The meeting held in New York and chaired by the United States President Joe Biden, was aimed at raising funds for health care efforts in the fight against diseases including AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
The goal was to collect $18 billion but only $14.25 billion has been collected. Nonetheless, there are countries that have not yet contributed, including Italy and the United Kingdom.
In addition to Rwanda’s contribution of $3.25 million, the United States of America has pledged to contribute ⅓ of the Global Fund’s budget. Initially, the country provided $2 billion out of its $6 billion pledge.
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, said that his country will contribute $1.6 billion dollars, an addition to the 300 million Euros that his country pledged recently.
Germany committed to giving $3 billion while Canada pledged $1.21 billion. Many countries around the world have pledged to increase their contribution by 30%. These include Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain.
The European Union has also announced that it will increase its funding by 30%, pledging 750 million Euros to help the world’s health sector.
African countries that increased their contribution by 30% include Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.
The contributions will be allocated to health programs including the fight against AIDS.
Statistics from The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), show that the number of people infected with AIDS increased by 1.5 million last year.
Meanwhile, tuberculosis cases also increased, with 1.5 million deaths in 2020 alone, which is the highest number in more than 10 years. Malaria-related deaths have decreased by 47% between 2002 and 2020.
President Kagame and Prime Minister Amor Mottley last met in April 2022 during his visit to Barbados.
Rwanda’s Presidency has revealed that President Kagame held talks with Mia Amor Mottley on Wednesday 21st September 2022.
Discussions were also attended by Holm Keller, the Chairman of kENUP Foundation; Prof Senait Fisseha, a health expert and board member of the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE).
kENUP is a global non-profit public foundation supporting research-based innovation in the wider health industries for societal benefit.
Rwanda and Senegal are among the first African countries selected to host vaccine manufacturing facilities.
Rwanda has been undergoing preparatory phases to start producing vaccines for different diseases locally.
On 23rd June 2022, President Kagame laid the foundation stone for the construction of a vaccine manufacturing plant in Kigali Special Economic Zone located in Masoro of Gasabo District.
At the time, the CEO of BioNTech, Prof Uğur Şahin revealed that they want to enter first clinical trial of Malaria and Tuberculosis vaccines by the end of this year and beginning next year.
Africa seeks to manufacture 60% of needed vaccines in 20 years from the current 1 percent.
Kagame was delivering remarks at the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday 21st September 2022.
The President of DRC, Felix Tshisekedi who also attended the assembly accused Rwanda of being behind M23 rebel group which is pointed out as the main security threat in the country despite the presence of more than 130 armed groups.
President Kagame said that the world is in a state of turbulence, with intersecting crises growing in scale and severity, including climate change, food price inflation, conflict, and uncontrolled migration.
“These challenges all require multilateral cooperation and efforts. Yet the perception, that the international system is no longer up to the task, has only deepened, particularly where the interests of powerful members are at stake,” he said.
The Head of State also talked about security problems in eastern DRC highlighting that the current situation is not different from what happened 20 years ago when the largest and most expensive United Nations peacekeeping mission was first deployed.
“This has exposed neighbouring states, notably Rwanda, to cross-border attacks that are entirely preventable. There is an urgent need to find the political will to finally address the root causes of instability in eastern DRC. The blame game does not solve the problems. These challenges are not insurmountable, and solutions can be found. This would ultimately be much less costly in terms of both money and human lives,” he said.
As regional troops resolved to deploy troops to fight armed groups in DRC, Tanzania refused to send its troops. Meanwhile, DRC boycotted Rwandan troops from participating in joint regional operations.
Speaking at UN General Assembly, Kagame also pointed out examples demonstrating how cooperation can help countries address problems facing them.
In the area of peacebuilding and counterterrorism, the President underscored that regional initiatives can complement the important work of the United Nations.
Kagame pointed out examples where regional or bilateral initiatives have been proven to make a big difference, whether in the Central African Republic, or the successful engagement to contain violent extremism in northern Mozambique conducted by Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community.
“If this approach was tried properly in DRC, as proposed by the Nairobi Process, it would make a difference. However, to be sustainable, such efforts require consistent financial support from the international community. A lot is at stake, and time is not on our side,” he affirmed.
“We cannot anticipate or prevent every crisis. But we can be better prepared to react quickly and effectively when needed, especially if we work together,” he added.
These challenges all require multilateral cooperation and efforts. Yet the perception, that the international system is no longer up to the task, has only deepened, particularly where the interests of powerful members are at stake.
In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, recent setbacks have served to highlight that the security situation is fundamentally no different than it was 20 years ago, when the largest and most expensive United Nations peacekeeping mission was first deployed. This has exposed neighbouring states, notably Rwanda, to cross-border attacks that are entirely preventable.
There is an urgent need to find the political will to finally address the root causes of instability in eastern DRC. The blame game does not solve the problems. These challenges are not insurmountable, and solutions can be found. This would ultimately be much less costly in terms of both money and human lives.
Despite shortcomings, there are examples to demonstrate that international cooperation can successfully address the issues that matter to all of us.
Global health is a case in point.
The Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has helped save countless lives in Africa and beyond, while also strengthening health systems. I hope that all countries will respond strongly, and sustain their commitments, at the 7th Global Fund replenishment session chaired by President Biden later today.
Africa is doing its part but must do more. For sustainability, external funding must go hand-in-hand with increased domestic financing for health. This is a priority which the African Union is tracking on an annual basis, and which I am honoured to lead on behalf of the organisation.
We are also working with partners to bring end-to-end vaccine manufacturing to our continent, notably through collaboration with BioNTech, and strong support from the European Union. This is critical to increase Africa’s resilience against future pandemics.
I commend the Secretary-General for convening the Transforming Education Summit earlier this week. The future of billions of children and young people across the world depends on overcoming the challenges of inclusion and quality of instruction, particularly as we recover from the pandemic.
Away from the headlines, the United Nations and other multilateral institutions retain the ability to set an agenda, around which we can all rally.
At the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, leaders adopted an ambitious program of action, including special instruments on Living Lands, Sustainable Urbanization, and Child Care Protection and Reform. We also agreed to prioritize public-private partnerships to create digital jobs for young people across the Commonwealth.
The future is digital and transformation is happening now, as evidenced by the ongoing work of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development and the Smart Africa Secretariat.
High-quality digital jobs are a practical response to the underlying drivers of irregular migration by closing the human capital investment gap that separates high- and low-income countries. To ensure that the benefits are equally shared, we must continue investing equitably in emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
In the area of peacebuilding and counterterrorism, regional initiatives can complement the important work of the United Nations.
Regional or bilateral initiatives have been proven to make a big difference, whether in the Central African Republic, or the successful engagement to contain violent extremism in northern Mozambique conducted by Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community. If this approach were tried properly in DRC, as proposed by the Nairobi Process, it would make a difference.
However, to be sustainable, such efforts require consistent financial support from the international community.
A lot is at stake, and time is not on our side.
We cannot anticipate or prevent every crisis. But we can be better prepared to react quickly and effectively when needed, especially if we work together.
The Prosecution made the request as Bamporiki’s trial in substance began on Wednesday 21st September 2022.
The prosecution revealed that this crime was investigated, after a businessman identified as Gatera Norbert who owns the Norbert Business Group that produces alcoholic drinks, wrote to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) complaining about the injustice done to him by Bamporiki.
The businessman said that he harassed him and asked for a bribe, threatening him to close his businesses.
They include a Gin factory and a garden known as the Romantic Garden hosting weddings and other social gatherings in Gisozi.
Eight days after filing a complaint to RIB, Gatera wrote to the City of Kigali that his factory was closed because it did not meet the requirements, according to information provided by Bamporiki.
He advised himself to seek out Bamporiki’s help to get his business to reopen. At that time he asked him for the amount of money he would be willing to halt the closure of his businesses.
They agreed to meet at the Grande Legacy Hotel, Bamporiki assured him that he would connect him with the Vice Mayor of the City of Kigali in charge of Urbanization and Infrastructure, Dr. Merard Mpabwanamaguru, and help him open the factory.
On the evening of May 4, 2022, Gatera nd his friend met Bamporiki with Mpabwanamaguru.
At that time, Bamporiki asked Gatera to go and bring the money, when he brought it, Bamporiki gave the order to put it at the ‘Reception’.
When they were sitting at the hotel, the four of them continued to have dinner until 24 minutes past midnight on May 5, 2022.
At that time, they were going out, they were arrested in the parking lot because Gatera had informed the police. Some of the money was found in Mpabwanamaguru’s car, some in Bamporiki’s, while the rest was at the Reception.
The prosecution revealed that Bamporiki, purposely acting as he would close Gatera’s factory, asked for a bribe of Rwf10 million so that he would not report the factory.
As the prosecution said, when Bamporiki saw that Gatera was not going to give him the Rwf10 million bribe, he hurried to inform Vice Mayor Mpabwanamaguru, who immediately went to close the factory.
The prosecution also indicated that he exercised his authority, after Gatera agreed to give him money where Bamporiki called Vice Mayor Mpabwanamaguru to come and meet with Gatera, to open the factory.
Another piece of evidence produced by the Prosecution is that Bamporiki was questioned and admitted to have reported the factory.
He also assured Gatera that if he gave him the money, his company would be opened and he would work and develop.
On the crime of using the power given to him by law for his own benefit, the Prosecutor explained that when Gatera’s wife was arrested, Bamporiki asked her for Rwf10 million to get her released.
These are the things that the Prosecution says that Mr. Bamporiki himself admitted during interrogation.
In his defense, Bamporiki began by apologizing to the entire Rwandan community, noting that he hurried to explain what happened and apologized realizing that what he did could be a crime.
Bamporiki said that Mpabwanamaguru came to see him and told him that there was news that the City of Kigali found out that he was the co-owner of a company with Gatera Norbert, that is causing problems to people.
At that time, he replied that the factory belonged to Gatera. That was the information he gave him, as opposed to the fact that he demanded that the factory be closed.
After the factory was closed, Gatera went to Bamporiki’s house and told him that his factory was closed and that Mpabwanamaguru could help him to open it.
At that time, Bamporiki called Mpabwanamaguru and told him that his friend’s factory was closed, the other told him that it was not him who closed it, but it was done by the City’s management.
“I’m in front of the court and I’m telling the truth as much as I can about what happened and I’m not omitting anything,” he said.
Bamporiki is said to have had a meeting with Gatera to connect him with Mpabwanamaguru to negotiate, which ended on May 4, 2022.
Bamporiki had called Mpabwanamaguru and told him that they could meet and watch a football match, and that is how they ended up at the Grande Legacy Hotel.
When he arrived, he told him that he was with his friend Gatera who is the owner of the factory which got closed.
Bamporiki said that what he accepts and aplogize, is that they told him that they brought money, and told them to drop it at the Reception.
Mpabwanamaguru is said to have conveyed to him the request to open the factory and visited them, telling them that it is not possible because the place where it was operating in Gisozi is not dedicated for factories, and advise them to relocate it to Masoro, in the Special Economic Zone.
Bamporiki says that in the end, all four of them continued to watch the football and have a drink. As he said, they found the Police officers waiting for them outside as they left the hotel.
Bamporiki told the Court that the money brought by Gatera and his friend was not brought to him as they had told him that they only prepared a beer for Mpabwanamaguru.
Of the money, Rwf2 million was taken to Mpabwanamaguru’s car, and the rest was dropped at the Reception to be used to pay for drinks, according to Bamporiki.
In conclusion, he said that out of respect for the Judges, what he owes to the President of Rwanda and Rwandans, he never advised Gatera to close his factory.
He stressed that he has no authority to close or open the factory, especially because the Kigali Municipality has the authority, and he pointed out that the factory was opened the day after his arrest.
In releasing Gatera’s wife, Bamporiki said that what he did was advocacy, not imposing what to do.
At that time, he called RIB and asked if the woman was with them. They explained what she had done, and then she was released.
Bamporiki was represented by lawyers Evode Kayitana and Jean Baptiste Habyarimana.
Lawyer Habyarimana said that according to the law, the person he is defending has not committed a crime because there is no evidence that he asked for or received a bribe.
The prosecution concluded by asking the Court to validate the accusations against Bamporiki, asked for a 10-year prison sentence and a fine five times the bribe he solicited.
This makes it Rwf20 million times five.
For the crime of using the power given to him by law for his own benefit, they requested that he should be sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of Rwf100 million.
In combining the penalties, the prosecution requested that he should be sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison and be charged a fine of Rwf200 million.
Bamporiki said that it is an extreme punishment where he would be no longer useful to Rwanda. He asked the court to review his case and grant him mercy.
His lawyer Habyarimana said that his sentence should be no more than five years, with bail, in case his client is found guilty.
The ruling will be read on September 30, 2022, at 8 am.
In bid to continue supporting the education sector, the Rwandan government is going to invest a lot of money in activities related to it, where this sector is the second that was given a lot of money in the 2022/23 fiscal year.
The Department of Internal Security has the largest budget of Rwf1,717.8 billion followed by the Department of Education with 573.3 billion; Justice, reconciliation, and rule of law with Rwf413.8 billion while the health sector received Rwf365.2 billion.
Of course, this money will be invested in education activities in Rwanda in order to strengthen its quality and develop it.
Although it is expected that more than Rwf249 billion will go to the salaries of those who work in the education sector, there are important projects of priority to promote quality education as highlighted below.
{{Improving the quality of education by providing modern equipment}}
The State Minister in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Gaspard Twagirayezu has told IGIHE that increasing the quality of education through the capacity building of teachers, schools, and students are among projects of the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).
Under this project that will cost more than Rwf6.4 billion, it is planned that tablets will be given to at least 4000 teachers, containing courses prepared in the form that have been researched and proven to be productive.
These are computers that will be provided to public elementary and middle schools that are supported by the government under the 150 contract to increase capacity.
Twagirayezu said that this technology is aimed at improving the quality of education, where the teacher will be able to give lessons based on the manual that is included in the computer, which has all the complete information so that it will increase the level of the child’s knowledge.
“It will also help the teacher to monitor the learning of children and their behavior while they are in class, to be able to identify those who are absent from school, the level of their success. It will also help to monitor the performance of the teacher and his supervisor,” he noted.
It is expected that these materials should be delivered to the schools and begin to be used at the beginning of the first term of the school year 2022/23 which will start on September 26, 2022.
{{Writing books within the country}}
As part of the effort to be self-sufficient, Rwanda has started authoring books in a program known as ‘in House texting’ and it is producing results.
The Ministry of Education anticipates that at least Rwf10 billion will be spent every year in order to achieve the desired goals in 2026.
In this fiscal year, the government allocated Rwf5.9 billion for the writing of educational textbooks.
The books that will be provided are related to the subjects of Mathematics, Rwandan, English, French, Intelligence, Social Sciences, Biology, Technology, History, Environmental Science, Business, Swahili, Religion, Education, Music, Arts and Crafts, home science, agriculture and animal husbandry.
The focus is also on the pre-school, primary, and high school levels.
Twagirayezu pointed out that writing books in Rwanda have produced tangible results because more than 14 million books have been produced and it has reduced the gaps and mistakes that used to appear in books written by foreigners.
“After 14,187,817 books were produced, the number of children using one book decreased from nine in 2017 to five as per statistics for the year 2020/21,” he said.
He went on to reveal that the waiting time for the books to reach the schools was reduced since they were imported.
{{Promoting basic education}}
MINEDUC has a project that aims to improve basic education in which it will inject nearly Rwf10 billion.
This project will focus on the preparation, use, and implementation of student assessment reports, and campaigning for gender equality in schools.
There is also the establishment of standards for evaluation in primary schools and the first stage of secondary schools, the provision of books and manuals for kindergartens, and the training of teachers in kindergartens.
It is also planned that books for kindergartens and those in the first grade will be digitized, providing materials for learning and teaching mathematics, science, and technology, materials for science teaching in schools such as laboratories, and materials for preschool technology and modeling.
There are also the provision of materials and books in kindergartens, the introduction of technology in English learning materials, the training of teachers in relation to teaching, the use of tests for the placement of school principals, and the preparation and delivery pieces of trainings for teachers of science and mathematics.
At present, the development of primary education has reached an impressive rate, where 98.9% of school-age children are currently in school (primary school).
Among them, the pass rate in primary schools increased from 81.6% in 2019 to 82.8% in 2020/21. Those who go to secondary school went from 53% in 2019 to 56.9% in 2020.
The pass rate in secondary schools increased from 90.6% in 2019 to 92.2% in 2020, all of which is a boost to the development of basic education.
{{Increase the number of skilled and competent workers}}
Sometimes, increasing the number of skilled and capable staff may seem counterintuitive because there has been competition, but it is necessary to keep complementing the ability of teachers.
This project will focus on increasing the number of classrooms in schools of excellence and building the capacity of Teacher Training Schools.
Since 2019, teachers have received scholarships for capacity building where about 597 will pursue courses at the University of Rwanda, Rukara and Nyagatare branch.
It is planned that 15,636 teachers will be trained under this budget.
{{Building schools will cost Rwf16.7 billion}}
In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, it is planned that 360 rooms will be built in kindergartens and 94 rooms in secondary schools.
At the moment, the overcrowding in kindergarten schools is about 40 students per classroom, 59 in primary school and 40 in high school.
It is an ongoing process to reduce the number of students in one school because the government wants to reduce the number to at least 30 in kindergartens, 46 in primary schools and 30 in secondary schools by 2024.
This year, it is expected that 12 kindergarten classrooms will be built in each district and 94 classrooms up to three in secondary schools in Gasabo, Musanze and Rubavu districts.
The idea of becoming a technology hub surfaced in May 2016 at the World Economic Forum that took place in Kigali
Six years later, almost many services in the country are offered digitally. These include payment for travel, medical care, education, tourism, administrative services and more.
These efforts have lured Hence Technologies, a technology company from the United Kingdom (UK) into Rwanda for its dedication of promoting technology and the country’s support for businesses.
Hence Technologies is a Hence is a tech start-up that uses AI-driven data to help companies manage their legal outsourcing.
This company is based in Kimihurura in Kigali City where it provides various services.
Arun Shanmuganathan, a co-founder of Hence Technologies has told IGIHE that they decided to come to Rwanda as part of their plans to expand footprints in Africa.
”We are building technology that allows companies to make better decisions about which lawyers at the moment they should be using so that they can be able to save money and select better and get more value out of their lawyers,” he said.
Through this technology, Hence Technologies helps its associated companies access information that they can use day to day.
“The technology we are building is a single platform that integrates data from a variety of sources and captures it in a single system that allows you to easily maneuver search, filter and find information you need much more easily,” Shanmuganathan said.
The Business Development Manager at Hence Technologies, Nancy Ndekwe, also highlighted that they thought of helping companies to find lawyers by eliminating the existing gap.
” We found that the space given to the law is not being put into practice. We want to be able to build a solution that is not only built from the continent but is mostly targeted toward the global economy. So because of that legal frame seem to be the one that we want to tackle and take care of at this specific moment and so far it really is going well with the data and of course we are using AI to backup that up as well,” she noted.
In building this technology, Hence Technologies spoke with the world’s largest corporations, only to find that many were losing millions of dollars in legal fees.
Arun Shanmuganathan went on to explain that it prompted them to provide a related solution.
On the Rwandan market, Nancy said that they found that many people need to know the specific lawyers that they can work with.
“Within the Rwandan market and the African market, the law area hasn’t grown as much as we’ve seen globally. That’s also something that we want to be able to contribute for people to have that space to work around,” she said.
On reasons that pushed the company to open doors in Rwanda, Nancy explained that the country with ongoing efforts to advance technology is telling a story of how is it going to be in the tech hub.
“You don’t have to be in Silicon Valley to come up with a solution that works there. We are building it from here, from Rwanda, to be able to service within the global market,” she affirmed.
Silicon Valley, located in the United States of America, is considered the capital of the world’s leading technology companies.
Experts show that at least 2 percent of the biggest companies in the world in technology are the ones who create their development based on it, and they are the ones who plan the miracle projects that spread around the world after some time.
Shanmuganathan said that they saw Rwanda as a place that would contribute well to their goals.
“Rwanda is a great base, it is a great place to do business because a lot of people across the continent want to live here, because Investors are excited about coming here into a stable, secure environment. So, Rwanda is a great starting point because we can test out the product, we can try to get to know this market but really our ambitions are global including a lot of Africa so we imagine bringing talent from across the continent into Rwanda,” he noted.
After opening doors to Rwanda, Hence Technologies was pleased to find talented people who are passionate about creating technology that will solve the problems the world is facing.
“People we want to talk to here is everyone involved in the tech ecosystem. So, we are talking about entrepreneurs, we are talking about technologists, we are talking about investors, we are talking about everyone, your parents and educators. We really think that is important to realize that Rwanda is going up there, people from Rwanda are solving these problems or contribute to this ecosystem,” Shanmuganathan underscored.
He said that the main problems they see most companies face is that they often use different lawyers without knowing who is in the right position to handle their cases appropriately.
At the global level, Hence Technologies works with leading companies. In Rwanda, it focuses on while in Rwanda it focuses on education services.
Hence Technologies employs approximately 25 different employees from 11 countries.
During the visit held on Tuesday 20th September 2022, Nyusi also addressed the population who returned to their homes after many years in IDP camps.
In a message conveyed to the Rwandan Security Forces, he congratulated them for the great work done in fighting terrorism since they arrived in July 2021 and commended their commitment, dedication and discipline throughout this period.
While meeting the population of Mocimboa da Praia, President Nyusi assured the public of government support in maintaining the situation and returning everything to normal.
Rwanda started the deployment of 1000 troops of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and the Rwanda National Police (RNP) to Mozambique on 9th July 2021, to fight terrorist groups, honoring the request of Mozambique. The troops had increased to nearly 2000 by the end of the year 2021.
The situation in the country had worsened since October 2017 when armed extremists launched an insurgency in the Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique.
Mozambique Defence Armed Forces battled the extremists but many civilians were killed and displaced by the fighting.
Before Rwandan troops’ intervention, terrorists had killed 3000 civilians while more than 800,000 were displaced. The insecurity had also put to halt all development projects in the area controlled by insurgents.
The joint operations between Rwandan and Mozambican troops yielded big where different regions were seized from rebels.
Rwanda and Mozambique have been enjoying vibrant relations for many years.
On Monday 12th September 2022, President Paul Kagame and his counterpart of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi met in Kenya ahead of the inauguration of newly elected president, Dr. William Ruto.
Both leaders discussed ways to further strengthen the ongoing bilateral collaboration between Rwanda and Mozambique.
In February this year, Kagame received Nyusi with whom they discussed the good progress that has been made between Rwanda and Mozambique in the ongoing cooperation towards securing Cabo Delgado as well as other areas of bilateral collaboration.
Rwanda and Mozambique have cooperation agreements in different areas including security, trade and investment among others.
Ujiri, 52, is a close friend of Rwanda who contributed to the establishment of Kigali Arena currently branded as BK Arena following discussions with President Paul Kagame as they watched NBA All-Star Game in Toronto, Canada in 2016.
GOA is a basketball camp founded by Masai Ujiri as a platform to explore and nurture basketball talent among African youth.
It started in 2003 in Nigeria but in 2014 Ujiri took it outside of the country.
The renovation of the basketball court at Club Rafiki, Nyamirambo, launched on August 8, 2017 and camps to promote youth’s basketball talent since 2015 are among fruits of Ujiri’s contribution to the development of basketball in Rwanda and the African continent.
In February 2020, Kagame and Ujiri announced the Giants of Africa festival that was expected to take place in Kigali, August 2020, bringing together 11 countries.
At the time, Kagame thanked Ujiri for his work with Giants of Africa and said that the camp is crucial in developing the talents of African youth.
Ujiri also thanked the president for his role in the development of Africa and the way he puts into action everything he pledges, including the establishment of Kigali Arena.
This time around, Ujiri has owns land in Kigali City. In July last year, he was granted freehold land title for 2.4 hectares located in Remera at the former premises of Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) along the road to Amahoro Stadium by the Government of Rwanda.
Freehold land title refers to a property title by which the owner of the land owns it for perpetuity. In other words, freehold land title ownership has no limit in time for the landowner and its beneficiaries.
The land will be developed for infrastructures to help people in need of sports related services.
The area allocated for infrastructures to be set up by Ujiri is located in Kigali Sports Hub.
Infrastructures in the area are being developed in phases where BK Arena was inaugurated in 2019. Amahoro Stadium is also being upgraded to host football and Ruby games. There is also a small stadium that can host different volleyball games simultaneously as well as other facilities for Paralympic games.
The Amahoro Stadium being upgraded is expected to be completed in 2024. If everything goes well, another sports facility dubbed ‘Ujiri Court’ is also expected to be completed in the same year.
So far, the study plan for Ujiri’s project is underway.
Speaking to IGIHE, the Acting Director General of Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA), Noel Nsanzineza has shed light on outcomes of the project.
“Normally, people going to watch games and entertainment activities need access to other recreational facilities. This is what Ujiri Court will solve. It will feature a Tennis and Basketball courts, and a space dedicated for lodges or hotel. It will also have a supermarket, all aligned with ambitions to promote sports,” he said.
Ujiri was born on 7th July 1970. His net worth is estimated to be around US$20 million. He earned the money from positions he assumed as the president of different teams.
The modern supermarket to be set up in Remera will be designated for sales of different sports items including clothes and balls among others.
“Ujiri Court is among projects set to commence. The investor has been given the land for such infrastructures complementing others being developed,” said Nsanzineza.
Apart from Ujiri Court, it is said that the project will also be comprised of a pool for contestants in international competition and other facilities.
The upgraded road, stretching 13.8 km, starts from the Sonatube roundabout in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, through the Gahanga sector to the Akagera bridge in the Bugesera district. It forms part of an avenue leading to Rwanda’s new Bugesera International Airport located 40 km south of the Kigali International Airport.
The CRBC, which started the upgraded project in 2019 and took more than three years to finish it due to factors including COVID-19, has won accolades from locals for upgrading the road to ease traffic flow and movement of goods and people as well as stimulate economic growth along the Kigali-Bugesera highway.
“Before the upgrade of this road, we suffered heavy traffic most especially at Kicukiro town center because the road was narrow with only two-way two-lane. This road is mostly used by people traveling from Kigali to Nyamata town in Bugesera district and a lot of people use this road daily,” said Emmanuel Habineza, a trader who uses the road, in an interview with Xinhua.
He said before the road upgrade, it took him 45 minutes to transport his produce from Gahanga town to Kicukiro town but now after the road upgrade, it only takes 20 minutes. “The road is of a high standard and looks beautiful. This makes our movement quick, which saves our time and boosts trade,” said Habineza.
Habineza commended the Chinese company for supporting the upgrade of the road which, he says, has allowed the locals to increase their trade and ease traffic flow along the road.
Speaking to Xinhua in an interview, Tian Chong, the project manager, said that before the upgrade of the road, it was only a two-way two-lane urban road and was of a low standard.
“The contract period is 24 months. Due to the impact of the pandemic and the demolition of local pipelines, the progress has been delayed, and the construction period has been extended by 15 and a half months,” said Tian. “We upgraded the road to two-way four-lane and in some sections along the road, we have reached two-way six-lane. This has eased the movement of traffic along this road.”
“We also constructed a flyover in Kicukiro center along the road. Before the construction of the flyover, there were heavy traffic jams on a daily basis which interrupted the movement of goods and people on this road. Now, there is no traffic jam anymore,” he said.
The overall traffic flow has been greatly improved along the road to Bugesera district, said Tian.
“We have always adopted a localized management model, and most of the skilled and common types of work are hired local workers. There are still more than 500 local employees in our project. Since the start of construction, the project has trained thousands of technical workers,” he explained.
The road upgrade is designed and constructed according to Chinese standards as well as in accordance with the first-class highway standard of China, said Tian.
According to him, the road features a central green belt, and vegetation with local characteristics, including palm trees and sunflowers.
“With the construction and completion of the project, many shops, residences and some office buildings have been built along the line, which has played a certain role in promoting the local economy along the line,” said Tian.
“I was lucky to be offered a job as a secretary for the road project. I started working with China Road and Bridge Corporation in 2016 and the payment is good. I am able to pay school fees for my children and afford a good standard of living in Kigali,” Liliane Nikuze, one of the employees of the road project, told Xinhua.
She added that CRBC is a good company that has offered employment opportunities to many Rwandans including her and this has greatly improved their lives and incomes.
