Amb. Emmanuel Hategeka presented to H.E Mashare Ali Bennaheet Ag. Under Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a copy of credentials designating him as Rwanda’s Non-resident Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
After presenting credentials yesterday, Amb. Hategeka reiterated commitment to strengthen bilateral relations. He also held bilateral talks with Mashare.
“Honored to have presented today a copy of my credentials as non-resident Ambassador designate of Rwanda to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Looking forward to strengthening the existing good relations between our two countries,” he said in a tweet.
Hategeka is Rwanda’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 15th July 2019. He will be representing Rwanda in Saudi Arabia with residence in UAE.
Amb. Hategeka served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Rwanda Development Board (RDB) prior to his ambassadorial post.
Rwanda, Saudi Arabia relations got boost since 2006 when officials from the country started visiting Rwanda at different times.
In 2018, both countries signed agreement to promote diplomatic relations witnessed by Rwanda’s ambassador to the UN, Valentine Rugwabiza while Saudi Arabia was represented by its representative to UN, Abdallah Yahya Al-Mouallimi.
The believers were holding prayers in the house of one Pelagie Nyiranduhura, 36, in Rwimpongo II Village, Rwintashya Cell of Rukumberi Sector.
The gathering is prohibited under the national directives meant to fight further spread of the COVID-19.
Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Hamdun Twizeyimana, the Police spokesperson for the Eastern region, said the violators were in an overnight prayer.
“The illegal overnight prayers caused noise pollution in the neighbourhood, which prompted the residents to call authorities for intervention at about 5 am,” said CIP Twizeyimana.
“Police and local leaders first found 26 people from different religious denominations, in the same house and took them to the sector offices, but residents called again later after more people came in that morning for prayers, which were supposed to last for three days. They caught other ten people in the same house. All the violators were educated on the pandemic of the COVID-19 and prevention measures, but were also fined for the violation,” he added.
At least 10 of the violators are members of ADEPR church, six methodists, five from the Catholic Church and others from the Anglican Church.
They came from Rukumbeli, Zaza and Mugesera sectors in Ngoma District.
Other came from Rwamagara and Bugesera districts.
“They came from different districts, congested in a small room praying, no one was wearing a facemask and no hand washing. One person infected with COVID-19 could have easily infected everyone there,” said CIP Twizeyimana.
“As we have seen in daily reports on COVID-19 infections by the Ministry of Health, positive cases have been reported in most parts of the country and such unnecessary movements and prohibited gatherings could easily spread the pandemic and affect national response efforts.”
The spokesperson thanked the residents for the neighbourbood watch and called for continued partnership and information sharing on any unlawful acts.
The speech is usually delivered at ‘Umushyikirano’ (National Dialogue Council) which has been cancelled due to COVID-19 preventive measures.
As the council was canceled last week, the cabinet meeting announced that the President of the Republic will hold an interactive session with citizens and members of the press during which he will deliver ‘State of the Nation’ address on 21st December 2020.
The speech is expected to comfort Rwandans especially during these difficult times of COVID-19 pandemic which has destabilized the economy and well-being at large.
The ‘State of the Nation’ address is stipulated by the constitution under the article 98 which determines duties of President of the Republic.
The third paragraph reads that President of the Republic delivers ‘State of the Nation’ address once every year.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, the deployment is in response to the targeting of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) contingent under the UN Peacekeeping force by rebels supported by François Bozize.
“Rwandan troops will also contribute to ensuring a peaceful and secure general elections scheduled on Sunday 27th December 2020, twenty-two months after the peace agreement which was reached between the government and fourteen armed groups,” reads the statement in part.
The Rwanda Defence Force is one of the largest troop contributors to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) since 2014.
CAR has been hit by insecurity as rebels and opposition groups seek suspension of elections fearing results.
On Saturday, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra accused former president of the country, François Bozize of planning a coup-plot to dethrone the Government in collaboration with armed rebels.
However, the ex-president of the Central African Republic has denied the allegation.
Tensions rose after Mr Bozizé’s candidacy for this week’s national elections was rejected by the country’s highest court.
The UN said on Friday it had deployed peacekeeping forces to the country.
President Faustin Archange Touadéra has insisted the poll will go ahead, saying the presence of the army and UN peacekeepers means people have nothing to fear.
But opposition parties, including that of Mr Bozizé, have called for the vote to be postponed “until the re-establishment of peace and security”.
The CAR is one of Africa’s poorest and most unstable countries, even though it is rich in resources like diamonds and uranium. The UN estimates that half of the population are dependent on humanitarian assistance and up to a fifth have been displaced.
The young Rwandan is an engineer and entrepreneur who developed a sustainable way to provide struggling communities in Africa with clean water.
She is among three of the remarkable finalists for the award that have dedicated their skills, resources, and time to making the world a better place by working towards achieving the United Nations’ Global Goals and standing up for those who are vulnerable.
Kwizera becomes the first Rwandan winning the prize beating her contestants Suhani Jalota from India and Ryan Gersava from Philippines.
Kwizera was revealed as the winner of the award at the Global Citizen Prize ceremony broadcast and streamed globally on 19th December 2020. Although this year’s ceremony was hosted virtually, it was an incredible affair that celebrated world leaders, business leaders, activists, musicians and artists, young people, and philanthropists from around the globe.
During the broadcast Kwizera was surprised with a call from singer-songwriter, Nick Jonas, who shared the news with the young entrepreneur that she had won this year’s Cisco Youth Leadership Award.
Kwizera was evidently jubilant and shared with Jonas that she was “super super surprised”. She then called in her “work family” to meet Jonas and be part of the exciting moment.
“The work we do, keeping water running for hundreds of thousands, we’re going to scale to millions because we’re tackling a challenge that affects 400 million id. people across Africa and over 2 billion worldwide,” she said.
“In 10 years, this prize being a huge catalyst for this in 10 years we’re going to be servicing 30 million and more; we’re going to create over 13,000 jobs because when we give water, we also create jobs,” added Kwizera.
As the winner of this year’s award, Kwizera will receive $250,000 to put forward her social enterprise, Water Access Rwanda.
When she was just 20, Kwizera founded Water Access Rwanda in response to the dangerous conditions that Rwandans would face when collecting water from rivers and dams, including crocodile attacks and disease-ridden water.
The social enterprise aims to eliminate water scarcity and provide communities with safe and easily accessible water. Today they successfully supply over 70,000 people in and around Rwanda with clean water daily.
She told Global Citizen that the work Water Access Rwanda does now is just the beginning.
“Our ambition is much bigger because, as I like to say, the crisis is way bigger than what we’re doing,” she said.
The Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award was established in 2018 to honor and uplift extraordinary young activists who have dedicated themselves to working towards achieving the UN’s Global Goals.
This year’s winner, Christelle Kwizera, works towards providing African communities with clean water, which contributes to the United Nations’ Global Goal 6, to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; and Goal 11 for building sustainable communities.
The latter is the largest number of deaths recorded in one day since the patient was confirmed in Rwanda on 14th March 2020.
The statement released last night shows that the deceased include two women respectively aged 47 and 63 as well as two men aged 52 (from Kigali) and 68 (from Rubavu).
Among others, 61 new cases have been found out of 3545 sample tests while two have recovered.
The new patients were found in Kigali:6, Rubavu:25, Muhanga: 13, Huye:9, Musanze:4, Gakenke:2, Kirehe:1 and Nyanza:1.
Since the pandemic emerged in Rwanda, 7293 people have been tested positive out of 690,221 sample tests of whom 6091 have recovered, 1139 are active cases while 63 have succumbed to the virus.
Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.
Rwandans are urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.
The statement released last night shows that new patients were found in Kigali:76, Rusizi:12, Musanze:12, Rubavu:11, Gakenke:6, Kirehe:5, Huye:2, Kayonza:1, Rwamagana:1, and Muhanga:1.
Rwanda confirmed the first COVID-19 –patient on 14th March 2020. So far, 7232 have been tested positive out of 686,676 sample tests of whom 6089 have recovered, 1084 are active cases while 59 have succumbed to the virus.
Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.
Rwandans are urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.
Mpahlwa said it will be among his major areas of concern as the new ambassador accredited to Rwanda. He made the revelation yesterday after presenting letters of credence to President Paul Kagame.
Mpahlwa, 60, has been appointed two years after his country withdrew her representative in Rwanda. In December 2018, South Africa recalled George Nkosinati Twala who was representing South Africa to Rwanda after completing his term. The recalling came two days after tensions triggered by allegations that Rwanda spoke ill of the then South Africa’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Even though, reasons for new appointment delay remain unknown, both countries have been hit by diplomatic tensions where Rwanda accused South Africa to grant refuge to fugitives intending to threaten Rwanda’s security like Kayumba Nyamwasa who escaped justice and currently heading RNC terror outfit.
In March 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the problem of Rwandans being denied visas to South Africa would soon become history after holding talks with President Paul Kagame. However, up to now, Rwandans still struggle to get visa to travel to South Africa.
Rwanda has at different times explained that actions of convicted people or fugitives should not blur bilateral relations.
After presenting letters of credence, Amb. Mpahlwa has revealed that he talked about the problem with President Kagame and expressed sentiments o address it. He explained that solving the problem will be part of his contributions as the new envoy accredited to Rwanda.
“This is a matter that we have spoken about with the president, we both recognized that there some issues but we have both expressed commitment that must help us to normalize relationship. There are many South Africans living in Rwanda, business continues to operate in Rwanda and this must seek common grounds for improved relationships,” he said.
“It is a responsibility awaiting us [visa problem], it has to be done to give meaning to my presence in Rwanda because we have capacity to solve problems to take relations forward. It is something I promised the president that I can relate to what my president would want to see,” added Mpahlwa.
He didn’t precise when the problem will have been fixed but assured it is among his priorities noting that it will be addressed on time.
Mpahlwa has been representing South Africa to Mozambique where he completed his tour of duty this year.
He once served as the Minister of Trade and Industry and held different top positions in South Africa since 2004.
MINEDUC inspection was conducted between August and September 2020 ahead of schools reopening.
Claudette Irere, the Minister of State in charge of ICT and TVET at MINEDUC has told IGIHE that the inspection was meant to assess schools’ readiness to accommodate students in adherence to instituted COVID-19 health guidelines.
“Many schools were affected following the lockdown that halted all activities. We decided to carry out an inspection to assess if the schools are ready or not,” she explained.
Following the inspection, 20 schools were closed for failure to meet requirements for quality education.
“I cannot confirm that the schools allowed to continue meet requirements at 100% but other schools were found with gaps that cannot be tolerated especially related to quality education,” said Irere.
“We wanted to assess if school settings are ready to welcome students and respect COVID-19 preventive measures like washing hands, keeping social distancing among others. The inspection also took emphasis on courses, whereby we assessed if the workshops are well equipped, if teachers are qualified, trained enough and have necessary skills to educate students,” she said.
As Irere explained, the inspection informed the decision to close the 20 schools on grounds of complex hardships hindering quality education.
“We established many schools countrywide that should not be allowed to mislead students yet we identified existing problems. We decided to release the list so that parents and students can think on ways forward,” she noted.
The closed schools will be allowed to reopen after meeting requirements.
MINEDUC has announced that students who might continue studies at closed schools will not be allowed to sit for national exams.
School owners have been advised to consult MINEDUC for support to re-orient students to other schools.
Rwandans are also advised to identify if certain schools meet requirements before registering children. The list of closed schools is found on districts’ offices and MINEDUC website. Only 193 TVET schools have been allowed to educate students in the year 2020/2021. It will be revised every year and released before schools’ reopening.
The new deadline is set to 31st March 2021 instead of 31st December 2020.
The previous deadline had triggered mixed reactions whereby the general public requested extension citing economic shortfalls due to effects of COVID-19 pandemic and school reopening hat also required much expenses.
IGIHE has learnt that some people informed the City of Kigali that they couldn’t be able to make payments, hence requesting to exempt taxes.
In a statement released, RRA has reminded tax payers ‘to declare taxes early because tax payers have been facilitated to pay in four installments, effective from today.’
The statement further reads that ‘they can digitally declare and pay taxes,’ helping them to get fast service instead of queuing at local leaders’ offices.
