It is reported that on Monday, 23rd May 2022, between 0959hrs and 1020hrs, FARDC rocket shelling hit Kinigi and Nyange Sectors in Musanze District which also borders Gahunga sector in Burera District injuring several civilians and damaging property.
Following the shelling, RDF has through a statement announced that it has requested the EJVM to launch an investigation and assured citizens that security in the area remains intact.
“The situation in the area is normal and security assured. Those injured are receiving treatment and officials are assessing the extent of the damage. The RDF has requested for urgent investigation by the regional EJVM, and Rwandan authorities are also engaging DRC counterparts over the incident,” said Col Ronald Rwivanga, RDF spokesperson.
Rwanda and UK Rwanda and the United Kingdom (UK) recently signed the Migration and Economic Development Partnership on Thursday 14th April 2022.
The partnership will see Rwanda accommodating asylum seekers staying in UK illegally.
The deal is meant to seek a solution for migrants arriving in the UK illegally and discourage others with the same intention.
Daily Mail has reported that almost 100 migrants have been given notices that they will be sent to Rwanda in coming days.
Under this program, the UK will provide an upfront investment of £120 million to fund invaluable opportunities for Rwandans and migrants including secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training, language lessons and higher education.
These asylum seekers from African countries and others outside the continent will be treated decently like Rwandans upon arrival. It is expected that those willing to return to their mother lands will be helped to do so.
Before sending the first batch to Rwanda, Daily Mail has reported that asylum seekers are abandoning attempts to seek refuge in the UK.
The media house based in the UK has also revealed that ten migrants have already asked to return home rather than being sent to Rwanda.
Some officials from UK’s Home Office have said that they expect a further increase in the number of asylum seekers abandoning their attempts to stay in the UK as the first batch will be flown to Rwanda early next month.
‘It’s a positive start,’ said a Government source. ‘We always said we need to get the flights going before it becomes a deterrent, but this shows the direction we’re heading and why we introduced the policy.’
Rwanda has recently revealed that it is has already prepared hostels designated to accommodate these asylum seekers. These include Hope House located in Kinyinya Sector, Desire Resort Hotel located in Kagugu Sector of Gasabo District and Hallmark residences located in Kanombe Sector in Kigali City.
These buildings are equipped with all necessary equipment for better living conditions of migrants to be accommodated there. Notified asylum seekers have seven days to appeal against the decision. It is said that at least 20 appeals have been lodged.
It is also understood that the first flights to Rwanda have already been delayed by a legal appeal from a coalition of charities and a trade union representing immigration officials.
UK officials have however revealed that the first migrants are expected to have been deported not later than 10th June before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda on 20th June 2022.
According to reports, the Home Office reportedly expects about 300 people to be deported to Rwanda each year.
Meanwhile, the UK has announced that a boat carrying 41 migrants was detected in the Channel on Friday, while 106 migrants crossed in three boats on Thursday. Around 9,000 have crossed so far this year.
The UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel and Dr. Vincent Biruta, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister, last week faced down United Nations agencies that have also been criticizing the migration and economic partnership with Rwanda.
The Home Secretary and Dr. Biruta travelled to Geneva to urge the UN refugee agency to stop rubbishing the policy, saying there was an ‘urgent moral imperative’ to send migrants to Rwanda. They said those criticising their policy were failing to offer viable alternatives to repair a ‘broken’ global asylum system.
As UK plans to send the asylum seekers to Rwanda, sources reveal that people seeking asylum in France have started increasing ‘because they can’t predict what will happen to them when they arrive in the UK’.
BBC has however reported that the number of people living in camps around Calais has fallen, but it’s hard to tell whether that’s linked to the resettlement policy, or to tougher tactics by French police to break up migrant camps.
He is detained at Remera RIB Station as his file is being compiled to be transferred to the Prosecution.
The Spokesperson of RIB, Dr. Murangira B. Thierry has told IGIHE that Dr. Nibishaka was arrested on Saturday over swindling people’s money promising people to help them get visas to travel to the United States of America (USA).
“Dr. Nibishaka was accused by different people claiming that he took their money promising them to get visas to travel to USA but did neither help them nor refunded their money. Investigation is ongoing,” he said.
Dr. Nibishaka was named the Deputy CEO of RGB in July 2019. He had been serving as the Secretary General of the National Human Rights Commission (NCHR), Republic of Rwanda (2017-2019) prior to the appointment.
The article 174 of Rwanda’s penal code stipulates that any person who, by deception, obtains another person’s property, whole or part of his/her finance by use of false names or qualifications, or who offers positive promises or who threatens of future misfortunes, commits an offence.
Upon conviction, he/she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years and not more than three years, and a fine of not less that Rwf3 million and not more than Rwf5 million.
Houses can sometimes be astonishing, those you can look at and admire for their beauty but these most expensive houses will not strike you because of their particular beauty but what will strike you the most would be their prices.
The price of one house could be even much more than a person will make in their whole life. It is also the kind of money rich people spend without thinking twice.
{{Buckingham Palace}}
Buckingham Palace is the world’s most expensive house. With its neo-colonial style, the palace is estimated to cost more than US$ 2.9 billion.
Built in 1703, Buckingham Palace has undergone a number of renovations to date, which is why it has so many beautiful and varied decorations.
It is the house of the monarchy, currently inhabited by Queen Elizabeth II of England and the previous kings and queens have also lived there since 1873 as their official residence.
The house has about 775 rooms including 52 bedrooms, 78 bathrooms, 19 state bedrooms, 92 offices and 200 staff rooms.
The rooms in the house include a music room, three drawing rooms with a photo gallery that goes up to 50 meters long. It is the largest garden in the whole of London with an area of about 17 hectares (42 Acres).
{{Antillia}}
Antillia is the second most expensive house in the world. With a value of US$2.6 billion, it is located in Mumbai.
It was built for India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani who is worth US$95.7 billion.
Although not the most expensive building in the world, it is the first of its kind to be built in the most spectacular way. It is said to be using the electricity that is equivalent to 7,000 homes.
Antillia has a ballroom, a cinema with a seating capacity of 80 people and a 27-storey building which requires about 600 employees to function.
The six floor of the building is a private parking lot that accmodates 168 cars. The building consists of a spa, three swimming pools and a ball room and a temple. Antillia can withstand earthquakes of 8 magnitudes.
It has 3 Helipads where the helicopters land. The most astonishing thing is that it has a snow room which helps the Ambani family escape the heat of Mumbai.
{{Villa Leopolda}}
Another beautiful house formerly owned by King Leopold II of Belgium is Villa Leopolda. This house is located on the French Riviera in the Alps-Maritime in the Cote d’Azur region of France. It is valued at US$750 million.
The house is built on about 50 hectares with 11 rooms and 14 bathrooms, a cinema, ball room and library.
It consists of playgrounds, a garden surrounding the entire house with a variety of trees including lemon, orange trees and cider trees.
It is currently owned by Lily Safra who’s net worth is valued at US$1.3 billion.
{{Villa les Cèdres}}
The house, located in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat in France, was built in 1830 and is valued at US$450 million.
The magnificent house was bought by the Belgian King Leopold II in 1904. He bought it for his concubine Blanche delaCroix for about 500 million euros, which is said to have been acquired his fortune from exploiting Congo during colonial times. He was named the Butcher of Congo because of the monstrosities committed in Congo during his rain.
It has an area of 18,000 square meters, with 14 bedrooms overlooking the sea.
It consists of a 35 hectares garden, football fields, a large stable with capacity to house up to 30 horses and a large swimming pool which is 50 meters long and a library that holds more than 3,000 books.
It has been owned by various people and it is now owned by Rinat Akhmetov.
{{Les Palais Bulles}}
On the fifth place is Les Palais Bulles or ‘bubble palace’ located in Théoule-sur-Mer in France. It is valued at US$390 million.
Les Palais Bulles was built by Hungarian architect, Antti Lovag between 1975 and 1989. Its name comes from the round shape of the rooms that face the Mediterranean Sea.
Lovag was inspired to build that way because of the old architecture. The house has three pools, a lot of gardens.
It is currently owned by Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer.
Rwanda’s Presidency has revealed that the council took place on Friday but did not mention topics of discussions.
The High Command Council is a periodic decision-making council and a strategic guidance forum chaired by the Commander-in-Chief.
Speaking at the High Command Council held last year in September, President Kagame called on all present to uphold the values of discipline, service to country and hard work on which RDF was founded.
He reminded the participants of their role in ensuring the sustainability of Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation and hard-earned security.
Rwanda and the United Kingdom (UK) recently signed the Economic Development Partnership on Thursday 14th April 2022.The partnership will see Rwanda accommodating asylum seekers staying in UK illegally.
The development came at a time when deep global inequalities are driving millions of people from their homes in search of opportunity, at the same time as millions are forcibly displaced by conflict, persecution, and other threats to safety.
Under this program, the UK will provide an upfront investment of £120 million to fund invaluable opportunities for Rwandans and migrants including secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training, language lessons, and higher education.
These asylum seekers from African countries and others outside the continent will be treated decently like Rwandans upon arrival. It is expected that those willing to return to their mother lands will be helped to do so.
Unlike asylum seekers and refugees from Libya living in Gashora Transit Camp, the ones from UK will be housed in specially-selected accommodation facilities where they will wait for asylum claims to be processed.
{{First batch to arrive soon }}
The Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda, Alain Mukuralinda has said that the first batch of asylum seekers is expected to arrive soon. He however revealed that the final decision will be taken by UK.
“We are expecting the first batch of asylum seekers to arrive soon but we cannot confirm the exact date because we are not the ones to send them. The United Kingdom knows the precise number of individuals to be flown in the first batch and when they are ready to send them,” he said.
Mukuralinda revealed that Rwanda has already made necessary preparations.
“The most important thing is that Rwanda is ready. As of today, I want to assure that we can even host 500 in the first batch but they will arrive in batches on communicated dates,” he noted.
Mukuralinda further disclosed that hostels to accommodate the refugees and asylum seekers are available.
IGIHE has learnt that three buildings meeting requirements in Kigali City have been designated to host them.
These include Hope House located in Kinyinya Sector. The latter is managed by AERG (Association des Etudiants et Eleves Rescapes du Genocide), a body that brings together genocide survivors studying in university and secondary schools. The building previously accommodated Genocide orphans without shelters.
It has been prepared enough to accommodate the asylum seekers. The facility is expected to shelter 100 people who will be served food thrice a day.
Refugees and asylum seekers will enjoy their rights to move freely and return to the building anytime they want.
New facilities including a football playground, Volleyball and Basketball courts for asylum seekers are being developed at the premises.
The five-storey building constructed between 2010 and 2014 has all necessary equipment including beds.
Hope House also has a large room that can serve as a refectory and multipurpose hall where asylum seekers will turn up for social interactions.
‘Desire Resort Hotel’ located in Kagugu of Gasabo District is another facility set to accommodate asylum seekers. It has 72 rooms and different recreational facilities including a swimming pool.
More refugees and asylum seekers will be hosted at ’Hallmark residences’, a facility comprised of 30 units with 102 rooms.
Those to be hosted at the facility will also be fed and helped to participate in different recreational activities.
On 18th May 2022; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta met with UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel with whom they discussed the implementation of the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership.
Amb. Nikobisanzwe also oversees Rwanda’s interests in Mozambique.
“I had the honour and privilege to present my Letters of Credence to His Majesty King Mswati III, King of Eswatini. I conveyed a message of best wishes of peace and prosperity from HE Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda,” he tweeted after presenting letters of credence.
Amb. Nikobisanzwe was the first envoy to represent Rwanda in Mozambique since 2018.
Prior to the appointment, he served as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Rwandan component is part of a regional programme with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda for a total amount of 50 million euro.
The intervention in Rwanda aims to enable young people and women of working age to engage in decent work, to be better protected by labour rights and to benefit from social protection and a more inclusive social dialogue. Together these objectives constitute the “4 pillars of decent work” as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Enabel, the Belgian development agency, will be in charge of executing the programme, in close cooperation with Rwandan authorities, the private sector, CSOs and players at local, national and regional level.
The programme targets 4 sectors: manufacturing, construction, mining and trade.
The intervention zone consists of the City of Kigali and the five districts that make up the Kivu Belt: Rubavu, Karongi, Rutsiro,Rusizi and Nyamasheke.
Concretely, the first pillar of the intervention aspires to create more decent job opportunities by supporting both growth of existing Small and Micro Entreprises (SME)’s and the creation of new SME’s. The creation of decent jobs will be complemented by increasing the work readiness and employability of both existing and future workers.
Secondly, the intervention aspires to support ongoing efforts to assure overall compliance to the rights embedded in the national labour law and international labour standards as well as international labour conventions ratified by Rwanda.
The third pillar, increased access to social protection mechanisms, will be operationalized by the roll out of a network of para-social workers who will link vulnerable households to the existing social protection mechanisms. And finally, the programme will enhance social dialogue with the ambition to develop collective bargaining agreements in the mining, construction and manufacturing sectors.
The activities from these four areas will provide the input to a fifth axis, which is policy development and a national dialogue on decent work. It is worth pointing out that Rwanda will function as the hub for the regional initiatives, such as the sharing of best practices and peer-to-peer learning.
The long-term ambition of the programme is to improve the living conditions and resilience of the most vulnerable populations in the Great Lakes Region by bringing about a positive change and access to decent work for more people, beyond the scope of the portfolio.
Commenting on the development, Minister Ndagijimana said: “Social protection remains one of the main priorities of the Government of Rwanda. We have built an integrated social protection system to ensure vulnerable groups have access to decent employment, improved living standards, are resilient to shocks and have opportunity through increased human capital development and equitable growth. This support from the Government of Belgium will enhance the existing social protection programs to ensure that no one is left behind.”
Ambassador Versmessen underlined that “Social rights are human rights. All activities in the portfolio will be cross-checked to contribute directly or indirectly to the realization of human rights and SDG particularly No 1.3 and 8.5, Vulnerable groups take a central position, so that no one is left behind, and special attention will be paid to specific problems faced by youth and women.”
The visit held on 18th May 2022 was also attended by representatives from Tearfund, African Evangelical Enterprise in Rwanda (AEE Rwanda) as implementers of the project and officials from Rwamagana District.
Farmers benefitting from the project revealed that working in groups and embracing land consolidation helped them to yield big and changed their livelihoods.
Agriculture is one of sectors with huge contribution to national economy. However, farmers need to shift from rudimentary to professional practices to make the sector more meaningful to Rwanda’s economy.
To achieve the goal, the Government of Rwanda continues to work with different partners to improve the sector and increase agricultural yields.
Through Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the European Union provided funding for a five-year project running from 20202 to promote horticulture among small scale farmers as well as Small and Medium Enterprises and increase agricultural exports.
The project is implemented in the districts of Gasabo, Bugesera, Rwamagana and Kayonza.
Two years on, beneficiaries attest transformed livelihoods owing to trainings on best practices in the farming of chili, French beans, onions, pineapple, red cabbages, straw berries, garlic and cauliflowers.
Jean Paul Ndacyayisenga, one of beneficiaries growing vegetables in Nyirabidibiri, a wetland located in the sectors of Mwulire, Nzige and Rubona expressed delight for received support that saw his livelihoods improved.
“We used to grow crops in disorder but we have been sensitized on the relevance of land consolidation. We have already witnessed its impact with regards to increasing produce. Before, a farmer would earn Rwf50, 000 per year but the income has increased to Rwf300, 000. Transformations are self-evident,” he said.
Ndacyayisenga went on to explain that income generated from harvest on a hectare has also increased from Rwf500,000 to more than Rwf1.8 million.
Donatille Mukandayisenga, another beneficiary has said that tapping into the advantage of horticulture helped her to become self-reliant that she no longer depends on her husband to cater for all household needs.
As she revealed, Mukandayisenga initially grew chili on rented garden, but her income grew that she bought own garden and is optimistic to achieve more, thanks to horticulture.
The Mayor of Rwamagana District, Radjab Mbonyumuvunyi who joined farmers to welcome guests from EU also emphasized that the project has changed farmers’ livelihoods to a great extent.
He explained that there is plan to help farmers reap big from horticulture through distribution of selected seeds, fertilizers and linking them to markets.
In the four districts of intervention, chili is grown on 189.70 hectares, French beans on 83.60 hectares, pineapple on 11.80 hectares and onions on 18.30 hectares.
The EU Commission Deputy Director-General, Myriam Ferran has told IGIHE that horticulture is among recommendable areas of investment with a good market.
She revealed that the project’s impact in just two years where beneficiaries regained hope for better life as they can meet basic household needs and support children’s education is commendable and expressed optimism for continued expansion.
The EU Ambassador to Rwanda, Nicola Bellomo disclosed that the project might be expanded to other districts in the future.
Since the beginning of the project, beneficiaries generated Rwf213,171,357 from 397,146 kilograms of chili; Rwf411,065,237 from 1,481,085 kilograms of French beans; Rwf 29,621,135 from 218,302 kgs of pineapple and Rwf 86,859,050 from 234,207 of onions.
Simeon Uwiringiye, Horticulture Project Manager at AEE Rwanda said that the smallholder farmers are still having challenges to access international market among other challenges. He also talked about climate change and dramatic increase of fuel and inputs prices mostly due to the current war in Ukraine. Uwiringiye encouraged buyers to timely assist farmers for better production and market handling.
Douwe Dijkstra, Regional Director East and Central Africa at Tearfund expressed delight for registered achievements in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda and farmers. He also reminisced on farm certification that is still an issue because the fulfillment of related requirements is a challenge for the smallholder farmers at the moment, which will be handled as the project goes on.
He explained that much emphasis in the remaining three years will be drawn on access to market, increasing produce and tackle post-harvest losses by taking advantage of cold rooms built for beneficiaries.
The visit was highly appreciated and the support from European Union much commended.
The forum held between 17th and 19th May 2022 brought together over 1000 participants in Kigali while more 1000 attended virtually.
The forum was attended by different dignitaries including President Paul Kagame; United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, heads of governments, and energy stakeholders, representatives of youth and civil society organizations among others.
As he officiated the opening of the forum, President Kagame highlighted that there needs to be increased financing to developing countries to support climate adaptation.
“By integrating sustainable energy in pandemic recovery plans, we can accelerate the transition to clean power. But the transition must be just and equitable,” he said.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) shows that developed countries account for around 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions which affects developing countries.
President Kagame has said that Africa should not carry the burden alone.
“Africa cannot carry the burden alone, especially given that its emissions did not create the climate emergency. However, Africa will be part of the solution,” he noted.
As the forum was concluded on 19th May 2022, participants raised funds in respective capacities where they committed US$347 million contribution to be injected into different projects aimed at accelerating access to clean energy in developing countries.
Of the funds, US$242 million was provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, a philanthropic organization based in New York of the United States of America.
The contribution of Bloomberg Philanthropies will be utilized to expand clean energy across ten African countries including Mozambique, Kenya and Nigeria.
Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) also pledged U$50 million, IKEA Foundation pledged US$5.8 million while UK based company dubbed Energy Catalyst contributed EUR 40 million.
At least 800 million of the global population do not have access to electricity, majority of whom being from Africa.
Among others, 2.5 billion people mainly from Africa and Asia do not access clean cooking energy.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the forum, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres stressed the need to design special policies to deliver to the agenda 2030 to achieve universal access to electricity and take action on the climate change crisis.
