.
Regarding the poor management of water resulting in hiked tariffs, Minister Nsabimana said that the related policy is being revised to address issue.
The 5G network required for the East-West Gate (EWG) project was built by Vodafone Hungary and the network equipment was supplied by Huawei of China.
The terminal, built at a cost of over 40 billion forints (95.3 million U.S. dollars), will be able to handle up to one million twenty-foot containers (TEUs) per year, making it the largest such facility on the continent in terms of theoretical capacity and area.
“With the construction of the East-West Gate, Hungary is back on the map of international rail logistics,” Janos Talosi, chief executive officer (CEO) of the investor East-West Intermodal Logistics company, adding that the most advanced technologies available have been incorporated into the terminal, making transport faster and more accurate.
“Our vision was for EWG to become a gateway for the new Silk Road,” he told Xinhua on site following the opening ceremony.
China is promoting modern technology within the framework of its Belt and Road Initiative, hence it is no coincidence that EWG opted for a state-of-the-art private 5G network provided by Huawei, according to Talosi.
EWG is the first terminal in Europe to control cranes remotely using 5G technology. The terminal has one 41-meter wide and two 28-meter wide giant cranes on rails, as well as a 20-meter high rubber-tyred crane.
The cranes, supplied by Austrian company Kunz, are equipped with 20 high-resolution cameras the images of which, with the help of 5G, can be viewed in real time at the center of the terminal, enabling the workers to control the cranes as if they were working in the crane cabins,
The primary function of the terminal is to transship incoming rail shipments, which is necessary because, while 1,435-millimeter gauge rails are used in Europe, 1,520-millimeter gauge is used in Russia and many Asian countries.
EWG also has a significant capacity for transshipment of agricultural products and could soon become the largest rail hub for Ukraine’s food exports. The first train carrying agricultural goods from Ukraine rolled into the terminal during the opening ceremony.
From November 2022, the terminal is expected to be capable of handling 800 tonnes of grain and 450 cubic meters of sunflower oil per hour, making it the largest rail hub for Ukrainian food exports, according to the company.
