According to a statement from Rwanda National Police (RNP), provisional licenses and driving permits applicants who applied for the tests in March this year before the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown will be considered first.
“The applicants who were given timetable of driving tests before they were halted in March 2020 will be considered first. The list of these applicants, driving test venue, and dates will be announced before the test period,” reads a statement from the police.
The statement also said that “Driving school owners who would wish to start can start operations promptly, but schools that teach traffic rules will have to wait until 2nd November. The schools will reopen, but with respect to Covid-19 preventive measures including physical distancing, regular hand washing, and the wearing of masks,”
The three ambassadors of the Republic of Korea, Oman, and Vietnam held brief meetings with President Paul Kagame at the President’s office Urugwiro Village in Kacyiru on a rainy morning in Kigali and later briefed local media on their plans in Rwanda.
The ambassador of Korea, Jin-Weon Chae who was accompanied by his wife, and has a permanent residence in Kigali said that both countries will continue working on the bilateral cooperation which mainly has focused on economic development through technology.
“During my term of office, I will put emphasis on promoting the long standing relationship between Rwanda and Korea especially in the areas of economic development,” Chae said.
Rwanda and Korea have a cooperation that mainly focuses on the areas of education and capacity building, rural development, agriculture, as well as information and communications technology.
Development cooperation with Korea is implemented through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) which has an office in Kigali. KOICA’s main projects in Rwanda in the next four years are in the sectors of Agriculture, TVET as well as in tax policy and administration.
RDB has registered nine (9) investments in Rwanda from Korean companies during the period of 2012 – 2020:
These investments, totaling an approximate amount of $268.5 million, include KT corporation (formerly Korea Telecom), Korea’s largest telecommunication company, which has invested in Rwanda’s 4G LTE broadband network. 2 o HeWorks LTD, another Korean firm, has invested in the sericulture business and has started to export silk thread to Korea this year.
The company is trying to revitalize the silk industry in Rwanda to build a full-scale silk factory in Bugesera by 2021 that could employ 3000 local people.
Ambassador Saleh Bin Suleiman Bin Ahmed AL-Harthi of the Sultanate of Oman, who has a residence in Nairobi, Kenya and was accompanied by his wife, said that his agenda will be to promote areas of trade, tourism and education, which have been the focus areas of the two countries.
Both Rwanda and Oman established diplomatic relations in March 1998 and the two countries have a long-established trade relationship with the Omani merchants who initiated the first commercial centers in Rwanda since the early 1900’s.
In terms of trade between the two countries, it is estimated to be valued at $920,000 to $2.3 million in 2017 and 2018 respectively of which 82% of the imports from Oman to Rwanda is largely petroleum products while Rwanda mainly exports to Oman include: vegetables, processed food and cereals.
Despite its history of being a war zone, Kagame pointed out that Vietnam’s success was a source of inspiration for Rwanda especially in trade and agriculture.
During this State visit, three cooperation agreements, were signed in the areas of agriculture, health, and education.
Ambassador Nguyen Nam Tien of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, said he will work on building that rekindled relationship.
“This is a big moment for me and I look forward to being central in growing this relationship” Tien said.
Rwanda and Vietnam have arguably one of the oldest established diplomatic relations which was started in 1975 and a general cooperation agreement signed later on in May 2008 when President Kagame paid a state visit to Vietnam upon invitation by his counterpart. The visit ended with a tripartite cooperation agreement in the sectors such as agriculture, health and education.
The ministry said the deceased on Tuesday was an 88-year-old woman from Kirehe.
On October 27, 2020, 11 new cases of COVID-19 were found out of 1594 sample tests taken, bringing the total number to 5084 while three have recovered, bringing the number of recoveries to 4851 and198 active cases.
Of the new cases, eight were found in Kigali, while in Kirehe, Musanze and Nyamagabe Districts each has recorded one case.
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 required to continue to comply with government regulations, especially with frequent washing of hands and water and soap, wearing masks when leaving home or in public.
At the time, Mugisha, who was traveling in a passenger service vehicle, was allegedly trafficking the narcotics to Karongi from Rubavu District, Police said. He was intercepted halfway, in Rutsiro district, Kivumu sector in Kabujenje cell.
The police spokesperson for the western region, Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Bonaventure Twizere Karekezi said that the police officers, while in their routine operation, stopped the bus that Mugisha was traveling in, for a usual inspection.
“When they checked a sack that Mugisha had, they found it contained pellets of cannabis. Mugisha was with another lady, who managed to sneak out of the bus during the search, and fled,” CIP Karekezi said.
Mugisha admitted that he got the narcotics from Rubavu District and was on his way to supply other dealers in Karongi District.
The search for his accomplice, the lady, who fled from the scene, is still underway, the spokesperson said.
Mugisha was then handed over to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) for the next legal steps to be taken.
CIP Karekezi said that it is not the first time for suspected drug traffickers to be intercepted along Rubavu-Karongi road, adding that most of them usually use taxi-motos.
He urged people involved in drug trafficking and consumption to quit to be safe from “severe legal consequences” but also to prevent health effects related to consumption of such harmful narcotics.
Cannabis is listed as a “very severe drug” in Rwanda, alongside cocaine, opium and heroin, under the Ministerial Order No. 001/MoH/2019 of 04/03/2019 establishing the list of narcotic drugs and their categorisation.
In article 263 of the law determining offences and penalties in general, it is stated that anyone convicted for “severe narcotic drugs” faces a life imprisonment and a fine of between Frw20 million and Frw30 million.
Nyagatare District Mayor Mushabe David Claudien told IGIHE that “Five cows struck by lightning are from Nyagatare Sector, and we are still compiling statistics to determine the damage.”
Musheri Sector Executive Secretary Kamu Stiven told IGIHE that residents have been accommodating their neighbors affected by the rains while community work is expected to help them restore the roofs properly.
He said that the government will help these residents by providing roofing iron sheets.
Citizens are also urged to take animal insurances to make it easier for them to recover from such losses.
Heavy rains also destroyed more than 200 houses in Kirehe District in recent weeks and damaged farmland.
The projections come after previous expectations and projections that the economy would grow by about 2 per cent.
After weeks of holding meetings with various government agencies, the IMF mission led by Haimanot Teferra revised downward informed by the extent of local and domestic shocks.
“Given the size of external shocks and the domestic shock caused by containment measures, real GDP growth is now projected to contract to -0.2 per cent in 2020 and rebound to 5.7 per cent in 2021,” the mission noted.
The IMF however noted that economic activity has started to show signs of recovery following a sharp contraction in the second quarter of 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the stringent containment measures.
The continued monetary and financial measures and large fiscal packages deployed in response to the crisis were also found to have played an important role supporting the economy.
With the global economy quite uncertain, it is not possible to predict its effect on the Rwandan economy with regard to economic disruptions in Rwanda and in trading partners, the mission further noted.
The financial and banking system was found to be stable, liquid and well capitalized to foster economic recovery.
“Inflation remained high, partly reflecting supply disruptions, but it is expected to stay closer to the upper bound of the National Bank of Rwanda inflation benchmark band in 2020. The banking system has remained stable, liquid and well capitalized,” the mission’s statement noted.
Tax revenues have been stronger than expected at the time of the second IMF emergency financing under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), but expenditures are also expected to be higher as the fiscal measures to support vulnerable families and hard-hit firms are being extended.
An economic contraction means a decline in national output measured by the value added and created through the production of goods and services in the country during a certain period. It signifies a drop in real personal income, industrial production, and retail sales among others as was evidenced during the lockdown and consequent months.
Olivier Nshimiyimana, 22, alias ‘Major’ and Abdoul Sadam, 27, were arrested on Saturday, October 24, with four sachets of the severe drug. They were also caught with a syringe, which they were using to inject customers with heroin.
The suspects were handed over to RIB at Ngoma station.
Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Michel Majyambere, the acting District Police Commander (DPC) for Huye, said that the arrest of the duo followed information provided by one of the addicted users, who had check in at Huye rehabilitation centre for medical assistance.
“An addicted youth, who had gone to seek medical help at Huye rehabilitation centre disclosed that he was buying the heroin from Nshimiyimana. Police traced and arrested Nshimiyimana, who was at the time found in possession of four sachets of heroin. Sadam, who was caught with Nshimiyimana, is also the latter’s client, who had come to be injected with heroin,” CIP Majyambere said.
“Heroin is among the very dangerous narcotic drugs with immediate effects to users, and with severe punishment especially to dealers in Rwanda,” the DPC warned.
It is said that Nshimiyimana was using the same syringe to inject several of his clients, which increased risks of spreading infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS.
{{Effects of heroin}}
Health experts say that after the initial effects of heroin, users usually will be drowsy for several hours; mental function is clouded; heart function slows; and breathing is also severely slowed, sometimes enough to be life-threatening.
Slowed breathing can also lead to coma and permanent brain damage.
According to the UN Office in Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), heroin is “very addictive” and development of tolerance and physical and psychological dependence occurs rapidly.
UNODC warns that heroin causes severe weight loss and malnutrition that can lead to damaged veins and liver disease. It can also lead to menstrual irregularity, sedation and chronic apathy.
Taking heroin also clouds the user’s judgment and increases the chance of him or her making bad choices, such as having unprotected sex and sharing needles. Thus, the user risks contracting HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and other infectious diseases.
{{What the law in Rwanda says}}
Heroin is listed as a “very severe drug” in Rwanda, alongside cocaine, opium and cannabis under the Ministerial Order No. 001/MoH/2019 of 04/03/2019 establishing the list of narcotic drugs and their categorisation.
In article 263 of the law relating to offences and offences in general, it specifies that anyone convicted for “severe narcotic drugs” faces a life imprisonment and a fine of between Frw20 million and Frw30 million.
Among the new cases are four from Kigali while Burera, Muhanga and Musanze district each had one case.
Since the first Coronavirus patient appeared in Rwanda, 548 938 sample tests have been made of which 5073 cases were confirmed. Of these, 4848 have already recovered while 191 are still active cases. 34 people 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 required to continue to comply with government regulations, especially with frequent washing of hands and water and soap, wearing masks when leaving home or in public.
Kigali from October 14th to October 21, 2020. Attended by 13 civil servants and representatives of the private sector, the eight-day online training has been administered in collaboration with the Korea Rural Community Corporation (KRC) with the objective of equipping participants with knowledge and skills for agricultural development, sustainable water management, and appropriate response to climate change.
It prepared a diverse range of lectures and workshops to deliver practical knowledge on agricultural development to the participants.
RMI was chosen to be the host institution of the training because it was the primary beneficiary of KOICA’s project of “Human Resources Development for Civil Service Capacity Building (2014-2018)”. Under this project, KOICA financed the upgrading of its training facility with a cutting edge teleconference system, including sound and video systems and equipment and capacity building of RMI staff.
“In response to this unprecedented crisis posed by COVID-19, KOICA had to find an innovative alternative to keep our capacity building programs going”, Mr Chon Gyung Shik, Country Director of KOICA Rwanda office said in his closing remarks.
“Though this is the first online training, I believe this will clearly demonstrate how ICT can be incorporated into our grant programs and help strengthen our digital transformation strategy”. “As we navigate this challenge, we will keep trying to apply new ways of doing things to improve our performance while saving costs”, he added.
‘’This training has been important to me to get enough knowledge on the management of agriculture infrastructures as well as rural community, “said Alain Nzeyimana, Mechanization Workshop Specialist at RAB, one of participants of the training. “I now understand how to manage the infrastructure and how to involve community in the management of agriculture infrastructure“.
Every year, KOICA offers various training opportunities in the form of invitational training in Korea to its partner countries across the globe. In 2019, KOICA Rwanda office sent about 60 people to Korea for two-week short-term training programs, including “Capacity Building for Policy Development and Coordination” and “Capacity Building Program for Research on Natural Resources and Energy”.
However, due to the global health risks posed by COVID-19 which accompanied health measures and travel restrictions in many countries, KOICA has had to shift the inivational training to online training in which trainers and trainees are connected through an online platform.
Launched in Rwanda in April 2020, ayoba is an easy to use instant messaging platform that includes informative channels as well as gaming available to all networks in Rwanda. The unique proposition for MTN customers is to be able to communicate at no data cost with all their contacts.
Commenting on the launch of the promo, MTN’s Marketing Operations Senior Manager, Desire Ruhinguka said, “Our mission is to lead digital for a brighter Rwanda. As part of our Digital Celebration named Twizamukire, we are rewarding MTN customers for joining us on this digital journey by simply using ayoba for communication and entertainment.”
On a weekly basis, 30 lucky ayoba users will win cash prizes of up to Rwf50,000 and another 30 winners will receive airtime valued at Rwf5,000. New users simply have to download ayoba via Google Play Store or www.ayoba.me. Upon successfully downloading the app, the customer is required to register and use the ayoba existing features such as messaging and subscribing to channels.
Olivier Prentout, ayoba’s Head of Consumer Marketing said: “We are delighted once again to partner with MTN in Rwanda and we believe this promotion will provide new users on a great chance to join the ayoba family and enjoy the benefit of not using your data to play, share, listen and chat”
Ayoba is more than just a messaging app as it offers free games and music as well as lots of channels of information on sports, fashion, current news to name a few. MTN customers can stay connected to one another regardless of their network, access updated local content from channels like Igihe, listen to music and play games all at no data cost.
