Holtzman was speaking on Friday during an annual shareholders’ general meeting of Bank of Kigali.
“We intend to cross-list BK Group plc on the Nairobi Securities Exchange official list, the first Rwandan Company to go on the international Market” Holtzman said.
He said that based on bank’s functioning and intensified use of ICT in their operations; they should work towards changes in customer treatment and shareholders.
“For us to continue to lead, we decided to raise our initial investment to between $60 and $70 million in the second term of the financial year both on local and international market,” he said.
After listing to the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Bank of Kigali will be the first Rwandan company to go on the international market.
Holtzman said that the move is in the interest of shareholders as the Kenyan market is very rich, but do not invest in Rwandan market.
He said that once listed, they will help the development of local market.
BK Group Plc, Chief Executive Officer, Diane Karusisi pledged continued development.
“We are proud to be the leading financial institution in Rwanda, be in depositing, providing loans for big projects, tax payment and profitability. Last year, BK earned Rwf23.3 billion of profit,” she explained.
In the meeting, shareholders adopted the annual report and audited financial reports of the year ended 31st December 2017
The American envoy expressed this today, in a press conference that followed bilateral discussions between him and Rwanda’s premier, Dr Ngirente Edouard.
The bilateral discussions focused on partnering with Rwanda, and putting in action the government’s Seven-Year Programme (7YGP) that was set last year.
Amb. Vrooman emphasized the importance the U.S. government places on partnering with Rwanda to ensure its youth have the knowledge and skills needed to drive economic development and build their future, especially in the Education and Agricultural sectors. He stressed the importance of partnering with all stakeholders to accomplish the goals of the Seven-Year programme.
“Recently, we launched a Rwf28 billion project to support agricultural growth and resiliency across Rwanda. The project, called Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze, will be implemented over five years in 10 districts across Rwanda,” he said.
“Since more than 70 % of Rwandans are in the Agricultural sector, the sector is an important one and needs all the help it can get. This is why we are doing all we can to support so that Rwanda can accomplish the goals that it set.” Amb. Vrooman added
The new Rwf 28 billion project will directly benefit over 200,000 farmers. The project will help them grow at least 50 percent more crops on the same size of land by promoting sustainable use of fertilizers, improved seeds, irrigation practices and more.
Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), each year, the US donates USD10 million, approximately Rwf93 million to Rwanda to support the country’s development.
Alongside a cure, an HIV vaccine would be the only way of completely halting the spread of HIV once and for all. At present, an effective preventive vaccine remains years from fruition, but there is a lot of exciting progress that indicates the world is getting closer.
Rwanda is not any behind in the research that would one day lead to the world free of AIDS, the pandemic that has shattered the world since the 1980s, according to Julienne Mukamwezi, a nurse and counselor at Projet San Francisco (PSF), the only research centre on HIV in Rwanda.
Located in Kigali’s Kicukiro District, PSF was established by the American researcher Dr. Susan Allen in 1986 for mainly conducting research on HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases.
In collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and Rwanda’s Ministry of Health with the funding of USAID, Ms. Mukamwezi told IGIHE on Tuesday that PSF has tested seven HIV vaccines on 274 people in Rwanda since 2005.She said the research progress is promising that time will come for an HIV vaccine.
“What we wish and hope is that we shall once day have an HIV/AIDS vaccine but we can’t ascertain now the exact time that will be achieved,” she said
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease, according to World Health Organisation (WHO).
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Mukamwezi clarified that vaccines, like any other medicine, are first well examined in laboratory, then tested with small animals like mice, rabbits and then with animals which have many similarities to people like monkeys.
“If these animals seriously suffer effects of the vaccine, that vaccine will not go beyond that stage of testing. If it causes no serious effects, the vaccine is then passed on for testing on human beings to see if the human body behaves like the animals’ against that vaccine,” she said.
She cleared illusions that one may catch HIV during the testing.
“Someone may think that testing an HIV vaccine on them can make them catch the virus, there is no way. There is no HIV virus in the vaccine. The purpose of the testing is to check if the vaccine increases the body’s immunity and it doesn’t cause serious problems to one’s body. We keep teaching our vaccine’s recipients that they have to guard against any acts expose them to HIV,” she said.
Since the PSF started HIV vaccine testing in 2005, the vaccines were proven to cause no harm to people. Most of the vaccines were able to increase the body’s immunity against the HIV but the research continues because the immunity was insufficient.
Mukamwezi encouraged Rwandans to keep guarding against the HIV, remembering that it is still there without any cure or vaccine. He cautioned the youth especially who carelessly behave in a way that exposes themselves to HIV, urging them to value life and avoid wrecking it into peril.
WHO figures indicated that there were 36.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 2016 while 1.8 million were acquiring it and one million people killed by AIDS annually.
The HIV prevalence stands at 3% in Rwanda and AIDS kills over 2,500 annually.
The three year grant was signed on Thursday between the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana and the Ambassador of German to Rwanda Dr. Peter Woeste.
Ambassador Woeste hailed Rwanda’s economic development in past years and added that he wishes for continued development through implementation of national transformation agenda under the partnership of private sector and non-government organizations.
“I am very happy for open discussions with the government of Rwanda, though sometimes we can understand things differently on some matters, this is a sign of true friendship,” he said.
Minister Ndagijimana said that the grant will be allocated in sectors that will enable the country achieve long-term targets.
“Development partnership exists, and through this signed agreement, we cement the optimism and good relations between our countries,” he explained.
Every three years, both countries hold discussions and agree on development cooperation in different programmes. This year’s discussions started yesterday to end today Friday 18th focusing on 2017-2019 development cooperation projects.
The government of Rwanda and German have cooperation relations since 1963.
Speaking at the event on Thursday, Ngirente said that the Government of Rwanda decided to eradicate stunting because of its negative impacts on sustainable development. He said that studies show that stunted children tend to be at greater risk of illness and death.
“The launch of this multi-sectorial programme on combating stunting includes three projects that will target districts with highest stunting rates in Rwanda and accelerate reduction of stunting,” he said.
The programme will play role in increasing coverage of high-impact health and nutrition intervention in 13 districts with high stunting rates.
Nyabihu district has the highest stunting rates with 59% of children have stunted growth.
Ngirente said that ending stunting requires cross-cut partnership and called on parents to embrace early childhood development programmes, family planning and awareness about first 1000 days of childhood.
He pledged government support to families with children who are highly affected by stunting.
“We shall not cease unless this problem is completely terminated. Rwandans achieved many things that were quite complicated. Terminating stunting will not conquer us,” he noted.
World Bank Group Country Director, Yasser El Gammal said that through good partnership with the government of Rwanda, they will continue to collaborate in fighting malnutrition which causes stunting.
“We believe that Rwanda will make it, as Rwandans have demonstrated that what is impossible elsewhere is possible here,” he said.
In April, Rwanda and World Bank signed additional funding of $23 million (about Rwf19 billion) for the project to fight malnutrition among children.
This was announced by the RCS Commissioner General, George Rwigamba yesterday when the Ministry of Justice and affiliated institutions were discussing the 2018-2019 Budget Framework Paper with the Parliamentary National Budget and Patrimony Committee.
He said that there is need to beef-up RCS force for greater efficiency. Based on international standards, Rwigamba said that one prison guard protects 20 inmates, or below that number, but, in Rwanda there are no exact numbers because prisons receive many inmates.
“We do not have standardized number because inmates increase against constant numbers of officers. Today, there’s order in correctional facilities because of the way we structured security and services inside prisons with reference to local administration structure,” he explained.
Rwigamba said that though in prisons they have administrative entities like sectors, Cells and villages which help providing quick response to problem that may arise, the small number of guards still affects them.
“This administrative process doesn’t solve the problem of guards shortage, they are very few, they don’t have time to rest based on different services like escorting inmates to court, hospital and in prison’s daily activities. Guards from day shift also return during the night, and that is their daily routine,” he explained.
He said that they are preparing to receive 287 new prison guards in July, but, the number is too low to solve the existing problem.
In December 2017, RCS revealed that Rwandan Prisons had a total of 64,757 inmates with 1694 prison guards.
Born in Bugesera District and now a second-year student in Civil Engineering Construction Technology at the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centre (IPRC Kigali), Nzirorera says he developed a passion for construction during his childhood and pursued it in secondary school.
With the encouragement of the college for innovation, Nzirorera found his skills insufficient to do anything new in Rwanda’s construction sector. He started online courses with Archystore in Madagascar in April 2017 and later with Harvard University in the United States. He did Lumion software and Twinmotion, the world’s best rendering tools.
Nzirorera, then, opened Golden Construction and Designing Ltd (GCD) in February 2018 and recruited a supporting team of seven including professionals and students in different construction-related fields.
“Something new I have brought into Rwanda’s construction sector is the use of walkthrough animation that Rwandans are currently looking for abroad. No one else is doing this here and if there is any, they are weak because all local big projects should not be going to foreign firms,” said Nzirorera.
“I am able to deliver any building design like Kigali Convention Centre and other world-class buildings wherever they might be in the world. I want to do more courses to improve skills about designing other structures like airports and stadiums. Meanwhile, I am trying to raise funds for redeeming my completion certificate at Harvard University.”
IPRC Kigali’s Vice-Principal for Academics and Training, Eng. Jean Claude Benimana, told IGIHE last week that the college decided to support Nzirorera with offices and a good computer because they found his work as important.
“We found his activities very important and decided to support him as we usually do for other students who show good ideas for implementation. We even want him to share skills with other students. We haven’t done yet a thorough evaluation of his work especially because that software he uses is not what we teach here,” said Eng. Benimana.
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In addition to some residential buildings, Nzirorera’s GCD Company has delivered a project of a world-class tennis stadium which is set to be the best in the East African region, according to Eng. Valens Habimana, the Secretary General of Rwanda Tennis Federation (RTF).
Located in IPRC Kigali in Kicukiro District, the tennis stadium project is owned by RTF and Workforce Development Authority (WDA).
“Nzirorera designed four tennis pitches in our first phase of tennis stadium. The second phase he also designed is about other facilities at the stadium such as lodges to host people who will be attending international competitions in Kigali. I found a talent in him especially because I am an engineer. He first showed me what he does and I showed him the project we had and I was surprised to see how quickly he understood it. That way of walkthrough animation he uses to demonstrate the design is really important,” said Eng. Habimana.
He said the first phase of the stadium has been completed at a tune of Rwf90 million and the federation is raising the funds for the second phase.
“When we presented the project in the presence of Rwandan ministers and officials from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) a fortnight ago, they admired it and promised to support it. I presented the project and even foreigners were amazed to hear that a Rwandan can design such a project and put it in a self-explanatory way of walkthrough animation. It looked new to many,” noted Eng. Habimana.
“We have other Rwandans who can design that project but they don’t have those good ways of demonstration which doesn’t require the presenter to explain a lot. They do design but in our other ways.”
Other ways of demonstrating architectural designs include 3D and physical models which show a building in drawings while the objective of walkthrough animation is to give the object the physical properties as it would exist in the real world.
Nzirorera says the biggest challenge he is facing is about convincing people on what he can do because many say that they are designs he just copies from South Africa or other developed countries while others don’t believe that someone as young as him can deliver a great project.
“Others still question the skills of someone who acquired courses online. They think no one can be as competent as the one who physically attends the campus. I am trying to convince people by all means including developing designs that nobody is going to pay,” he says.
Nzirorera plans to keep expanding skills, offer training to Rwandans and make up a big team of competitive professionals who can design master plans of cities in Rwanda and abroad.
The multi-million dollar plant is being constructed in Special Economic Zone where the first phase will be completed in 18 months.
The biotech industry will have a diverse portfolio of over 100 essential medicines that will include general medicines and consumer healthcare products.
In the first year of operation, the plant is expected to employ over 100 local staff for them to be able to acquire skills and expertise about pharmaceuticals production.
Speaking to IGIHE, Health Minister, Dr. Diane Gashumba said that Rwanda imports 90% of drugs used in the country. She said that the plant will help the country close the gap for importation of drugs which costs much money.
“Drugs which will be produced here will be cheap and of better quality. The plant will also provide jobs to many people and facilitate availability of drugs on time. It happens that shipping drugs takes longer or some drugs get out of stock before ordered consignments are delivered to us,” she said.
She said that the plant will produce different varieties of drugs including antibiotics, pain killers, malaria drugs, tuberculosis drugs and HIV/AIDS antiretroviral drugs among others.
“They will produce all these types of drugs, but, they will need to follow international standards,” she added.
Gashumba said that every year, Rwanda spends at least Rwf30 billion to import, stocking and distributing drugs to different health facilities across the country.
“We spend at least Rwf25 billion for buying drugs. If we had more local plants, we would reduce the cost of imports,” she added.
Ministry of Health says that currently, four plants have expressed interest in producing pharmaceuticals in Rwanda.
Apex Biotech Ltd Managing Director, Dr Masroor Ehsan said that they will produce quality drugs as they will have decent quality testing measurements which follow international standards.
Rutagungira, a Rwandan citizen, was kidnapped by Ugandan security operatives in August this year, and held incommunicado at Mbuya military barracks for months where he was subjected to all sorts of torture before he could be produced to court.
Incarcerated at Makindye Military Prison, Rutagungira is jointly charged with eight other people including police officers in connection with kidnapping the former bodyguard of President Paul Kagame in 2013 who was extradited to Rwanda and sentenced to life imprisonment.
In a letter to the Country Representative of the UN Human Rights, the family through Kiiza and Mugisha Advocates, accuses Uganda’s security agencies of torture.
The lawyers’ letter shows that Mr Rutagungira has been denied visitation rights from his family, lawyers and medical personnel, a situation that has worried his family about the state of their relative.
“We therefore invite your good offices to take solid interest and strongly intervene in the matter so that you firmly demand an end to the said torture and other violations against the said Rene Rutagungira,” the letter reads in part.
Addressing journalists in Kampala, Mr Eron Kiiza the lawyer representing Mr Rutagungira explained that the move to seek the intervention of UN office followed the denial of the military court to hear his client’s application.
“Our client’s visitation rights have been denied yet the other suspects are allowed. His relatives, children, wife and lawyers have been blocked from accessing him at the prison and we believe this is a violation of his personal liberty and it is very painful for them,” Mr Kiiza said.
According to the petition, Rutagungira was arrested in August last year by soldiers attached to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) who subjected him to physical and mental torture including solitary confinement and death threats among other violations.
With the new destination, RwandAir will operate four times a week.
RwandAir’s 75-seater Bombardier CRJ-900 NextGen which made the career’s maiden flight landed in Cape Town last week.
Kigali-Harare-Cape Town is the 26throute of Rwanda’s career in Africa, Europe and Asia.
RwandAir has had Harare flights four times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
RwandAir South Africa Country Manager, Thembela Dladla said that opening Kigali-Harare-Cape Town route has been so long planned as Cape Town is destination sought by everyone on the continent.
Last year, RwandAir started London, United Kingdom flights and plans to enter Israel, New York, United States of America and Guangzhou, China skies in 2018.
The Official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape (Wesgro) Chief Executive Officer, Tim Harris welcomed the introduction of new route saying that it will benefit Cape Town.
“We welcome the introduction of the direct route from Kigali via Harare to Cape Town. Not only does this facilitate improved business and tourism between the two Capitals, but further positions the Cape as a gateway to Africa,” said Tim Harris.
In a press release, the Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde said that the route opens new opportunities for business and tourism sector.
“This route opens up new opportunities for business and the tourism sector. Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies on the continent and Zimbabwe holds a lot of potential for development and we hope that by opening up access between Cape Town, Kigali and Harare, it will be easier to explore these possibilities,” Winde said.
RwandAir enters Cape Town few days after the Government of Rwanda and South Africa committed to revitalize the relations. When South Africa’s President Cyrill Ramaphosa was in Kigali in March for the signing of Continental Free Trade Area, he agreed to address challenges of visas for Rwandans entering South Africa territory.
