Dashti succeeds Amir Mahmoud Abdulla of Sudan, who served as the UN coordinator since August 2022, according to a press note from the UN chief’s office.
Dashti was the military defense attache of Kuwait in Belgium and the Kuwaiti mission’s representative to NATO from 2019 to 2020, and retired in 2021 from the Kuwaiti armed forces at the rank of vice admiral.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was launched by Ukraine, Türkiye, Russia and the United Nations in July 2022, to enable the resumption of exports from Ukraine of grain, foodstuffs, and fertilizer, including ammonia, through a safe maritime humanitarian corridor.
As the much-anticipated state-of-the-art facility takes shape and fast approaches completion, the project’s swift progress has won acclaim while igniting hopes of transforming public health in Africa.
{{Project fast approaching completion}}
Saizana Solomon, a young civil engineer, is one of some 1,000 personnel working at the bustling site around-the-clock to brace themselves to hit the construction schedule.
“We, local workers, and our Chinese colleagues are working in tandem day and night to successfully bring this project to an end within its stated timeframe. No matter how challenging it has been, we are very determined as we are getting closer to our goal,” Solomon said, citing challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bethlehem Molla, safety officer at the Africa CDC project who has been working at the site for more than a year-and-half, said that the project construction is meeting expectations in terms of time efficiency, high construction standards, safety assurances as well as experience-sharing mechanisms.
“Before I joined here, I worked as an engineer with different local construction companies. One thing that fascinates me more here is the lofty construction standard. Every move and every detail really matters a lot here,” she said.
“To be able to achieve this progress within this short period while applying high construction standards is really a work of miracle to me,” Molla added.
Bao Dongdong, a Chinese engineer from the safety supervision department at the project, said his work here will be a valuable life experience. “Compared to what it was a year and a half ago, it (the site of the project) turns from a wasteland to several buildings, for which I feel proud from my heart.”
{{Project to boost Africa’s public health management }}
Monique Nsanzabaganwa, deputy chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, told Xinhua recently that the project, upon completion, will enable the AU’s specialized healthcare agency to better play its role of coordination, mobilization, and emergency management in public health. “We know that it is a very huge project, which is really commendable of China to support our agency in that manner.”
According to Nsanzabaganwa, the China-aided Africa CDC headquarters project has been part of China’s continued efforts in support of institutional strengthening of the Africa CDC.
Her comments were echoed by Teruneh Zenna, Ethiopia’s former ambassador to the United Nations, as he argued that Africa lacks preparedness and medical institutions to cope with disease outbreaks such as Ebola and AIDS that have resulted in the deaths of countless people across the continent. He said having such a facility on African soil is praiseworthy.
“The Chinese are showing Africans that they are always at their side. Look at the AU headquarters they provided us with. Now, they are giving us the Africa CDC project with a modern laboratory, training, conference, and data centers,” Zenna told Xinhua recently.
China has not only funded but is also building the future Africa CDC headquarters, which would accommodate all facilities in one place to scale up the African health system in a tremendous way, Zenna said.
Construction work for the project started in December 2020. The landmark project, featuring modern offices, high-end laboratories and accessories, covers an area of 90,000 square meters and was expected to be completed in 25 months. Construction of the project is progressing smoothly despite the challenges caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to project contractors.
As the COVID-19 pandemic showcased Africa CDC’s indisputable role in leading continental anti-pandemic efforts, experts believe the facility will further augment Africa CDC’s institutional capabilities.
Costantinos Bt. Costantinos, a professor of public policy at the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, told Xinhua recently that Africa has serious problems within the health sector with widening gaps in addressing various healthcare challenges. “Now, we have the Africa CDC, which is going to be a pivotal point for healthcare management in Africa. This will also strengthen the relationship between China and Africa.”
{{Thriving healthcare cooperation}}
Ahmed Ogwell, acting director of the Africa CDC, in an interview with Xinhua, said that despite being a young organization officially launched in January 2017, the Africa CDC has been able to respond effectively to various outbreaks, including recurrent Ebola outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said during the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa and China have worked quite well in ensuring that information is flowing well between the two sides. “We have worked very well securing, particularly, test kits at the beginning of the pandemic, and as we built our own capacity locally, Chinese counterparts were very supportive when things were very difficult in starting our pandemic response on the continent.”
Last month, the Africa CDC chief also commended China for partnering with African countries in the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines on the continent.
China’s anti-pandemic support to African countries has widely won acclaim among individual African countries and pan-African institutions. Ethiopia, as one of the beneficiaries of China’s global anti-pandemic cooperation, has received several batches of COVID-19 vaccine donations, including an additional 10 million Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine doses that were handed over back in June.
The different batches of China’s vaccine donations to African countries and institutions demonstrated that China turns its commitments into tangible outcomes by putting people’s lives first and working in solidarity with Africa.
According to Costantinos, China’s support in terms of enabling healthcare institutions in Africa is “necessary for our physicians, nurses and other medical workers to be able to contain the current and future pandemics.”
“The investigators have 30 days effective today to investigate, prepare and submit their report on the alleged coup plot,” government spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh said in a statement Tuesday.
So far, the west African nation has arrested eight soldiers and one civilian who are still being held for investigation purposes.
The incident incident is one in a series of provocations, including a similar airspace violation that occurred on 7th November 2022, when a DRC fighter jet of the same type briefly touched down at Rubavu Airport before flying back to DRC.
The Government of Rwanda has through released statement disclosed that authorities have once again protested to the DRC Government against the violations of Rwandan airspace by DRC fighter jets.
It further reads that these repeated violations are against the spirit of Luanda and Nairobi peace initiatives.
“The authorities in the DRC seem to be emboldened by consistent coddling by some in the international community who repeatedly heap blame on Rwanda for any and all ills in the DRC, while ignoring the transgressions originating from the DRC. These provocations must stop,” adds the statement.
Apart from airspace violations, Rwanda reported other provocations this year including the shelling of rockets on Rwandan territory in collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) at different times.
DRC soldiers also crossed into Rwanda shooting at Rwandan security forces at different times but were foiled and shot dead in self-defence.
As residents explained, the idle facility provides loopholes for prolonged hardships as patients can spend up to Rwf5000 on maritime transport to access health services.
The concept of building health posts was introduced by the Government of Rwanda to make access to health services easier.
Gihaya Health Post was completed in 2019 but no nurse was assigned up to date.
Costasie Uzamushaka residing in Budorozi Village said that some women deliver babies before reaching health facilities because they have to travel long distances.
“We experience hurdles while taking a pregnant mother to health facilities. We are sometimes slapped Rwf5000 fine when she delivers along the way. Leaders are aware of it and promised to send nurses but it’s been long without solving the issue,” she said.
Francine Nyirahabufite said that each individual is normally charged Rwf300 for transportation in daylight but the price increases to Rwf5000 to carry a patient.
“Sometimes, patients refuse to board boats over strong wind and wait until the lake is calm. In case she gives birth before reaching a health facility, the fine applies. Our wish is to have a nurse assigned to Gihaya Health Post,” she noted.
A community health worker at the island has also told IGIHE that she recently accompanied a mother who gave birth before reaching the health center because there was no boat to carry them.
“She delivered along the way and was later fined as she went to get her baby inoculated. During a recent meeting, leaders promised to assign a nurse and supply the health post with electricity. We want the promise fulfilled,” she said.
Rusizi District vice mayor in charge of finance and economic development, Louis Munyemanzi said that they wanted to solve the issue of electricity before assigning a nurse.
“We can follow up to establish why there is no nurse assigned to the health post because we had fixed many things when we went there last time. The project might have stalled due to lacking proper follow up to check the progress,” he noted.
Gihaya Island is home to over 1300 residents while Rusizi District has 55 health posts of which only 18 operate properly.
While waiting for business around the Kicukiro trading center located along the road connecting the capital city Kigali to Bugesera District in Eastern Province, Niyoyita said he is among a growing number of riders of motorbike taxis, locally also known as moto-taxi, that offer ride services for passengers from the Sonatube roundabout in Kigali to the Akagera bridge in Bugesera District.
He said, thanks to Chinese companies’ involvement in the nation’s transport sector development, the improved road transport system has become a major boost to the fast-growing commercial motorist business because the roads are of high quality, which makes it easy to travel from one location to another.
“Every day, I wake up early in the morning between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. because many passengers travel from Bugesera to Kigali and vice versa for business. The road has been upgraded by the Chinese company. There are no potholes anymore. It is now a seamless ride from Kicukiro trading center to Nyamata Town in Bugesera District,” Niyoyita told Xinhua in an interview.
“We make a lot of money from transport fares because many passengers, including foreigners and tourists, prefer moto-taxi to public buses,” Niyoyita said.
He said there are times when he also rides on the Kigali-Bugesera road for pleasure because the road provides comfort and beautiful scenery.
As Niyoyita is still waiting for a passenger, numerous motorbike taxi riders in red and green helmets can be seen busy hurtling among the heavy traffic on the road.
“The Chinese are good at road construction, and you can see how the roads are strong, smart, and of standard quality. The roads are big, which allow smooth flow of traffic, and this has attracted many moto-taxis to operate on these roads,” said Samuel Twagiramungu, another moto-taxi rider.
He said he makes profits because driving on these Chinese-built roads from one place to another takes the shortest possible time since the roads provide a smooth ride, enabling him to transport as many passengers as possible in one day.
Niyoyita and Twagiramungu are among a growing list of motorbike taxi riders in Rwanda, especially in Kigali, whose lives have been improved by operating moto-taxis due to high demand from customers. According to the Rwanda Federation of Taxi-Moto (RFTM), there are about 46,000 moto-taxi riders registered in the country, with 26,000 of them operating in Kigali.
“The roads have become the symbol of China-Rwanda relations because we are seeing many roads in Rwanda constructed by the Chinese. The Chinese are smart and faster in their job,” Daniel Ntaganda, the chairperson of the RFTM, told Xinhua.
He said the federation is registering more moto-taxi riders due to a good transport network system and an increase in the number of businesses that depend on moto-taxi for the transportation of people and goods.
In Rwanda, Chinese firms such as the China Road and Bridge Corporation, and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, among others, are active in the nation’s road construction, especially in Kigali and other major towns. These roads are designed and constructed according to Chinese standards. Apart from providing comfort to motorists, Chinese companies have also provided employment opportunities to many Rwandans.
The roads constructed in Kigali are part of the Kigali Infrastructure Project (KIP) to build a 215-km road network and several bridges by 2024, Merard Mpabwanamaguru, City of Kigali’s vice mayor in charge of urbanization and infrastructure, told local media recently.
More than 70 percent of Rwanda’s national highways and municipal roads were built by Chinese contractors, according to last year’s data from the National Institute of Statistics in Rwanda.
The incident happened on 26th December 2022 around 16h:50. It is said that the young men were extracting minerals in unlicensed mining site.
Sources reveal that the deceased are identified as Donat Irafasha,18, and Noel Ntakirutima, 28. Following the incident, their bodies were taken to Byumba Hospital for postmortem.
The executive secretary of Ruvune Sector, Oscar Beningoma has disclosed that the young men were extracting minerals from a pit nearby the home of a resident who immediately escaped.
“The deceased died while trying to excavate minerals from a toilet-like pit located in banana plantation surrounding a resident’s home,” he said.
Beningoma also sent his condolences to the bereaved families, urged residents to abide by laws and avoid illegal mining activities
Considering endured miserable life, their development seemed to be a fairy tale. The former Gikongoro Prefecture currently comprises two districts including Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru.
Their soil contained much acidity that yields were very low. Sources indicate that the name originated from crops’ disease or hunger occasioned by insufficient agricultural produce or regular pests ravaging crops.
Today, transformations are self-evident. The biting hunger has been eliminated while the name Abatebo has changed to wealthy people. The soil acidity has reduced that the area is covered with flourishing crops and tea grown for local consumption and export markets.
With the land area of 1090 square kilometers, the largest part of Nyamagabe District touches Nyungwe National Park which receives a large number of tourists to experience the Canopy Walkway, fauna and flora. The park’s management also helps them enjoy a memorable stay through hospitality establishments like One & Only Nyungwe House among others.
The development that has significantly impacted residents, stems from hard work by members of the private sector who relentlessly paid taxes over the past 25 years since Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) was established.
{{Education, health and social protection}}
Over the past 25 years, the country expended much effort to recover its economy which had been devastated following the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
This resilience journey went hand in hand with psychiatric among other initiatives to heal the wounds of Rwandans affected by the Genocide and strive for a united country looking forward to a shared future without ethnic divisions.
Transformations in Nyamagabe District cover different areas including the education sector. Several schools have been constructed in different sectors and reduced dropouts as students can access education near their doorsteps.
Under the 12 years basic education programme, over Rwf10 billion was allocated for construction of schools that Nyamagabe currently registers at least 5 schools in each sector.
The Mayor of Nyamagabe District, Hildebrand Niyomwungeri affirms that there has been a significant milestone regarding efforts to achieve universal access to education.
“Despite the fact that schools were very few before 25 years, each sector has at least not less than five schools. The number has significantly increased as we currently have more than 150 schools,” he said.
As for health sector, two hospitals including Kaduha and Kigeme were renovated and built.
Other health infrastructures built in the district include health centers, 40 health posts among others under construction.
New office buildings for cells and sectors also cost more than Rwf1 billion.
{{Eradicating hunger and improving soil productivity}}
Nyamagabe District was reported to be experiencing persistent hunger for long due to acidic soil that resulted in low agricultural yields.
Niyomwungeri affirms that dealing with hunger in Nyamagabe required considerable efforts through wetland restoration, land consolidation and application of organic fertilizers among others.
“Generally, we have achieved a lot in all aspects of citizens’ wellbeing that whoever visits the district after 25 years witnesses remarkable transformations,” he revealed.
Today, the acidic soil is efficiently used to grow various crops including Irish potatoes, wheat and tea and the agricultural produce has increased in no small part.
Niyomwungeri underscored that hunger that was reported in the district in 25 years has been eradicated and went in hand with reduction of stunting which currently stands at 33.6%.
Nyamagabe residents also attest that they have come a long way considering attained transformations.
“In the past, our yields were low. Today, we had access to lime and fertilizers that helped us to increase yields. This increased productivity in combination with infrastructure development in different areas bespeaks some of attained transformations,” said Eliphase Hakizimana from Gasaka Sector.
In a bid to uplift Nyamagabe residents from poverty, different infrastructures including seed collection centers, feeder roads, business center workshops to foster innovations and modern markets were constructed.
New power transmission lines, water distribution systems and tarmac roads are among other developed infrastructures.
Nyamagabe District officials have encouraged residents to continue contributing to national development through taxes to walk together towards a prosperous and shared future.
There is a lot more than our parents contribute to the person we are and most may be involuntary and even go by without being detected if you do not think about it. It is from inheriting the passion from their favorite hobbies to choosing a partner who reminds or resembles them, it is all possible.
Ever wonder how men are prone to marry ladies that have similarities with their mothers? Well, it is not just this way that your choice of partner may be influenced by your parents.
From the moment we are born, the first meaningful relationships we make are with our caregivers, be it birth parents, adoptive parents, guardians, or any other who took care of us while growing up. All these can leave different ways that you view yourself.
If you have heard of “daddy issues” then you know what I mean. This makes sense especially for women because they learn how to relate to the opposite gender from their fathers, and hence why they tend to re-enact the relationship patterns they learned from their dads or father figures.
If a lady was the caretaker to their dad, they might find themselves excessively caretaking their partner in the relationship all while feeling exhausted or resentful as a result which does not help the relationship grow.
A girl who has always been disappointed by her father will project it onto her partner.
It is a little crazy that most of us still think that ‘daddy issues’ are only projected by girls. I myself did not pay much attention to this until one day I came across a video on social media, a clip from a movie I absolutely do not remember.
The video was basically a guy explaining in a comic way the reason a normal looking guy would flip out over a simple thing and start insulting themselves over it.
This whole process the guy is unconsciously talking to himself the same way his father would without knowing it and most of the time he projects this behaviour onto his partner.
Depending on the type of father you had or have; the Emotionally Unavailable Father, abusive and violent, pampering and indulging Father, toxic and controlling Father, ruined and Dependent or the anguished and distressed Father.
You can project a different daddy issue; Anxious-preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, or fearful-avoidant.
Unfortunately just about anyone can have these issues, it only takes a person to bring their childhood paternal baggage into adulthood.
Humans have the tendency to get in relationships or marry just exactly who their parents were, sadly this is not limited to the ones who had stable happy families because even people who have strained relationships with their parents look for that familiarity in their partner.
For those lucky enough to have grown up with positive paternal patterns, then it is very beneficial to their choice of partners and what course their couple relationships can take.
Awareness is key for those who have not had the same experience. The more you can bring your triggers, behaviors, and reactions into conscious awareness, the freer you can be from your past. It is never too late to work on yourself and give yourself a chance to accept that you are worth more than the shortcomings of your paternal figure.
Manigena had sneaked the bales into Rwanda from Tanzania by boat before he was intercepted in Rama Village of Nyankurazo Cell in Kigarama Sector.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Hamdun Twizeyimana, the Police spokesperson for the Eastern region, said that Manigena was reported by local residents after they saw him crossing into Rwanda with the goods.
“Police in Kirehe had information about people, who smuggle goods especially second-hand clothes, into the country from Tanzania by boat through Akagera river. On Monday, at about midnight, with credible information that they saw a man on the shores unloading goods from the boat; Police responded and arrested Manigena with three-and-a-half bales of used clothes,” SP Twizeyimana said.
He commended the impact of the public in fighting and preventing crimes, including smuggling and drug trafficking.
Under the East African Community Management Act, seized smuggled goods under article 199, are auctioned.
Article 87 of the law on tax procedures provides an imprisonment of between 2 and 5 years, for tax evasion.
