Akamanzi visited Malawi this week where he attended and addressed participants of Malawi Investment Summit held on 7th September 2022.
It brought together business leaders, government officials, investors and policy makers to discuss Malawi’s economic growth, identify opportunities and address challenges.
As he addressed participants of the summit held at Bintu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, Akamanzi shared how improving the business and investment environment has supported Rwanda’s economic growth.
The 2020 World Bank Doing Business indicated that Rwanda remained the second easiest place to do business in Africa and 38th globally.
The ranking is mainly attributed to instituted reforms where the country adopted technology in business registration among other incentives attracting investors.
The summit was also attended by Malawian president, Dr. Lazarus Chakwera who officially officiated the opening of the summit, the Minister of Energy, Ibrahim Matola; Minister of Finance and Economy, Sosten Alfred Gwengwe and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mark Katsonga Phiri among other government officials.
Rwanda and Malawi enjoy cooperation in different areas including trade and security.
In 2021, Rwanda National Police (RNP) and Malawi Police Service (MPS) signed an extradition treaty that will see both countries exchanging suspected criminals to face justice.
As he presented credentials to President Paul Kagame in June this year, Malawian ambassador to Rwanda, Andrew Zumbe Kumwend said that more efforts will be expended to promote trade for the benefits of both countries’ people.
“I am here to learn what Rwanda is doing right. Rwanda is at the stage where we want to be. So, I will do my best to learn and advise my government what we must do. Besides, there is a lot we can do together like trade and tourism,” he said.
“We need to end this idea that we need to get visas to go to Malawi or come to Rwanda. I think Rwanda has done that and Malawi needs to do the same. Apart from that, there are things to do with the youth and women to empower people,” added Zumbe.
The national mourning has been announced in a statement released by the Office of Prime Minister signed by Premier, Dr. Edouard Ngirente.
“Upon the passing of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul Kagame has instructed that the National Flag and the Flag of the East African Community, on Rwandan territory, be flown at half-mast from today, 9 September 2022, until the conclusion of the State Funeral Service for Her Majesty,” reads the statement.
Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday 8th September 2022. Earlier in the day, Buckingham Palace had said the monarch was under medical supervision due to doctors’ concerns over her health.
She is Britain’s longest-reigning monarch in history.
Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth II was proclaimed Queen after the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb 6, 1952. She was formally crowned the monarch of the United Kingdom on June 2, 1953.
She was considered “a beacon of hope” for the nation as she used her annual Christmas speeches, televised since 1957, to rally the nation in times of hardship.
In total, the Queen greeted 15 prime ministers during her long reign, including Winston Churchill, her first, and Truss, her last.
Her husband, Prince Philip, died at the age of 99 in April 2021.
“In this moment of sorrow at the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we recall her 70 years of stewardship of the Commonwealth of Nations. The modern Commonwealth is her legacy,” he tweeted.
“I extend my deepest condolences to His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen Consort, and the entire Royal Family, as well as the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth,” added Kagame.
President Kagame is the current Commonwealth Chair-in-Office for two-year term.
He replaced the former UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson in June this year.
Queen Elizabeth II died two days after she appointed Liz Truss as Britain’s new prime minister, succeeding Boris Johnson.
Following her passing, Prince Charles immediately became Britain’s new King.
Queen Elizabeth II is Britain’s longest-reigning monarch in history.
Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth II was proclaimed Queen after the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb 6, 1952. She was formally crowned the monarch of the United Kingdom on June 2, 1953.
She was considered “a beacon of hope” for the nation as she used her annual Christmas speeches, televised since 1957, to rally the nation in times of hardship.
In total, the Queen greeted 15 prime ministers during her long reign, including Winston Churchill, her first, and Truss, her last.
Her husband, Prince Philip, died at the age of 99 in April 2021.
“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
“The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,” it added, indicating her son, Prince Charles, has now become Britain’s new King.
Earlier in the day, Buckingham Palace said the monarch was under medical supervision due to doctors’ concerns over her health. The royal family members soon rushed to Scotland to be at her side following the announcement.
“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” King Charles said in a statement.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world,” it added.
Queen Elizabeth II died two days after she appointed Liz Truss as Britain’s new prime minister, succeeding Boris Johnson.
The monarch made fewer public appearances in recent months due to mobility issues after recovering from COVID-19 in February. During the four-day nationwide celebration in early June to mark her 70 years on the throne, she made two brief appearances only on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
After the announcement of the Queen’s death, thousands of people gathered outside Buckingham Palace in London despite the rain to pay tribute. Local media said Britain will enter an official 10-day period of mourning beginning Friday. There has been an outpouring of condolences from politicians and governments following the Queen’s passing.
“Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign. In the difficult days ahead, we will come together with our friends across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the world to celebrate her extraordinary lifetime of service. It is a day of great loss, but Queen Elizabeth II leaves a great legacy,” Truss said in a statement.
“We mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II. she was a role model and inspiration for millions, also in Germany. Her commitment to German-British reconciliation after the horrors of World War II will remain unforgotten,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted.
“Queen Elizabeth II has just passed away. An Elizabethan era is coming to an end. The United Kingdom forever bears the seal of the one who embodied it for seventy years with unalterable strength and moral authority. France pays tribute to the woman who marked the history of her country, our continent and her century,” France’s Elysee Palace said in a statement.
Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth II was proclaimed Queen after the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb. 6, 1952. She was formally crowned the monarch of the United Kingdom on June 2, 1953.
She was considered “a beacon of hope” for the nation as she used her annual Christmas speeches, televised since 1957, to rally the nation in times of hardship.
In total, the Queen greeted 15 prime ministers during her long reign, including Winston Churchill, her first, and Truss, her last.
Her husband, Prince Philip, died at the age of 99 in April 2021.
The Queen traveled to China in 1986, the first British monarch in history to do so.
The summit brought together different leaders including the President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa; the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum and the Vice President of Tanzania.
The former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Dessalegn and the former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo are among other dignitaries who attended the summit.
Speaking at the summit on Wednesday 7th September 2022, President Kagame highlighted that the continent has an obligation to ensure families have nutritious food on tables every day, at the same time enabling farmers to earn more income and growing agribusiness and create new service jobs off the farm.
“Above all, it is about ensuring that Africa is more resilient in the face of unexpected shocks but we are off-track in achieving our agreed targets, under the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program [CAADP] and the Malabo Declaration, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.
The Head of State highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts and global supply chain and energy crisis are all placing unusual strain on ‘our food systems’.
He said that the crisis is a serious one where dealing with issues surrounding it requires a sense of urgency. The Head of State also indicated that people need to put everything in perspective and ask themselves how they got to the point.
According to the President, this helps to look back and possibly see where people fell short and try to correct mistakes as fast as they can.
“I am saying this with a sense that most of the things are known, whether it is about building capacities to meet the challenges of the food systems and make sure our people don’t get hungry. Second, food is important in many ways. Nothing else can be done by anybody unless we are fed. It is about life, the fuel for human beings to live and be able to do what they want to do,” he said.
“But associated with that most interesting thing, is that it is also a business. It benefits from skills, knowledge, technology […] if this is the case, why can’t we therefore do what we need to do to bring all these things together so that in Africa, we stop being challenged or running into all kinds of shocks just because a crisis hit somewhere else,” added Kagame.
Considering the Ukraine-Russia crisis, the President said that the whole Africa suffers because it can no longer get wheat and fertilizers among other things.
He maintained that people should learn from such issues given that lessons have existed for a long time.
“If we can learn these lessons and quickly act to prevent such things happening, I think in Africa there are many toolkits we have in our hands that can apply to protect ourselves from these shocks that come up every other time from different continent when we can deal with the situation ourselves,” noted Kagame.
The President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa said that his country has been under Western sanctions for the last 20 years which affected its capacity certain essential commodities.
He explained that Zimbabwe has been importing wheat for bread from Ukraine while fertilizers were imported from Russia.
Normally, Zimbabwe would grow wheat and keep in reserve quantities that could be used for three months in the country but recently introduced a new model enabling the country to achieve food sufficiency. It is with this regard, the president disclosed that the last agricultural season has seen Zimbabwe producing wheat supply for 13 months where the crisis for wheat importation from Ukraine does not currently affect his country.
As Mnangagwa said, the country has adopted another model to mitigate climate change and introduced a program to build dams to facilitate irrigation in all provinces of Zimbabwe.
He said that his country targets 360,000 hectares of land under irrigation and expressed optimism that the exercise will have been completed by the next season to be self-sufficient whether there is drought or not.
The Vice President of Tanzania, Philip Mpango said that his country is fortunately self-sufficient in food and exports to the region but pointed out issues related to post-harvest losses standing at 30% of all agricultural yields.
He also revealed that his country was also affected by multiple crises including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine among others.
“Our GDP collapsed from an annual growth of 7% down to 4.8% currently,” Mpango said.
To mitigate the effects that occasioned economic downfall, Tanzania oil seeds including sunflower.
Mpango went on to explain that the country urges its people to opt for substitutes including yams, potatoes and cassava instead of sticking to wheat.
The country also decided to increase its budgetary allocations to agriculture from an average of around US$125 to US$404 million.
President Kagame also talked about climate change noting that the African continent contributed the least to the crisis. He however stressed that it should not stop people from taking needed action to mitigate related effects.
“If you look at what is happening in each of our countries, regions and beyond, rain is being affected, different problems around that and therefore, it affects food systems and food security,” he observed.
“We have to make investments ourselves, to begin with even our limited resources. For example, we have to invest smartly in data systems so that we are at least informed as far as certain elements are concerned that contribute to the crisis and then know how to deal or treat different regions of our countries or continent,” stated Kagame.
Zimbabwean President also highlighted that Africa has all the resources to develop countries with regards to food security and fertilizers.
“Africa has the resources to modernize our countries, industrialize and mechanize them. All what is needed is cooperation, integration and the sharing of our experiences and resources. If we do that, we will succeed,” he affirmed.
The President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum said that the African continent needs to prioritize investment in technology to access climate change data, and produce needed fertilizers to become food sufficient and develop strong education sector to meet its aspirations.
The Secretary-General of commonwealth, Patricia Scotland said that the organization is comprised of 56 countries with 2.5 billion people of whom 60% are aged below 30. The combined GDP of the countries also stands at US$13,000 billion.
She stressed that collaboration between countries is key to address the issue of food insufficiency affecting their people.
Dr. Agnes Kalibata, the president of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) said that many people are unable to feed their children with balanced diet.
The good diet can cost US$4 (over Rwf4000) yet the poverty line in Africa is at US$1.9.
“This means that a huge part of our populations can’t afford a healthy diet,” she noted.
Dessalegn who serves as AGRA’s Board Chair revealed that the African continent has bold targets to eradicate poverty, hunger, enable access to quality education, gender equality and access to safe water among others by 2030.
Organized under the theme ‘Grow, Nourish, Reward — Bold Actions for Resilient Food Systems’, the AGRF 2022 Summit is taking place in Kigali from 5th to 9th September 2022.
One hundred and thirteen deputies who attended the plenary session unanimously passed Ndirakobuca’s candidature which was a unique one.
The candidature of Gervais Ndirakobuca was sent by Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye who later in the day signed a decree appointing Gervais Ndirakobuca as the Prime Minister.
Before this, Gervais Ndirakobuca was the minister for Interior, Community Development and Public Security since June 2020.
He replaces Alain Guillaume Bunyoni who was accused of undermining the activities of the government.
Bunyoni was Burundi’s Prime Minister since June 2020.
The latter runs a project to breed black soldier flies which is in the final stage of pilot phase.
The pilot phase is being conducted at SAFE For Health center.
Musabyimana is a livestock farmer who ventured into poultry. He currently owns over 100,000 chickens that produce over 70,000 eggs per day.
His project to breed black soldier flies began in January this year to address the high cost of animal feeds owing to the shortage of soy.
The research carried out by the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) indicated that black soldier flies can provide an alternative source of protein to replace soymeal used in the production of livestock feed as highlighted by Dr. Solange Uwituze, the Deputy Director General in charge of Animal Resources Research and Technology Transfer at RAB.
“Preliminary research outcomes show that black soldier flies can successfully serve as a replacement for soybean at the rate between 25% and 50%, which is good news for livestock farmers,” she said.
Musabyimana says that he has two sheds in which he breeds flies in different phases starting from eggs which develop into to larvae. The larvae develop into flies which are dried and ground into flour rich in proteins to be used while producing animal feeds.
“We started seeking out designated black soldier flies, arranged hatcheries and hatched the eggs to produce larvae which are also nourished to grow. After 14 days, we take well developed larvae into cages where they spend six days and metamorphose into flies. Thereafter, the male and female mate to produce eggs,” he said.
The flour used in the production of animal feeds constitutes flies at 80%. Some of the flies are dried and ground to produce flour while others are returned to cages for reproduction.
The larvae of black soldier flies are fed with residues of vegetables and fruits. They also serve as a source for compost.
From seven to ten days, a fly at SAFE For Health produces between 700 and 1000 eggs.
As of today, Musabyimana has injected over Rwf300 million into the research on black soldier flies.
After sending the sample flour from flies for experiments in Europe laboratory, Musabyimana is set to use them for production of chicken feed and fish foods later.
President Mnangagwa arrived in Rwanda early this week to attend the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit taking place in Kigali.
AGRF is Africa’s premier forum for driving the food and agriculture agenda in the continent.
Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, Mnangagwa was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta.
He met with by President Kagame at Urugwiro Village on Tuesday 6th September 2022.
Organized under the theme ‘Grow, Nourish, Reward — Bold Actions for Resilient Food Systems’, the AGRF 2022 Summit is taking place in Kigali from 5th to 9th September 2022.
It is expected to provide a platform to reflect on the coordinated large-scale action by leaders, institutions, investors, coalitions, and individuals to accelerate action towards translating commitments made into actionable strategies and progress on the ground.
The summit also brought together leaders from governments, businesses, civil society, international organizations alongside innovators, financiers, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, and youth.
The Secretary-General of Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland is among other leaders who attended the summit.
On Tuesday, President Kagame also received and held talks with the Vice President of Tanzania, Philip Mpango who is in Rwanda for the summit.
Rwanda’s Presidency has revealed that both meetings discussed bilateral relations and avenues to strengthen intra-African cooperation and trade.
“Congratulations @trussliz on your election as Prime Minister of the UK. We look forward to further strengthening the existing close ties between the UK and Rwanda and wish you success,” Kagame tweeted.
On Tuesday 6th September 2022, Liz Truss was appointed Britain’s next prime minister by Queen Elizabeth II at the Balmoral estate in Scotland, shortly after Boris Johnson met the monarch to formally offer his resignation.
“The Queen received in Audience The Right Honourable Elizabeth Truss MP today and requested her to form a new Administration,” reads part of a statement released by Buckingham Palace.
“Ms Truss accepted Her Majesty’s offer and kissed hands upon her appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury,” adds the statement.
Liz Truss, 47, becomes the 15th UK Prime Minister since Queen Elizabeth II was installed on the throne.
Liz Truss officially takes office one day after Britain’s conservative party’s members elected her as their leader in a tough race against Indian-origin former chancellor Rishi Sunak.
She replaces Boris Johnson who resigned in July this year.
Truss assumes office at time when the UK and Rwanda are working together to implement the Migration and Economic Development Partnership that will see migrants and asylum seekers staying in the country illegally deported to Rwanda.
The institution’s management appeared before the committee as the hearing from government institutions to provide explanations on mistakes pointed out by the Auditor General (AG)’s report in the fiscal year 2020/2021 began on Monday 5th September 2022.
The pieces of land in question were bought at Rwf137 billion. The AG report indicates that the land has been idle for ten years where RSSB spent more Rwf394 million on it.
The expenses include taxes and the cost associated with its management.
The Director General of RSSB, Regis Rugemanshuro has revealed that the institution bought the pieces of land for future use because the value of land increases overtime.
“The pieces of land were bought for future projects. If the land is not bought early for future use, planning to build houses in the next 15 years would not be lucrative enough. However, buying the land earlier helps to mitigate risks of high cost it in the future,” he said.
The Chairperson of PAC, Valens Muhakwa questioned RSSB’s decision to buy plots of land without a clear plan for development.
“The institution should be far-sighted. You have the land but don’t know how it will be exploited. This is the problem being discussed. This is done by citizens trying to secure the future. Should RSSB be in a land banking race with citizens?”
Reacting to the concern, Rugemanshuro said: “What you say is true. There was no plan for all bought plots of land to determine whether they will be developed for business or something else. However, considering designed master plans, RSSB bought them in strategic locations ideal for different activities. In some instances, we handed over some plots of land unsuitable for our study plan.”
Parliamentarian (MP), Jean René Niyorurema also wondered how the institution can buy the land to be kept for 10 years yet the government informs the general public that those whose land remains undeveloped will be confiscated as per legal provisions.
“Keeping the land is not the sole plan. We also work with available investors willing to develop the land. Besides, we buy new land for clear reasons,” replied Rugemanshuro.
MP Jean Claude Ntezimana maintained that buying land before prices go high is not a bad idea but insisted that RSSB has what it takes to obtain information regarding the master plan for a particular area.
“For instance, you push forward public interest reasons while expropriating residents in Kiyovu cy’Abakene. It becomes meaningless for a citizen who passes by the area and realizes that the land is still idle. You have to buy pieces of land knowing better that you won’t face losses,” he said.
MP Christine Bakundufite said that RSSB was wrong to consider the Rwf137 billion worth land project because ‘it would have generated profits from other businesses’.
“This report shows that you have spent Rwf394 million. The longer it takes to develop the land, the more you increase losses,” she said.
PAC also indicated that the land owned by RSSB across the country is exploited at 3%.
RSSB explained that efforts are underway to set out a clear plan with which specific projects suitable for these pieces of land and their implementation timeframe will be determined not later than 2023 to develop the land in line with national development blueprint.
The institution also revealed that its land located in areas where the projects cannot materialize will be sold.
